Peggy Campolo, who we lovingly refer to as our Patron Saint, was the inspiring force behind the creation of Open Door Community Church. As a friend of Pastor Randy, she counseled him when he was fired from his job as an associate pastor at a local church because he chose to be honest about his long time loving relationship with his spouse, Gary. At the time, Pastor Randy felt he had nowhere to go where he would be welcomed in to worship. Peggy told him that if he felt that way, there must be many more people who felt that way as well. She suggested the idea of founding a church where everyone would be welcome, and the seed for Open Door Community Church was planted.
Peggy has long preached her ministry of inclusiveness, and she has worked hard to bridge the gap between the misunderstood and the misinformed.
As Open Door Community Church approached its 2007 Annual Fall Conference, we decided to honor Peggy’s work with an award that would not only honor her, but would, in her name, honor the work of someone every year who exemplifies her ideals of inclusiveness and equality.
Pastor Randy presents the inaugural 2007 award to Peggy Campolo
Peggy Campolo, wife of Dr. Tony Campolo and mother of Bart Campolo, is an evangelical Christian who challenges evangelical churches to re-think their stance against gay and lesbian people. A highly-visible advocate for the full inclusion of gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans-gendered people within the church, Peggy is a member of PFLAG and Evangelicals Concerned and serves on the council of the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists. She is currently a member of Central Baptist Church in Wayne, Pennsylvania—one of two “Welcoming and Affirming” congregations in the Commonwealth. In a recent Associated Baptist Press article, she wrote: “I am a committed Baptist who has worked within the church of Jesus Christ for more than 20 years to foster the understanding and acceptance of my gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender sisters and brothers… I can personally testify to the anguish gay people feel when rejected by church and family because of who they are. I have also witnessed the joy of the many gay people I know who have found church homes where they are loved and accepted.”
A graduate of Eastern University, Peggy speaks often to church and campus groups around the country. She is a frequent guest speaker at Open Door Community Church in Arkansas, an Welcoming and Affirming church that she encouraged friend Pastor Randy McCain to establish. In 2007, the Open Door Community Church created The Peggy Campolo Carrier Pigeon Award to be given annually at the church’s fall conference in recognition of advocacy for GLBT people of faith in Christ . Peggy is also a writer and editor, contributing to books such as Homosexuality and Christian Faith-Questions on Conscience for the Churches and Reasoning Together: A Conversation on Homosexuality released in late October 2008.
Peggy Campolo presents the 2008 award to Dave Ferrell
David Ferrell is a father of a gay son and friend of Open Door Community Church. Dave and his wife Beck live in San Antonio, Texas. To learn of this amazing father’s transformation, please read his testimony as given to the Evangelical Network http://www.believeoutloud.com/latest/god-turns-conservative-texan-father-many
Peggy Campolo presents the 2009 award to Jay Bakker
Jay Bakker grew up with a theme park for a playground, watched his parents’ evangelistic empire self-destruct, turned to drink and drugs as a teen, sobered up in his 20s, and became a pastor to punk-rockers and skate-boarders. Born and raised when Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker were at the height of their TV ministry, Jay — then known as Jamie — spent much of his childhood on the set of their “PTL” show or at their Heritage USA religious resort. Scandal ended his parents’ ministries in the 1980s, and dark, angry years ensued for the boy. In the 1990s he hooked up with Revolution, an edgy ministry bringing conservative Christian beliefs into dialogue with punk, skater and other subcultures. Pierced and tattooed, he has served with Revolution in Phoenix, Atlanta, and New York City, where in 2006 he started a small congregation in a Brooklyn barroom, emphasizing Jesus’s unconditional love. He was featured in a reality series, “One Punk Under God,” on the Sundance Channel in late 2006 and early 2007.
His 2001 autobiography is titled Son of a Preacher Man: My Search for Grace in the Shadows.
Peggy Campolo and Randy McCain present the 2010 award to Cynthia Clawson
Referred to by many as a “singer’s singer” and called “The most awesome voice in gospel music.” by Billboard Magazine, Cynthia Clawson has received a GRAMMY and five Dove Awards for her work as a song writer, vocal artist and musician. Her career has spanned over four decades with 22 recordings to her credit.
