wfn.org | New UCC fund to support gay seminarians

[powellb@ucc.org]

June 16, 2000
Office of Communication
United Church of Christ
Hans Holznagel, 216-736-3863
<holznagh@ucc.org>
Barb Powell, 216-736-3317
<powellb@ucc.org>
On the web <http://www.ucc.org>

     CLEVELAND -- A national mission board of the
United Church of Christ today broke new ground as it
announced the creation of a fund to give financial support to
lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons studying for the
ministry.
     The William R. Johnson Scholarship Fund, named for
the first openly gay person ordained to the Christian ministry
in modern times, will support "self-affirmed gay, lesbian,
bisexual and transgender seminarians" studying in Master of
Divinity programs toward full-time ministry in the United
Church of Christ.
     It is the first such fund created by any religious
denomination specifically to encourage such persons to
answer the call to ministry and to persevere in their
preparation.
     The fund is endowed with $500,000 from the
unrestricted reserves of the United Church Board for
Homeland Ministries, an historic mission board that carries
out educational, social justice and evangelism ministries for
the 1.4-million-member United Church of Christ.  No
offering-plate dollars were used to endow the fund.  A
campaign for gifts to double the endowment will be formally
launched in August 2000.
     All seminary graduates face heavy debt.  In the United
Church of Christ, the average debt of pastors responding to a
1998 survey was over $28,000 while the average salary, in-
cluding housing allowance, was $29,847.  In addition, those
who openly identify themselves
as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender often face
discrimination when seeking field education placements
during seminary and opportunities for service in parish
ministry after graduation.
     The United Church of Christ's General Synod, since
1985, has encouraged local churches to be "Open and
Affirming" to GLBT persons, and since 1983 has encouraged
local ordaining bodies, known as "Associations," not to
discriminate based on sexual orientation.  The new fund also
reflects a 1991 General Synod vote that urged all parts of the
church to "affirm" the ministries of such persons.
     In a press briefing at the United Church of Christ's
national offices, denominational leaders said the fund would
benefit both the church and its seminarians.
     "The vitality of the United Church of Christ depends
on equipping our best and brightest for ministry in the 21st
century," said the Rev. John H. Thomas, president of the
United Church of Christ.  "This scholarship fund is a powerful
reminder that the response to God's call to ministry should
not be limited by economics or sexual orientation."
     "The call of God to ordained ministry, once heard by
any of us and confirmed by the church, deserves the support
of the whole community of faith," said the Rev. Thomas E.
Dipko, executive vice president of the United Church Board
for Homeland Ministries.  "The William R. Johnson Fund is a
sign that sexual orientation is not a reason to exclude anyone
from this call and the support that it invites.  The scholarships
that it will provide move our talk about the inclusive church
one step closer to practicing what we say we believe."
     "This unprecedented action by the Board of Directors
of the United Church Board for Homeland Ministries
demonstrates the willingness of many UCC members to take
bold steps to affirm the ministries of people of all sexual
orientations," said the Rev. Mitzi Eilts, national coordinator
of the United Church Coalition for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual
and Transgender concerns, in a statement sent from The
Coalition's offices in Guilford, Conn.  "The existence of this
fund speaks clearly to GLBT Christians of every color, age
and ability, saying 'bring your whole self, the whole of your
spiritual journey to bear in the development of your gifts for
ministry.'  It is very fitting that the fund is named after Bill
Johnson, who was the first to risk his own call to open up the
church to the gifts of GLBT persons."
     "I am humbled and deeply moved to have this new
scholarship fund named in my honor," said the Rev. William
R. Johnson, who was ordained in June 1972 and currently
serves with the United Church Board for Homeland Ministries
as a specialist in AIDS ministries and GLBT ministries.  "This
is an affirmation not only of my ministry over the past 28
years, but also of the ministries of thousands of GLBT clergy
in the UCC and the ecumenical community.  This scholarship
fund is a statement of faith in the commitment of UCC
members to a truly inclusive church that values all of God's
children."
     A brochure and fund-raising campaign for the William
R. Johnson Scholarship Fund are scheduled to be unveiled at
two events in August at Northern Illinois University near
Chicago: the National Gathering of the United Church
Coalition for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender
Concerns, Aug. 1-3; and an ecumenical "Witness Our
Welcome" event, Aug. 3-6, supported by GLBT organizations
from nine North American Protestant denominations.
Starting July 1, information on the fund will be available from
the Local Church Ministries office of the United Church of
Christ, 216-736-2100.
     Starting immediately, contributions to "United Church
of Christ" and earmarked for the "W.R. Johnson Scholarship
Fund" may be sent to Local Church Ministries, United Church
of Christ, 700 Prospect Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44115-1100
USA.
     The United Church of Christ, formed in 1957, has
nearly 6,000 congregations in the United States and Puerto
Rico, which are the "basic units" of the church and make their
own decisions about whom to call as pastors.  The
denomination's national structure, based in Cleveland, is
currently being reorganized.  On July 1, 2000, the United
Church Board for Homeland Ministries and other existing
"instrumentalities" will transfer their work to four newly
created  "Covenanted Ministries," including Local Church
Ministries, where the William R. Johnson Scholarship Fund
will be administered.
# # #