The Rev. Dr. William Reagan Johnson (born June 12, 1946 in Houston, Texas) was the first openly gay person ordained in the United Church of Christ (UCC) and the first openly gay person duly ordained in the history of Christianity. His ordination took place on June 25, 1972 at the Community UCC in San Carlos, California, authorized by the Golden Gate Association of the Northern California/Nevada Conference UCC. The ordination is the subject of the documentary film, A Position of Faith, directed by Michael Rhodes (1973; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYPvIS9EtzU). Throughout his career, Bill has provided counsel and support to thousands of LGBT seminarians and clergy persons in the UCC and ecumenically. He never charged for his counsel. Bill was the primary author of ost mUCC social justice policies regarding lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons from 1973 to 2002 and was the primary strategist for securing adoption of those policies.
In Houston, Bill attended Henderson Elementary School, Jackson Junior High School, and Austin Senior High School. Beginning in junior high, Bill delivered newspapers after school. He sang in church and school choirs and, in his senior year, in the Houston Grand Opera chorus. He experienced bullying in school and struggled to keep his same-gender orientation private. Later he learned several school friends were gay but, for safety, they had kept their orientation a secret.
Bill was baptized and confirmed at the conservative First Evangelical and Reformed Church (UCC) in Houston. He was a leader of his local church youth groups and attended senior high summer camp at Slumber Falls, New Braunfels, Texas, a UCC camp. Camp broadened his world and nurtured his leadership skills. At age 17, Bill discerned a call to ministry. He served as Vice President of the South Central Conference UCC Youth Cabinet in 1962. That same year, he became a member of the inter-racial Christian Youth Council (CYC) of Houston, the youth division of the Association of Churches of Greater Houston. Bill served as President of the CYC in 1963-64.
In summer 1963, Bill attended the UCC National Youth Event at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia. The theme, “The Rights of Man,” (sic) was keynoted by UCC minister and civil rights activist, Rev. Andrew Young. Later that summer, Bill boarded a city bus for the first time and rode to downtown Houston to attend the city’s first civil rights rally. The rally keynoter was Texas State Representative Barbara Jordan, who inspired Bill to a deeper commitment to civil rights. Bill’s experiences in Atlanta and Houston stirred feelings and reflections about his own civil liberties and those of queer people. He was not yet aware that Barbara Jordan was a lesbian sibling.
Bill received his high school diploma in May, 1964. He enrolled at UCC-related Elmhurst College (now Elmhurst University, Elmhurst, Illinois), Class of 1968. At Elmhurst, Bill became a student leader. He was elected Freshman Class President; sang in the College Choir for four years; joined a service fraternity; and held numerous positions in student government. He was on the Dean’s List his final 6 semesters at college.
While Bill was at Elmhurst, his local church in Houston voted to disassociate from the UCC over selective conscientious objection to the Vietnam war, which the UCC General Synod affirmed in July 1967. In order to remain a United Church member, Bill moved his membership to the First Congregational UCC of Houston.
After graduating from Elmhurst College in May 1968 (BA, English), Bill served as student pastor at St. Paul UCC, Donnellson, IA and St. Peter UCC, Franklin, Iowa (Summer,’68). In September, he began studies at the Pacific School of Religion (PSR), Berkeley, California. While in seminary (1968-71), Bill served as youth minister at Community UCC, San Carlos, California; student pastor at St. Andrew UCC, Kent, Washington (now United Christian Church, Renton, Washington); and as Interim Associate Pastor at Community UCC, San Carlos. He also completed an industrial chaplaincy internship at the Wells Gardner Electronics factory in Chicago, Illinois (under the auspices of the Presbyterian Institute for Industrial Relations) and was a chaplaincy intern at Highland General Hospital in Oakland, California. Bill was active in the life of the Northern California/Nevada Conference UCC.
In the fall of 1970, students and faculty at the nine Graduate Theological Union (GTU) seminaries in Berkeley organized Gay Seminarians, a support group for same-gender oriented seminarians; Bill became an active member. [Note: In 1970, the word “gay” was used to include all queer people. As the movement rew, consciousness and nomenclature changed. ] Gay Seminarians planned a forum on “Homosexuality and the Church” for the GTU community. It was held on November 11, 1970 in the PSR refectory with more than 400 people attending. The audience included several denominational judicatory executives. That evening, Bill publicly affirmed his gay identity and stated his intention to seek ordination in the UCC. Realistic about anti-gay attitudes in Texas, Bill transferred his church membership to Community UCC in San Carlos, where he was respected for his pastoral skills and well loved.