She was three years old when her father first asked her to sing in the small church he pastored, and Cynthia has not stopped since – from local neighborhood churches to Robert Schuller’s Hour of Power to London’s Wembley Stadium. Though never considered a southern gospel singer by critics and fans, she has been honored to be a frequent guest on Bill and Gloria Gaither’s Homecoming series. Cynthia has reached millions of people throughout the world with her music.
A graduate of Howard Payne University with a major in vocal performance and a minor in piano, Cynthia was awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters from her alma mater in 2007. She holds the same honorary degree from Houston Baptist University presented in 1995.
Her rendition of “Softly and Tenderly” set the evocative tone for the soundtrack of the Academy Award winning movie The Trip to Bountiful.
Included in her schedule, Cynthia has the opportunity to perform as a guest artist for Conspirare, a group recognized as the preeminent a cappella choral ensemble in the country. She performs with the GRAMMY-nominated choir, under the direction of Craig Hella Johnson, to full-house audiences each year.
Cynthia’s recently released recording, episodes, expresses honesty, passion and vulnerability. Their son, Will, produced the album and The Calla Lily Company, a partnership created by Cynthia and her husband, Ragan Courtney, has published her last three projects.
As well, the Company is re-releasing many of Cynthia’s most requested earlier works in a series called Cynthia Clawson Classics. Forever, Finest Hour, Immortal,The Way I Feel and You’re Welcome Here are currently available with five more titles to come.
Cynthia and Ragan are co-pastors of The Sanctuary Austin, Texas where they design worship services using theatrical arts and musical expression to communicate eternal truths.
Peggy Campolo and Randy McCain present the 2011 award to Leetha Scanzoni
Letha Dawson Scanzoni is an independent scholar and writer specializing in the intersection between religion and social issues. She has written on such topics as feminism, relationships of love and friendship, self-esteem and personal growth, human diversity, marriage and family living, divorce, aging and caregiving, sexuality and gender, sex ethics, social justice-oriented folk music, and physical and psychological family violence.
She is the co-author of the books, Is the Homosexual my Neighbor? and the other is What God has joined together….a Christian response in favor of gay marriage.
Peggy Campolo and Randy McCain present the 2012 award to Jimmy Creech
Jimmy Creech is co-founder of Faith In America, Inc.
A native of Goldsboro, North Carolina, he was an ordained elder in The United Methodist Church from 1970 to 1999. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Biblical Studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Master of Divinity from The Divinity School of Duke University. In 1965 and 1967, he studied with The Institute for Mediterranean Studies at Hebrew University and Hebrew Union Theological Seminary in Jerusalem, Israel, and at museums and archaeological sites in Israel, Greece, Cyprus, Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan. He served as a pastor in churches of The North Carolina Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church from 1970 to 1990.
Creech was appointed senior pastor of First United Methodist Church in Omaha, Nebraska, in July of 1996. Charges were brought against him for violating the Order and Discipline of the United Methodist Church after he celebrated a covenant ceremony for two women in September of 1997. He was acquitted during the church trial but charges were again filed against him by the Methodist Church in 1999 after he celebrated the holy union of two men in Chapel Hill, N.C.. The jury in that trial declared Creech guilty of “disobedience to the Order and Discipline of The United Methodist Church” and withdrew his credentials of ordination.
Since the summer of 1998, Creech has traveled around the country preaching in churches and speaking on college and university campuses, as well as to various community and national gay rights organizations. He recently completed writing a book, entitled Adam’s Gift, about his experiences of the Church’s struggle to welcome and accept lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons.
Creech has been active in a number of organizations, including the Raleigh HIV/AIDS Support Group; Methodist Federation for Social Action; Raleigh Religious Network for Gay and Lesbian Equality; AIDS Service Agency for Wake County (NC); North Carolina Pride Political Action Committee; Reconciling Ministries Network; North Carolinians Against the Death Penalty; People of Faith Against the Death Penalty (NC); North Carolina Low Income Housing Coalition; Covenant with North Carolinas Children; Omaha Faith Committee of Nebraskans Against the Death Penalty; Soulforce, Inc.; and North Carolina Religious Coalition for Marriage Equality.
