Social and political issues and activism

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Church involvement in social and political issues and activism, including civil rights, protests, and war work. Also, social and political reformers connected to the church. See the following related collections: Civil rights, protests, and social reformers; Wars. Featured image: Religious with Rosa Parks, 1963.

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Title:
Chris Glaser oral history transcript, 2022.
Description:
Transcript of oral history interview with Chris Glaser. He was raised as an American Baptist in North Hollywood, California. He joined the Presbyterian Church in 1970 while in college at California State University, Northridge. He was an ordained elder at First Presbyterian Church of Van Nuys. From 1976 to 1978, he served as the only openly gay member of the UPCUSA Task Force to Study Homosexuality. From 1977 to 1987, he served as the founding director of the Lazarus Project, a ministry of reconciliation between the church and the LGBTQ community in Los Angeles, located at West Hollywood Presbyterian Church. He also served as the second national coordinator and treasurer of Presbyterians for Lesbian and Gay Concerns (PLGC) and as editor of its newsletters (More Light). Interview covers the 1978 General Assembly, the UPCUSA Task Force to Study Homosexuality, the Lazarus Project, and Presbyterians for Lesbian and Gay Concerns (PLGC). Transcript was extensively revised for clarity purposes by interviewee, Chris Glaser.
Creator:
Skaggs, Nicholas A. (interviewer), Glaser, Chris. (interviewee)
Subject names:
United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. Task Force to Study Homosexuality., United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. General Assembly (190th : 1978 : San Diego, Calif.), Lazarus Project., Presbyterians for Lesbian/Gay Concerns., West Hollywood Presbyterian Church (Los Angeles, Calif.), Glaser, Chris.
Topics:
Homosexuality--Religious aspects--Presbyterian Church., Ordination of gays., Ordination of lesbians.
URL:
https://digital.history.pcusa.org/islandora/object/islandora:287989
Title:
Chris Glaser oral history, 2022.
Description:
Chris Glaser was raised as an American Baptist in North Hollywood, California. He joined the Presbyterian Church in 1970 while in college at California State University, Northridge. He was an ordained elder at First Presbyterian Church of Van Nuys. From 1976 to 1978, he served as the only openly gay member of the UPCUSA Task Force to Study Homosexuality. From 1977 to 1987, he served as the founding director of the Lazarus Project, a ministry of reconciliation between the church and the LGBTQ community in Los Angeles, located at West Hollywood Presbyterian Church. He also served as the second national coordinator and treasurer of Presbyterians for Lesbian and Gay Concerns (PLGC) and as editor of its newsletters (More Light). Interview covers the 1978 General Assembly, the UPCUSA Task Force to Study Homosexuality, the Lazarus Project, and Presbyterians for Lesbian and Gay Concerns (PLGC).
Creator:
Glaser, Chris. (interviewee), Skaggs, Nicholas A. (interviewer)
Subject names:
United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. Task Force to Study Homosexuality., United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. General Assembly (190th : 1978 : San Diego, Calif.), Lazarus Project., Presbyterians for Lesbian/Gay Concerns., West Hollywood Presbyterian Church (Los Angeles, Calif.), Glaser, Chris.
Topics:
Homosexuality--Religious aspects--Presbyterian Church., Ordination of gays., Ordination of lesbians.
URL:
https://digital.history.pcusa.org/islandora/object/islandora:287983
Title:
Joanna Adams oral history, 2017.
Description:
Joanna Moseley Adams, Presbyterian minister, was born October 17, 1944 in Atlanta, Georgia. She attended Columbia Theological Seminary and was ordained in 1979. She served Central Presbyterian Church (Atlanta, Ga.), North Decatur Presbyterian Church (Decatur, Ga.), and Trinity Presbyterian Church (Atlanta, Ga.), before spending two years as co-pastor alongside John Buchanan at Fourth Presbyterian Church (Chicago, Ill.). From 1996 on she was an organizer for and moderator of the Covenant Network of Presbyterians. She retired in 2010.
Creator:
Hessel, Beth Shalom. (interviewer), Adams, Joanna. (interviewee)
Subject names:
Adams, Joanna., Covenant Network of Presbyterians., Trinity Presbyterian Church (Atlanta, Ga.), North Decatur Presbyterian Church (Decatur, Ga.), Central Presbyterian Church (Atlanta, Ga.)