In the UCC, only an Association has the power to ordain but a candidate cannot seek ordination until a formal call to a specific ministry has been offered. In January 1971, Bill when was a senior at PSR, he was formally called to coordinate a house church development ministry in Los Angeles, a pilot program of the Southern California/Nevada Conference UCC. He accepted the call. This set into motion a year and a half of controversy, education and soul-searching in the Golden Gate Association UCC as members wrestled with the prospect of ordaining an openly gay person to ministry. The story of the ordination struggle is documented in the resource Learning from Experience by Rev. Evan Golder.
Bill received his Master of Divinity degree (Ethics and Pastoral Counseling) from PSR in May 1971. He moved to Los Angeles where he worked with 9 UCC lay leaders who gathered and guided several house church starts. He also designed educational events implemented by a task force in the Golden Gate Association. After a year, Golden Gate Association delegates met on April 30, 1972 to hear Bill’s ordination paper and to ask him questions for nearly two hours. When the vote came, the delegates voted 62-34 in favor of his ordination.
The next day the decision received international publicity. Bill was ordained to Christian Ministry on June 25, 1972 at the Community UCC in San Carlos. It was LGBT Pride Sunday in San Francisco and the 15th anniversary of the UCC. When funding expectedly ceased, the Southern California house church development ministry ended. Bill moved to San Francisco in October 1972. In December 1972, he founded the UCC Gay Caucus, which was renamed the UCC LGBT Coalition in 1979, and is now the UCC Open & Affirming Coalition (aka “The ONA Coalition” or simply “The Coalition”). The Coalition has always been self-supporting, receiving no funds from the UCC national budget. Bill served as the unpaid co-national coordinator (with Nancy Krody) of the Caucus from 1972-77. He traveled widely as a community organizer advocating the full inclusion of LGBT people in the UCC. Inspired by UCC people he met, in 1980 he urged The Coalition to hold a National Gathering of members. The first annual Coalition National Gathering was held in 1981 in Buffalo, NY. During the mid 1980s, Bill served as the editor of WAVES, the Coalition newsletter.
In September 1973, Bill attended an invitational consultation, held at St. Paul School of Theology in Kansas City, Missouri, on The Church and the Gay Community. Organized by members of the Governing Board of the National Council of Churches (NCC), thirty persons active in eight major denominations and the Metropolitan Community Church participated. Two days of study and consultation resulted in formation of a seven member National Task Force on Gay People in the Church, to which Bill was named. Over several years the Task Force engaged with the NCC and it’s member churches, urging advocacy for LGBT rights.
From 1973-76, Bill served as Executive Director of the Council on Religion and the Homosexual (CRH) in San Francisco. He planned CRH’s annual “Symposium on the Lifestyle of the Homosexual,” which had attracted professionals from across the country since 1965. He also facilitated, through personal contact and support, LGBT organizing in numerous denominations, urging individuals to step up to be leaders in their faith communities. He wrote an article about his ordination for the July/August 1973 issue of Trends, a United Presbyterian publication which ceased publication in 1974. With Dr. Sally Miller Gearhart, Bill co-edited/authored the book, Loving Women/Loving Men: Gay Liberation and the Church (Glide Publications, 1974). As an openly gay speaker, Bill volunteered at programs of the National Sex Forum and the Institute for Advanced Study of Human Sexuality in San Francisco, and in the 1976-77 academic year, he taught Men’s Liberation in the Women’s Study Program at San Francisco State University. In 1976, Bill and revered lesbian activist, Phyllis Lyon, facilitated the first gatherings of parents of LGBTQ folks in San Francisco, which evolved into the Parents & Friends of Lesbians & Gays (PFLAG) chapter in San Francisco.
In May, 1977, Bill received his Doctor of Education in Human Sexuality from the Institute for Advance Study of Human Sexuality. That summer, Bill moved to New York City. He did office work for the Lutheran Church in America, the United Presbyterian Church, and the Madison Avenue Baptist Church, an American Baptist Churches (ABC) congregation.
In NYC, Bill was a member of The Riverside Church (1977-81) and Judson Memorial Church (1981-93). Both congregations are UCC/ ABC. In the Spring of 1978, Bill founded Maranatha: Riversiders for Lesbian/Gay Concerns, the first parish-based LGBT ministry in the UCC/ABC. Nearly fifty years later, Maranatha remains a vital presence at Riverside, having nurtured many of the congregations leaders. In 1979, Bill was a contributing author to the book, Positively Gay: New Approaches to Gay and Lesbian Life, edited by Dr. Betty Berzon (revised 1992 & 2001).
In January 1981, the Executive Director of the UCC Office for Church in Society (OCIS), Dr. Yvonne Delk, created a “staff associate” job for Bill at $500/month with no benefits. In addition to providing general staff support, Bill compiled a compendium of all UCC social justice statements from 1957 to 1983. By 1983, OCIS could no longer fund the position, so Bill worked as a temporary employee at corporate offices in Manhattan, referring to himself as a “duly ordained word processor.” In the fall of 1984, joined the law firm of Stuart, Zavin, Sinnreich & Wasserman as a full time legal secretary. The law partners supported Bill’s continuing justice activism and gave him paid time off to attend UCC General Synods, Coalition and other LGBTQ events.