He has been recognized with numerous distinguished awards for his work, including Lee and Mae Ball Award; North Carolinians Against Racist and Religious Violence Award; Paul Green Award; Triangle (NC) Business and Professional Guild Award; Heart of Freedom Award; North Carolina Pride Inc. Award; Metropolitan Community Church Saint Award; selected as one of OUT Magazine’s 100 in 1998 and 1999; Human Rights Campaign Equality Award; American People Award; 1999 Dignity Award; Pride Interfaith Coalition Award; Year 2000 Flagbearer Award; Triangle Community Service Award 2000; Straight Ally of the Year; and honored by The Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies in Religion and Ministry and Pacific School for Religion as “A Leading Voice” for Commitment to the Struggle of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender People for Honor and Dignity.
Peggy Campolo presents the 2013 Award to Roberta Kreider:
Roberta Showalter Kreider
Roberta Showalter Kreider who edited the collection “Together In Love: Faith Stories of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Couples. ” This collection features Randy and Gary’s story as well as other stories from the LGBTQ community.
from “http://www.chirhopress.com/products/Authors/kreider.htm“:
“Here is what Roberta writes about herself:
Roberta Showalter Kreider was born during a huge snowstorm on April 3, 1926, in a farmhouse near the small town of Inman in McPherson County, Kansas. Her three older brothers remember that they were sent upstairs to play and when they came down they had a baby sister. Two young cousins took a team and wagon across the fields to meet the doctor and bring him the remainder of the way. Roberta arrived before the doctor did.
She attended a two-room country elementary school near Yoder, Kansas. Her father was president of the small town bank and her mother was a homemaker. In 1943, Roberta graduated from a Mennonite high school in Hesston, Kansas.
Her preacher brother, who later became a psychologist, often asked her to teach summer Bible school in several states, including Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Mississippi, and Alabama, beginning after she was a freshman in high school.
There was a shortage of teachers during World War II, and after one semester of college, Roberta was granted an emergency certificate to teach. She and a friend boarded with a local family and taught in a two-room country school near Meade, Kansas. The first year she taught grades one through four and the seco
Peggy Campolo presents the 2014 Award to Brian McLaren:
Brian McLaren Peggy Campolo and Randy Eddy -McCain
Brian D. McLaren is an author, speaker, activist, and public theologian. A former college English teacher and pastor, he is an ecumenical global networker among innovative Christian leaders.
Born in 1956, he graduated from University of Maryland with degrees in English (BA, summa cum laude, 1978, and MA, in 1981). His academic interests included Medieval drama, Romantic poets, modern philosophical literature, and the novels of Dr. Walker Percy. In 2004, he was awarded a Doctor of Divinity Degree (honoris causa) from Carey Theological Seminary in Vancouver, BC, Canada, and in 2010, he received a second honorary doctorate, this one from Virginia Theological Seminary (Episcopal).
From 1978 to 1986, McLaren taught college English, and in 1982, he helped form Cedar Ridge Community Church, an innovative, nondenominational church in the Baltimore-Washington region (crcc.org). He left higher education in 1986 to serve as the church’s founding pastor and served in that capacity until 2006. During that time, Cedar Ridge earned a reputation as a leader among emerging missional congregations.
Brian has been active in networking and mentoring church planters and pastors since the mid 1980’s, and has assisted in the development of several new churches. He is a popular conference speaker and a frequent guest lecturer for denominational and ecumenical leadership gatherings – across the US and Canada, Latin America, Europe, Africa, and Asia. His public speaking covers a broad range of topics including postmodern thought and culture, Biblical studies, evangelism, leadership, global mission, spiritual formation, worship, pastoral survival and burnout, inter-religious dialogue, ecology, and social justice.
He is primarily known, however, as a thinker and writer. His first book, The Church on the Other Side: Doing Ministry in the Postmodern Matrix, (Zondervan, 1998, rev. ed. 2000) has been recognized as a primary portal into the current conversation about postmodern ministry. His second book, Finding Faith (Zondervan, 1999), is a contemporary apologetic, written for thoughtful seekers and skeptics. (It was later re-released as two short books, “A Search for What Makes Sense” and “A Search for What is Real.”) “More Ready Than You Realize” (Zondervan, 2002) presents a refreshing approach to spiritual friendship. “Adventures in Missing the Point” (coauthored with Dr. Anthony Campolo, Zondervan, 2003) explores theological reform in a postmodern context. “A Generous Orthodoxy” (Zondervan, 2004), is a personal confession and has been called a “manifesto of the emerging church conversation.”