Topics:
Homosexuality--Religious aspects--Presbyterian Church., Ordination of gays., Ordination of lesbians., Presbyterian women., Ecumenical movement., Social justice--Religious aspects--Presbyterian Church., Interfaith worship.
URL:
https://digital.history.pcusa.org/islandora/object/islandora:286239
Title:
Annanda Barclay oral history, 2021.
Description:
Annanda Barclay is an advocate for intersectional justice in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). She has worked for LGBTQIA+ rights and served as Co-Moderator of More Light Presbyterians, a board member of the Spahr Reconciliation Initiative, and has helped plan pastoral candidate retreats with Parity (formerly Presbyterian Welcome). Barclay graduated with her M.Div. from Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary in 2014. She is currently working as a pastor at Mission Bay Community Church (San Francisco, CA) and as interim chaplain at the University of the Redlands, while pursuing a full-time career in chaplaincy.
Creator:
Barclay, Annanda. (interviewee), Wittrig, Elizabeth L. (interviewer)
Subject names:
More Light Presbyterians., Presbyterian Welcome (Organization), Barclay, Annanda.
Topics:
Homosexuality--Religious aspects--Presbyterian Church., Ordination of gays., Ordination of lesbians., African American Presbyterians., Presbyterian women.
URL:
https://digital.history.pcusa.org/islandora/object/islandora:286179
Title:
Ray Bagnuolo oral history, 2021.
Description:
Raymond Bagnuolo was born in November of 1951 and grew up in a Roman Catholic family in the Bronx, New York. Ray spent seventeen years teaching K-12 in the Ossining Public Schools in Ossining, New York. In 1995, he was introduced to That All May Freely Serve and began attending South Presbyterian Church in Dobbs Ferry, New York. In 2005, he was ordained as Minister of Word and Sacrament in the PC(USA), as an openly gay man. Ray accepted a leadership role at That All May Freely Serve in 2013 and spent several years traveling the country and advocating for a fully inclusive church.
Creator:
Bagnuolo, Raymond. (interviewee), Wittrig, Elizabeth L. (interviewer)
Subject names:
That All May Freely Serve (Association), Bagnuolo, Raymond., Spahr, Jane Adams.
Topics:
Homosexuality--Religious aspects--Presbyterian Church., Homosexuality--Religious aspects--Catholic Church., Ordination of lesbians., Ordination of gays.
URL:
https://digital.history.pcusa.org/islandora/object/islandora:286178
Title:
Michael Adee oral history, 2021.
Description:
Michael Adee was a member and ordained Elder of Mt. Auburn Presbyterian Church (Cincinnati, Ohio). He also served as the first Field Organizer (later called Executive Director) for More Light Presbyterians from 1999 to 2013.
Creator:
Adee, Michael. (interviewee), Wittrig, Elizabeth L. (interviewer)
Subject names:
More Light Presbyterians., That All May Freely Serve (Association), Spahr, Jane Adams., Adee, Michael.
Topics:
Homosexuality--Religious aspects--Presbyterian Church., Ordination of gays., Ordination of lesbians.
URL:
https://digital.history.pcusa.org/islandora/object/islandora:286177
Title:
Gail Ricciuti, Anthony Ricciuti, Ed Saphar, and Chuck Lundeen oral history, 2019.
Description:
Gail Ricciuti and Anthony Ricciuti co-pastored Downtown United Presbyterian Church (Rochester, NY) from 1983 to 1998. Chuck Lundeen was part of the pastor nominating committee which chose Rev. Jane Adams Spahr, a lesbian minister, as pastor of Downtown Church. That All May Freely Serve (TAMFS) began in 1993 after Spahr was banned by the Permanent Judicial Commission from accepting a call to serve as a pastor of Downtown Church. Downtown Church formed TAMFS ministry in response, electing Spahr to serve as a "lesbian evangelist" to the PC(USA), and advocating for the full inclusion of LGBTQIA+ Presbyterians. Ed Saphar worked with Virginia West Davidson to establish Spahr as Downtown Church's "lesbian evangelist."