Bill’s activism never paused. In May 1982, Bill joined the UCC delegation at an interdenominational conference that led to the formation of the Lesbian/Gay Interfaith Alliance. There were LGIA conferences in 1983 and 1984 before members voted the Alliance out of existence, recognizing that their time and money needed to support education, pastoral care and advocacy in their respective religious traditions. Networking among leaders continued.
As the HIV/AIDS epidemic grew in NYC in the early 1980s, Bill became a caregiver and educator, utilizing his pastoral counseling skills and knowledge of human sexuality. He volunteered on the National AIDS Hotline and was a member of the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT-UP).
In 1983, Bill proposed a General Synod resolution calling on United Church congregations to declare themselves “More Light” churches, indicating their welcome to LGBT persons, extending a welcoming church program designed by queer Presbyterians. However, Synod delegates did not rally to support the resolution and rather than risk losing a General Synod vote on such an important issue, Bill withdrew the proposal. In the 2-year interim between Synods, Rev. Margarita Suarez, Rev. M. Susan Harlow, rev. rosi ann olmstead, and Marnie Warner wrote a resolution for the Massachusetts Conference UCC, calling on UCC churches to declare themselves Open and Affirming (ONA), welcoming all people to full participation in congregational life. The resolution was adopted at the Mass. Conference meeting and sent to the 1985 General Synod, where it was enthusiastically adopted. The Coalition became administrator of the ONA Church program under the leadership of Rev. Ann B. Day and her wife, Donna Enberg. For more than 20 years, Ann and Donna, with help from Coalition members, created dozens of excellent welcoming church resources, many focused on sharing personal stories.
In 1988, the United Church Board for Homeland Ministries (UCBHM) hired Bill as a part-time consultant in HIV/AIDS ministry. He continued to work part-time at the law firm (by then, Zavin, Sinnreich & Wasserman). In 1989, at the UCC General Synod, UCC Christians for Justice Action gave Bill their Burning Bush Award in recognition of his activist leadership in church and society.
In the fall of 1989, Bill was elected to the UCC national staff as a Program Minister of UCBHM, Division of the American Missionary Association. In January 1990, he assumed his new position full time, with benefits that included for the first time payments to a pension fund. He served as Minister for HIV/AIDS Ministries and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Concerns for 11 years. He, and colleague Mary Ellen Haines, collaborated with interfaith AIDS leaders and established the AIDS National Interfaith Network (ANIN).
Initially, Bill served ANIN as Program Officer, then as Interim Executive Director. He established the United Church HIV/AIDS Network; and co-authored, with Cindy Bowman, the multi-generational HIV/ AIDS prevention curriculum, Affirming Persons-Saving Lives, designed for use in Christian education settings (1993). Bill was Executive Producer for the curriculum’s two videos: In the Time of Adversity and Living with AIDS.
With his justice colleague, Rev. Loey Powell, Bill advocated for domestic partner benefits for LGBT employees of the UCC national setting, which were put into place by the UCC Pension Boards in 1996. Working with other UCC colleagues, Bill provided leadership on issues ranging from discrimination in the Boy Scouts of America (including meeting with BSA Board members); equal marital rights for same gender couples; discrimination in adoption, foster care and custody rights; bullying and harassment in public schools; hate-related violence; and job discrimination in church and society.
At UCBHM, Bill created a variety of resources for UCC congregations including a video and study guide, Open and Affirming: A Journey of Faith, in cooperation with Irvine (CA) UCC; Circle of Grace, with Gordon Svoboda, nine inclusive Bible study lesson plans; and two volumes of Preach Out!, compilations of LGBT affirming sermons by UCC pastors. In 1999, Bill hosted Called Out for Good, a consultation with openly gay, lesbian and bisexual UCC pastors focused on the unique challenges of being openly LGBT in parish ministry. Also in 1999, he organized a national consultation of UCC bisexual members. He created a task group on Transgender Concerns in the Church which led to a national consultation with 15 Transgender UCC members held at the UCC National Office in 2001. Bill served as executive producer of the documentary video, Bisex’-ual (2001) (paired with A Position of Faith on UCC video resources on YouTube). He also served as executive producer of the feature length documentary, Call Me Malcolm (2005; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sh4Pv10lFyc , screened at film festivals worldwide.
While on the UCC national staff, Bill had the pleasure of supervising three seminary interns: Sean Murray, Kate Huey and Darryl Kistler, all now UCC clergy; and one UCC college student, Eric C. Smith. On July 4, 2005, as Vice-Moderator of the UCC General Synod, Eric C. Smith, chaired the vigorous debate when the delegates overwhelmingly adopted a Pronouncement affirming Marriage Equality.