His first work of teaching fiction (or creative-nonfiction), “A New Kind of Christian” (Jossey-Bass, 2001), won Christianity Today’s “Award of Merit” in 2002, and has become one of the pivotal texts for what is increasingly called “Emergence Christianity.” It was followed by “The Story We Find Ourselves In” (Jossey-Bass, 2003), which seeks to tell the Biblical story in a fresh way. Brian concluded this trilogy with “The Last Word and the Word After That” (Jossey-Bass, 2005), a book that reopened the question of hell and final judgment.
His 2006 release, “The Secret Message of Jesus” (Thomas Nelson), explores the theme of the kingdom of God in the teachings of Jesus. “Everything Must Change (Thomas Nelson, 2007) traces critical ways in which Jesus’ message of the kingdom of God confronts contemporary global crises. In “Finding Our Way Again” (Thomas Nelson, 2008), Brian draws resources from ancient traditions and practices to enrich spiritual formation today.
In “A New Kind of Christianity” (HarperOne, 2010), Brian articulated ten questions that are central to the emergence of a postmodern, post-colonial Christian faith. His 2011 HarperOne release, “Naked Spirituality,” offers “simple, doable, and durable” practices to help people deepen their life with God.
Brian’s “Why Did Jesus, Moses, the Buddha, and Mohammed Cross the Road? (Christian Identity in a Multi-Faith World)” is the premier release of Jericho Books (September 2012). It explores the intersection of religious identity, inter-religious hostility, and human solidarity.
Brian’s books have been translated into many languages, including Korean, Chinese, French, Swedish, Norwegian, German, and Spanish. He has written for or contributed interviews to many periodicals, including Leadership, Sojourners, Tikkun, Worship Leader, and Conversations. He is an active and popular blogger, a musician, and a songwriter, offering a variety of resources through his website, www.brianmclaren.net.
A frequent guest on television, radio, and news media programs, he has appeared on All Things Considered, Larry King Live, Nightline, and Religion and Ethics Newsweekly. His work has also been covered in Time (where he was listed as one of American’s 25 most influential evangelicals), Christianity Today, Christian Century, the Washington Post, Huffington Post, CNN.com, and many other print media.
He has taught or lectured at many seminaries and has served on a number of boards, including Emergent Village (emergentvillage.com), Sojourners (sojo.net), Mars Hill Graduate School (mhgs.edu), International Teams (iteams.org), and Off The Map (off-the-map.org), and he is a founding member of Red Letter Christians (redletterchristians.org).
Brian is married to Grace, and they have four adult children and four grandchildren. His personal interests include wildlife, ecology, fishing, hiking, music, art, and literature. www.brianmclaren.net/
Peggy Campolo presents the 2015 (a) Carrier Pigeon Award to Dr David P Gushee
Dr. David P. Gushee is Distinguished University Professor of Christian Ethics and Director of the Center for Theology and Public Life at Mercer University. Widely regarded as one of the leading moral voices in American Christianity, he is the author or editor of 20 books and hundreds of articles in his field, including Righteous Gentiles of the Holocaust,Kingdom Ethics, The Sacredness of Human Life, and, most recently, Changing Our Mind. Dr. Gushee has always accompanied his scholarly production with church work (First Baptist Church, Decatur), activism (human rights, creation care, LGBT acceptance), opinion writing (Washington Post, Huffington Post, Baptist News Global), board service (Public Religion Research, Sojourners), and domestic and global media consultation. He has lectured on every continent, with endowed lectures scheduled in New Zealand and Holland in 2015. Dr. Gushee has been married to Jeanie for 30 years. They are the parents of two daughters and a son, and the grandparents of a beautiful baby boy, Jonah. They reside in Atlanta.
As Distinguished University Professor, Dr. Gushee teaches at McAfee School of Theology and throughout Mercer University in his specialty, Christian ethics. As Director of the Center for Theology and Public Life, he organizes events and courses to advance quality conversations about major issues arising at the intersection of theology, ethics, and public policy. Beyond his work at Mercer, he currently serves as Senior Columnist for Baptist News Global. Dr. Gushee also serves on the board of directors of Sojourners and as Vice-Chair of the board of the Public Religion Research Institute. He is also a member on the Death Penalty Committee & Detainee Treatment Takforce of the Constitution Project. He has most recently become a Faith Consultant for the Family Acceptance Project.