Creator:
Ricciuti, Gail Anderson. (interviewee), Ricciuti, Anthony. (interviewee), Saphar, Ed. (interviewee), Lundeen, Chuck. (interviewee)
Subject names:
That All May Freely Serve (Association), Spahr, Jane Adams., Downtown United Presbyterian Church (Rochester, N.Y.)
Topics:
Ordination of gays., Ordination of lesbians., Presbyterian women.
URL:
https://digital.history.pcusa.org/islandora/object/islandora:285212
Title:
Peter Oddleifson oral history, 2019.
Description:
Peter Oddleifson was an elder at Third Presbyterian Church (Rochester, NY), an attorney who contributed to the national LGBTQ movement for equal ordination rights in the PC(USA), and an early member of That All May Freely Serve (TAMFS). TAMFS began in 1993 after Rev. Jane Adams Spahr, a lesbian minister, was banned by the Permanent Judicial Commission from accepting a call to serve as a pastor of Downtown United Presbyterian Church (Rochester, NY). Downtown Church formed TAMFS ministry in response, electing Spahr to serve as a "lesbian evangelist" to the PC(USA), and advocating for the full inclusion of LGBTQIA+ Presbyterians.
Creator:
Oddleifson, Peter. (interviewee), Wittrig, Elizabeth L. (interviewer)
Subject names:
That All May Freely Serve (Association), Spahr, Jane Adams., Oddleifson, Peter.
Topics:
Ordination of gays., Ordination of lesbians.
URL:
https://digital.history.pcusa.org/islandora/object/islandora:285211
Title:
Doris VanVechten, Connie Rochelle-Woodley, and Leigh Rochelle-Woodley oral history, 2019.
Description:
Doris VanVechten, Connie Rochelle-Woodley, and Leigh Rochelle-Woodley were active members of That All May Freely Serve (TAMFS). TAMFS began in 1993 after Rev. Jane Adams Spahr, a lesbian minister, was banned by the Permanent Judicial Commission from accepting a call to serve as a pastor of Downtown United Presbyterian Church (Rochester, NY). Downtown Church formed TAMFS ministry in response, electing Spahr to serve as a "lesbian evangelist" to the PC(USA), and advocating for the full inclusion of LGBTQIA+ Presbyterians.
Creator:
VanVechten, Doris. (interviewee), Rochelle-Woodley, Leigh. (interviewee), Rochelle-Woodley, Connie. (interviewee), Wittrig, Elizabeth L. (interviewer)
Subject names:
That All May Freely Serve (Association), Spahr, Jane Adams., Downtown United Presbyterian Church (Rochester, N.Y.)
Topics:
Ordination of gays., Ordination of lesbians., Presbyterian women.
URL:
https://digital.history.pcusa.org/islandora/object/islandora:285210
Title:
John Hobbs oral history, 2019.
Description:
John Hobbs served as co-moderator of That All May Freely Serve (TAMFS) Chicago and was also a board member of TAMFS at the national level.
Creator:
Hobbs, John. (interviewee), Wittrig, Elizabeth L. (interviewer)
Subject names:
That All May Freely Serve (Association), Hobbs, John.
Topics:
Homosexuality--Religious aspects--Presbyterian Church--20th century., Ordination of gays., Ordination of lesbians.
URL:
https://digital.history.pcusa.org/islandora/object/islandora:177192
Title:
John M. Buchanan oral history, 2019.
Description:
John Buchanan is a Presbyterian minister and former moderator of the PC(USA). He was born 20 January 1938 in Altoona, Pa., graduated from Franklin and Marshall College in 1959 and completed a master of Divinity degree at Chicago Theological Seminary in 1963. He held pastorates at First Presbyterian Church (Dyer, Ind.) from 1963 to 1966; Bethany Presbyterian Church (Lafayette, Ind.) from 1966 to 1974; Broad Street Presbyterian Church (Columbus, Ohio) from 1974 to 1985; and Fourth Presbyterian Church (Chicago, Ill.) from 1986 to 2012. Buchanan was moderator of the 208th General Assembly in 1996. Since 1999 he has been publisher of The Christian Century.