In 1999, the Board of Directors of the United Church Board for Homeland Ministries committed $500,000 to create the William R. Johnson Scholarship Fund for openly lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender UCC seminarians studying to be parish ministers. Since 2001, eight to ten scholarships have been awarded annually from the WRJ Endowment Fund, which has more than doubled with additional contributions. When the UCC national setting was reorganized beginning in 2000, Bill became Executive for Health and Wholeness Advocacy and Minister for HIV/AIDS and Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgender Concerns in Wider Church Ministries (WCM) UC
In January 2002, Bill was called to serve as Executive Associate to the Executive Minister of Wider Church Ministries UCC (WCM). He served two WCM executives, Dr. Dale Bishop and Dr. Olivia Masih White, and oversaw a 28-person staff. The HIV/LGBTQ position at Wider Church Ministries he created was first filled by former intern, Eric C. Smith, as Interim, and then by Rev. Michael Schuenemeyer from 2002-22.
In 2000, Bill served on the founding Board of the Center for LGBTQ and Gender Studies in Religion (CLGS) at the PSR. In 2001, he served on the founding national Advisory Committee of the LGBTQ Religious Archives Network (LGBTQ-RAN). He founded and serves as coordinator for Elmhurst College LGBTQ+ Alumni. In 1992, Bill received the Elmhurst College Alumni Merit Award. In summer 2010, he was profiled in Prospect, Elmhurst’s alumni magazine. On National Coming Out Day in October 2011, Elmhurst named its annual LGBTQ lecture in his honor, the William R. Johnson Intercultural Guestship.
In January 2005, Johnson was called to serve as Vice President for Member Relations with the UCC Council for Health and Human Service Ministries (CHHSM), an association of 80 UCC-related corporations operating more than 360 facilities and programs that include primary and acute health care services, services to persons with disabilities, services to children, youth and families, and services to the aging. In 2010, his title was changed to Vice President as he assumed new responsibilities. Bill served in that position until April 1, 2013.
In July 2012, the Cathedral of Hope UCC in Dallas, Texas presented Bill with its annual Hero of Hope Award, in recognition of a lifetime of service to the LGBTQ and ecumenical communities. In the fall of 2012 his ordination robe and stole, handmade by a seminary classmate, were added to the permanent collection of the Stonewall National Museum & Archives in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Bill left New York City in 1991 when the UCC National Office was moved to Cleveland, Ohio. In 1993, he was a founding member of Liberation UCC in Lakewood, Ohio. At Liberation, Bill sang in the church choir and served in a variety of roles over 19 years, including as treasurer and moderator of the congregation. In May 2012, Bill learned his position at CHHSM would be eliminated on May 1, 2013. Consequently, Bill moved to Pilgrim Place in Claremont, California, in October 2012 where he continued to work for CHHSM through April 2013. He formally retired from active ministry on July 1, 2013 at the 29th UCC General Synod in Long Beach, California, having served, since his first student pastorate in Iowa in 1968, in ministry for 45 years. In 2017, Bill was given an Alumni Merit Award from the Pacific School of Religion.
At Pilgrim Place, while an independent living resident, Bill has served on the Resident Health and Support Program Committee; been Co-Chair of the Admission Advisory Group for 3 years; was Co-Coordinator of Volunteers for the annual Pilgrim Place Festival (2013-15); was Programmer for Theater Rex, Pilgrim Place’s weekly Saturday night movie (2017-20), served for 3 years on the Scrooby Committee, which coordinates resident activities at Pilgrim Place; and sang in the Pilgrim Place Chorale for six years.
In 2022, Bill moved to Pitzer Lodge, the assisted living residence at Pilgrim Place. In 2023, Bill represented Pitzer residents on the Scrooby Committee. In 2024-25, he served as the Pitzer representative on the Pilgrim Place Town Meeting Executive Committee. He also served as author/editor of Living at Pitzer Lodge: A Handbook for Residents in 2025 and as Vice-Moderator of the Pitzer Resident Council (PRC) in 2026. In 2027 he will be Moderator of the PRC. He is writing his autobiography.
Bill is a member of Claremont UCC, an Open and Affirming congregation, and of its LGBTQ community, Another Voice, founded by long-time Coalition members, Rev. Oliver and Eleonore Powell, Loey Powell’s parents. In April 2026, Bill was a speaker at the Claremont Pride Festival at which he received Congressional Recognition from Congresswomen Judy Chu (D-CA/28) for his lifelong advocacy and care for the LGBTQIA+ community.
(This biographical statement provided by William R. Johnson.)
Biography Date: November, 2002; rev. 2026
“Rev. Dr. William R. Johnson | Profile”, LGBTQ Religious Archives Network, accessed August 21, 2026, https://lgbtqreligiousarchives.org/profiles/william-r-johnson.