Dr. Gushee is a scholar, activist, and churchman. His research interests focus on the ethical teachings of Jesus Christ and the Christian theological-ethical tradition, together with its contemporary implications for Christian discipleship and public witness. He has published twenty books and many hundreds of essays, book chapters, articles, reviews, and opinion pieces. Probably his most widely noted books before Fall 2014 were Righteous Gentiles of the Holocaust (Fortress, 1994/Paragon House, 2003), Kingdom Ethics (IVP, 2003),The Future of Faith in American Politics (Baylor, 2008), a devotional work with his wife Jeanie called Yours is the Day, Lord, Yours is the Night (Thomas Nelson, 2012), and the broadly endorsed Sacredness of Human Life (Eerdmans, 2013), which interrogates what it has meant, and proposes what it should mean, to say that human life is sacred. It is his most ambitious and demanding scholarly project to date, and has been nominated for the prestigious Grawemeyer Award.
As an activist, Professor Gushee was the principal drafter of both the Evangelical Climate Initiative (2006) and the Evangelical Declaration against Torture (2007), both of which changed the conversation in church and society about their respective issues. He is regularly quoted in major national media of all types, including NPR, the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Wall Street Journal, as an authority on the role of religion, especially evangelicals, in American public life, and as a voice for civility and dialogue across our cultural divides. He maintains an active voice on social media (twitter: @dpgushee).
Dr. Gushee’s release of Changing Our Mind (Read the Spirit books) in late October 2014 added a new chapter to his scholarship and activism. In this book, Dr. Gushee makes a biblical case for a transformative rethinking of the LGBT issue and for the opening of all Christian hearts to full acceptance of so often marginalized and mistreated gay Christians in the life of the Church. Since the release of the book he has sought to embody his repentant commitment to serving the well-being of the LGBT community by joining the work of the Family Acceptance Project as their Faith Consultant, becoming a member of the advisory board of the Atlanta chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, and accepting invitations for a busy lecture season on LGBT & Christianity issues in 2015.
Dr. Gushee, his beloved wife Jeanie, and their regal cat Noah live in Atlanta, Georgia, where they eagerly await visits from their grown children Holly (with her husband Jonathan), David, and Marie. An ordained Baptist minister, Dr. Gushee and his wife attend First Baptist Church in Decatur, where he teaches a weekly Sunday School class, as well as Holy Cross Catholic Church. David is a long-time Atlanta Braves fan and, at 53, still very much enjoys competing with his students and colleagues on the tennis court.
Peggy Campolo presents the 2015 (b) Carrier Pigeon Award to Stan Mitchell
In a surprise for this conference Peggy and Randy Eddy-McCain decided to also award a Carrier Pigeon award to Stan Mitchell.
Stan Mitchell, Senior Pastor Grace Point Church in Nashville Tn. Pastor Mitchell has been to Open Door in 2004. He recently made news by announcing that his evangelical congregation would now move to full inclusion of LGBTQ folks saying in part
“Our position that these siblings of ours, other than heterosexual, our position that these our siblings cannot have the full privileges of membership, but only partial membership, has changed,” he said, as many in the congregation stood to their feet in applause, and other sat in silence. “Full privileges are extended now to you with the same expectations of faithfulness, sobriety, holiness, wholeness, fidelity, godliness, skill, and willingness. That is expected of all. Full membership means being able to serve in leadership and give all of your gifts and to receive all the sacraments; not only communion and baptism, but child dedication and marriage.”
With those words, GracePointe became one of the first evangelical megachurches in the country to openly stand for full equality and inclusion of the LGBTQ community, along with EastLake Community Church near Seattle. The results of the conversation, he told his congregation, were not unanimous or exhaustive, but they were sufficient.
Peggy Campolo presents the 2016 (a) Carrier Pigeon Award to John Pavlovitz:
John Pavlovitz says of himself on his website www.Johnpavlovitz.com :
“I’m an 18-year ministry veteran trying to figure out how to love people well and to live-out the red letters of Jesus.
I enjoy songwriting, exercising, cooking, hiking, and eating emotionally.
