The Reverend Elder Nancy L. Wilson (born 1950) is the Moderator of the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches (MCC or Metropolitan Community Churches).
On Sunday, 29 October 2005 in Washington's National Cathedral, Rev. Wilson was installed as Moderator of the Metropolitan Community Church in succession to the denomination's founder, Troy Perry.
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Election
Wilson was elected Moderator of Metropolitan Community Church by the Church's General Conference in Calgary, Alberta in July 2005. Although she was the only candidate nominated, Metropolitan Community Church Bylaws still require a vote and she received an overwhelming endorsement from the lay and clergy delegates to that Conference. Wilson was installed as Moderator at Washington National Cathedral in 2005.[citation needed] Under Wilson's leadership the denomination has faced a period of decline with the number of congregations falling and several Elders resigning and a severe financial crisis. Although elected unopposed in 2005, it has been announced that Wilson will face opposition at the denomination's next General Conference in 2010.
Biography
Wilson has a long and distinguished record of service with the Metropolitan Community Church. She was the youngest person ever elected to the MCC Board of Elders in 1976 and served on the Board of Elders ever since except for a break between 2003 and 2005.
Wilson resides with her partner of 27 years, Dr. Paula Schoenwether. They both actively work for same-sex marriage equality, having married each other in Massachusetts. Wilson and Schoenwether were the plaintiffs in Wilson v. Ake, 354 F. Supp. 1298, in which they asked a Florida District Court to hold that the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was unconstitutional. The court denied relief and held that DOMA was constitutional.
Prior to beginning her MCC ministry, Wilson was active in the United Methodist Church.[citation needed]
Education and experience
Wilson received her undergraduate degree from Allegheny College in 1972 before going on to study at Boston University School of Theology with a Rockefeller Fellowship, also holds an M.Div. from SS. Cyril and Methodius Seminary in Detroit, served as Vice-Moderator of Metropolitan Community Church during 1993-2003 and has pastored Metropolitan Community Church congregations in Florida, Massachusetts, Michigan, and California. She is the former senior pastor of Metropolitan Community Church of Los Angeles, the Founding Church of the Metropolitan Community Church movement. She most recently served as senior pastor of Church of the Trinity MCC in Sarasota, Florida.
Ecumenical and human rights work
Wilson has a deep commitment to ecumenical work and human rights. During 1979-1999, she served as MCC's Chief Ecumenical Officer, representing Metropolitan Community Church at the National Council of Churches and the World Council of Churches. In 1987, she represented MCC as an ecumenical observer at the Bilateral Dialogue of the Roman Catholic and Lutheran Churches in Columbia, South Carolina, where she met the then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI.[citation needed]
She has also been active on behalf of HIV issues, prisoner treatment programs, and women's rights. She is the founder of the MCC Conference for Women in Professional Ministry.
In 1979, she participated in the first-ever meeting of gay and lesbian religious leaders at the White House with President Carter[1].
Public speaking
Wilson was the Guest Preacher at the Earl Lectures at Pacific School of Religion (Berkeley, California, January 2002) and has been a guest speaker at Harvard Divinity School, Vanderbilt Divinity School, Allegheny College, Claremont School of Theology, and the University of Southern California.
Writings
Wilson is the author of
- Our Tribe: Queer Folks, God, Jesus, and the Bible (Alamo Press)
- Amazing Grace co-editor with Fr. Malcolm Boyd
- contributing author to Poems and Prayers in Race and Prayer edited by Malcolm Boyd and Chester Talton (Morehouse Press).
References
External links
| Preceded by Rev Troy Perry |
Moderator of the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches. 2005–date |
Succeeded by incumbent |
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