Creator:
Buchanan, John M., 1938- (interviewee), Hessel, Beth Shalom. (interviewer), Wittrig, Elizabeth L. (interviewer)
Subject names:
Covenant Network of Presbyterians., Buchanan, John M., 1938-
Topics:
Homosexuality--Religious aspects--Presbyterian Church., Ordination of gays., Ordination of lesbians.
URL:
https://digital.history.pcusa.org/islandora/object/islandora:154174
Title:
Deborah Block oral history, 2019.
Description:
Deborah Block was in the first generation of women who were ordained in the United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. She graduated from Carroll College in 1974 and began ordained ministry in 1978 at Immanuel Presbyterian Church (Milwaukee, WI). Deborah became an advocate for LGBTQ rights at the 1978 General Assembly and went on to serve as co-moderator of the Covenant Network.
Creator:
Block, Deborah. (interviewee), Wittrig, Elizabeth L. (interviewer)
Subject names:
Covenant Network of Presbyterians., Block, Deborah.
Topics:
Homosexuality--Religious aspects--Presbyterian Church., Ordination of gays., Ordination of lesbians.
URL:
https://digital.history.pcusa.org/islandora/object/islandora:153479
Title:
Tim Hart-Andersen oral history, 2019.
Description:
Timothy Hart-Andersen is a Presbyterian minister, a founding Board Member of the Covenant Network of Presbyterians, and one of the initiators of the NEXT Church movement. He was ordained by the Presbytery of Los Ranchos in 1985, and took the pastorate at Old First Presbyterian Church (San Francisco, Calif.) in 1990. Since 1999, he has served as pastor of Westminster Presbyterian Church (Minneapolis, Minn.).
Creator:
Hart-Andersen, Timothy. (interviewee), Wittrig, Elizabeth L. (interviewer)
Subject names:
Covenant Network of Presbyterians., Hart-Andersen, Timothy.
Topics:
Homosexuality--Religious aspects--Presbyterian Church., Ordination of gays., Ordination of lesbians.
URL:
https://digital.history.pcusa.org/islandora/object/islandora:153478
Title:
Peggy Meeker and Marie Gibson oral history, 2019.
Description:
Peggy Meeker and Marie Gibson were both active members of That All May Freely Serve (TAMFS). TAMFS began in 1993 after Rev. Jane Adams Spahr, a lesbian minister, was banned by the Permanent Judicial Commission from accepting a call to serve as a pastor of Downtown United Presbyterian Church (Rochester, NY). Downtown Church formed TAMFS ministry in response, electing Spahr to serve as a "lesbian evangelist" to the PC(USA), and advocating for the full inclusion of LGBTQIA+ Presbyterians.
Creator:
Meeker, Peggy. (interviewee), Gibson, Marie. (interviewee), Wittrig, Elizabeth L. (interviewer)
Subject names:
That All May Freely Serve (Association), Downtown United Presbyterian Church (Rochester, N.Y.), Meeker, Peggy., Gibson, Marie., Spahr, Jane Adams.
Topics:
Homosexuality--Religious aspects--Presbyterian Church--20th century., Ordination of gays., Ordination of lesbians., Presbyterian women.
URL:
https://digital.history.pcusa.org/islandora/object/islandora:153477
Title:
Nancy Brown and Eileen Smith oral history, 2019.
Description:
Nancy Brown and Eileen Smith were both active members of That All May Freely Serve (TAMFS). TAMFS began in 1993 after Rev. Jane Adams Spahr, a lesbian minister, was banned by the Permanent Judicial Commission from accepting a call to serve as a pastor of Downtown United Presbyterian Church (Rochester, NY). Downtown Church formed TAMFS ministry in response, electing Spahr to serve as a "lesbian evangelist" to the PC(USA), and advocating for the full inclusion of LGBTQIA+ Presbyterians.
Creator:
Brown, Nancy. (interviewee), Smith, Eileen. (interviewee), Wittrig, Elizabeth L. (interviewer)
Subject names:
That All May Freely Serve (Association), Downtown United Presbyterian Church (Rochester, N.Y.), Brown, Nancy., Smith, Eileen., Spahr, Jane Adams.
Topics:
Homosexuality--Religious aspects--Presbyterian Church--20th century., Ordination of gays., Ordination of lesbians., Presbyterian women.