This is a place where I say stuff that I think needs to be said.
I welcome you to say what you believe needs to be said in response, knowing that ultimately the truth is somewhere in the middle.
I proudly serve at North Raleigh Community Church. I pastor people in the Raleigh area and throughout the world.
Thanks for stopping by, and for reading the musings of a flawed, passionate, work in progress.”
John is a pastor and blogger. In 2014, John wrote a blog titled “If I Have Gay Children: Four Promises from a Christian Pastor.” It has been downloaded, shared and read by over five million people. John’s articles regularly appear at The Huffington Post. He is one of the strongest voices advocating for church inclusion for all people in the country today. He also has written extensively about race relations, depression, the Stanford rape verdict, and many other important topics. He is kind, compassionate and bold.
Peggy Campolo presents the 2016 (b) Carrier Pigeon Award to Sheryl Myers:
Pastor Sheryl Myers has been associate pastor of Open Door Community Church for many years.
Sheryl Myers lives in Hot Springs, Arkansas with her husband Jack. Sheryl retired as a kindergarten teacher for more than thirty years. She and Jack are the parents of three grown sons, Marcus, Matt, and Craig.
When son Craig came out to them as gay at the age of sixteen, Sheryl found herself on a journey that began as a search for understanding of their gay son. She discovered on that journey that her child had spent his young life with a secret he had been afraid to share with his family and she grieved for the “motherless child” he had been. She began to grieve for all “motherless children” everywhere, no matter their age, and her desire was to affirm them, to love them and embrace them when their own mothers couldn’t or wouldn’t, and to help reconnect parents with their beautiful GLBT sons and daughters.
Along the way, she heard the hate-filled messages coming from many people who called themselves Christians, yet condemned her gay son, and those like him, to hell. When she began her earnest search for God’s heart and the truth of Jesus’ love, He led her to Open Door Community Church and Pastor Randy McCain. She found Open Door to be an oasis of God’s unconditional love and grace, a place where serving Him and loving all his children, gay and non-gay, is joy unspeakable.
Sheryl was ordained as a minister in September 2005 during our annual Fall Conference and assumed duties as Associate Pastor of Open Door Community Church.
Sheryl posted the following concerning the Supreme Court ruling on Marriage Equality on her facebook page:
“June 26th, 2015…What a day! I promised our wonderful son Craig, when he came out to us 20 years ago at the age of 16, that someday he would have the right to marry the person he loves, because we live in a country that pledges justice for all and the right to the pursuit of happiness!.
Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you to Judge Piazza, Pulaski County Clerk Larry Crane for your courage and kindness, Judge Wendell Griffen for the same and for sharing the love of God with the outcast Children of God, to Pastor Randy-Eddy McCain and his husband Gary for showing the world what beautiful human beings and a beautiful marriage look like….for being the” poster children” for this hard- won fight when few were able to step up and take the risk….. and remaining grace-filled followers of Christ all the while!!!.
Thank you, thank-you, thank-you to the millions of brave LGBT persons who have had the courage to show the world that their “true “colors are beautiful”, including my hundreds of personal friends!!!!.
Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you, to the non-gay friends and families who have helped progressive, loving people everywhere move this ball down the field! Thank-you to” Modern Family” and Whoopi Goldberg and the ladies of the View!
Most of all, thank-you to our courageous, compassionate president Obama!!! And thank-you God for your followers…we know them by their Love!!!
As I watched the anxious crowd in front of the Supreme Court awaiting the decision, I expected their reaction and mine to be an eruption of cheers…but instead it was an eruption of tears!! The cheers came, but Craig and I shared ours over the phone with 5 minutes of joyful crying! LGBT people everywhere, I love you!!! Congratulations!! To the 55 couples I have married…Best Wishes for a Lifetime of Happiness Together!!!”
Peggy Campolo presents the 2016 (c) Carrier Pigeon Award to Dick King:
Pastor Dick King is Pastor Emeritus of Indian Hills Church and has led his flock from a Southern Baptist Church to becoming an independent church in part to his changing perspective on the interpretation of scripture. Since attending our conference in 2014 his understanding of LGBTQ inclusion has taken a major shift, and he is now more than welcoming and affirming. He says his 70th birthday was the beginning of his second period of life and learning and teaching acceptance of LGBTQ folks is a priority now.