URL:
https://digital.history.pcusa.org/islandora/object/islandora:153476
Title:
Third Presbyterian Church More Light Committee oral history, 2019.
Description:
Oral history interview with Ralph Carter, Betty Iwan, and Ann McMican on how Third Presbyterian Church (Rochester, N.Y.) became a More Light congregation.
Creator:
Third Presbyterian Church (Rochester, N.Y.) (interviewee), Wittrig, Elizabeth L. (interviewer)
Subject names:
More Light Presbyterians., Carter, Ralph C. (Ralph Campbell), Iwan, Elizabeth., McMican, Ann., Third Presbyterian Church (Rochester, N.Y.)
Topics:
Homosexuality--Religious aspects--Presbyterian Church., Ordination of gays., Ordination of lesbians.
URL:
https://digital.history.pcusa.org/islandora/object/islandora:153475
Title:
John Wilkinson oral history, 2019.
Description:
John Wilkinson helped organize the Covenant Network of Presbyterians in 1997 and served on the PC(USA) Theological Task Force on Peace, Unity, and Purity from 2001-2006.
Creator:
Wilkinson, John. (interviewee), Wittrig, Elizabeth L. (interviewer)
Subject names:
Covenant Network of Presbyterians., Third Presbyterian Church (Rochester, N.Y.), Wilkinson, John.
Topics:
Homosexuality--Religious aspects--Presbyterian Church., Ordination of gays., Ordination of lesbians.
URL:
https://digital.history.pcusa.org/islandora/object/islandora:153474
Title:
Daniel Vigilante oral history, 2019.
Description:
Daniel Vigilante graduated from Princeton Theological Seminary in 2004, where he joined the student group Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Supporters (BGLASS). He was ordained by Westminster Presbyterian Church on August 25, 2013, becoming one of the first openly gay Presbyterian ministers to be ordained in Minnesota. In the early 2000s, he became actively involved in the Covenant Network, primarily working with Youth Advisory Delegates at General Assembly.
Creator:
Vigilante, Daniel. (interviewee), Wittrig, Elizabeth L. (interviewer)
Subject names:
Covenant Network of Presbyterians., Vigilante, Daniel.
Topics:
Homosexuality--Religious aspects--Presbyterian Church., Ordination of gays., Ordination of lesbians.
URL:
https://digital.history.pcusa.org/islandora/object/islandora:153473
Title:
David Colby oral history, 2019.
Description:
Rev. Dr. David Colby is a Presbyterian minister, serving Central Presbyterian Church (St. Paul, Minn.). He served on the board of the Covenant Network of Presbyterians from 2002-2015 and chaired the Strategy and Local Organizing Committee of the board from 2007-2015, including during the successful ratification campaigns for ordination and marriage.
Creator:
Colby, David. (interviewee), Wittrig, Elizabeth L. (interviewer)
Subject names:
Covenant Network of Presbyterians., Colby, David.
Topics:
Homosexuality--Religious aspects--Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Ordination of gays., Ordination of lesbians., Homosexuality--Religious aspects--Christianity.
URL:
https://digital.history.pcusa.org/islandora/object/islandora:150255
Title:
Heidi and Frank Vardeman oral history, 2019.
Description:
Heidi and Frank Vardeman were allies in the More Light movement which worked for LGBTQIA+ inclusion in the PC(USA). They became involved in the 1980s as pastors of John Calvin Presbyterian Church (Tampa, Florida), a welcoming congregation that helped form the Tampa AIDS Network.
Creator:
Vardeman, Heidi. (interviewee), Vardeman, Frank. (interviewee), Wittrig, Elizabeth L. (interviewer), Hessel, Beth Shalom. (interviewer)
Subject names:
More Light Presbyterians., John Calvin Presbyterian Church (Tampa, Fla.), Macalester Plymouth Church (St. Paul, Minn.)
Topics:
Homosexuality--Religious aspects--Presbyterian Church., Sexual orientation--Religious aspects--Presbyterian Church., Ordination of gays., Ordination of lesbians., AIDS (Disease)--Religious aspects--Presbyterian Church., AIDS (Disease)--Patients--Pastoral counseling of.
Geographic subjects:
Tampa (Fla.)
URL:
https://digital.history.pcusa.org/islandora/object/islandora:149298

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