Peggy Campolo presents the 2017 (a) Carrier Pigeon Award to Ed Bacon:
Ed Bacon – For the past seventeen years (ending 2016) Ed Bacon has been the Rector of All Saints Church in Pasadena, with over 4,000 congregants. He has been a guest on Oprah Winfrey’s Soul Series on Oprah & Friends Radio, discussing 21st century spirituality, and has been a guest panelist in the Spirituality 101 segment of The Oprah Show’s “Living Your Best Life” series. His first book, 8 HABITS OF LOVE, was published in September by Grand Central Life
A progressive spokesperson on issues of faith and justice for all regardless of race, gender, faith, or sexual orientation, Bacon has been featured in national media including being a guest panelist in the Spirituality 101 segment of The Oprah Winfrey Show’s “Living Your Best Life” series. In January 2009 his statement to a call-in viewer that “being gay is a gift from God” received national attention.[2] As a result, Bacon was invited to return to the show and soon became a regular on Oprah’s Soul Series on Oprah & Friends Radio, recording two shows a month for eighteen months.
Bacon’s stance on homosexuality and gay marriage has been well documented. All Saints Church, where he is a rector, has been blessing same-sex unions since the early 1990s, before his arrival. Prior to him taking his post at All Saints Church, Bacon had to decide whether to continue with the blessings. He decided in favor of it.
Additionally, to further promote gay rights, he co-founded the groups Beyond Inclusion and Claiming the Blessing (gay and straight Episcopalians organized on the parish and national levels to realize justice for gays and lesbians), and he co-founded ICUJP (Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace) and Abrahamic Faiths Peacemaking Initiative (AFPI). He also founded New Vision Partners, a non-profit organization that prepares youth to live successfully in 21st century interfaith environment, and he serves on Human Rights Watch California Committee South and on other national and community boards.
Bacon contributes to Truthdig,[3] Huffington Post, and 
Oprah.com.[4] He is also the author of the book 8 Habits of Love: Open Your Heart, Open Your Mind (Grand Central Life & Style, September 2012).
Peggy Campolo presents the 2017 (b) Carrier Pigeon Award to Vince Anderson:
Rev Vince Anderson – Rev Vince Anderson is the founding pastor of Barstool Tabernacle in Brooklyn NY. Reverend Vince is a New York City based musician. He has had a regular show at Union Pool for decades, which Time Out describes as “somewhere between Wesley Willis and Tammy Faye Messner”. “His music is described as “dirty gospel”. He has been described as a Brooklyn institution. Barstool Tabernacle is a newly planted church community in meeting in Pete’s Candy Store, a bar in NYC. It is the successor organization of Revolution NYC.
Rev Vince wrote our church hymn :A Heaping Portion of God’s Grace
Peggy Campolo presents the 2018 Carrier Pigeon Award to Danny Cortez:
Peggy Campolo, Danny Cortez, Randy Eddy-McCain 2018 Carrier Pigeon Award Presentation
Pastor Cortez says “,My name is Danny Cortez and I am married to my wonderful wife Abby. I’m the father of four children. I’m a pastor, chaplain and artist.
I was raised in a Catholic family but I became “born again” when a stranger shared a Christian tract with me while I was in high school. I got involved with Calvary Chapel in Downey, CA during my formative years. In that church, I became interested in apologetics and became an avid student of Walter Martin and Josh McDowell. I also became heavily involved with Campus Crusade for Christ at Long Beach State. Through Campus Crusade for Christ, my interest in world evangelism grew as I participated in several missions opportunities.
After graduation from Long Beach State, I went on to prepare for ministry at Talbot Theological Seminary at Biola University. I became a youth pastor at a Southern Baptist Church in La Puente, CA. The church sent me in 1997 to plant what is now New Heart Community Church in Whittier, CA.
As I pastored this multi-ethnic congregation, we began to see God’s care for the oppressed. We started a ministry called My Refuge House that sought to care for those exploited in the commercial sex trade. I also took on the role of hospice chaplain and continued to discover the presence of God among people who are often overlooked. Ministry in hard real life settings began to expose many areas in my theology that was too rigid in a world that wasn’t black and white. But I began to see that God was present outside of my theological maps. God became bigger and much more beautiful.”
New Heart was dismissed from the Southern Baptist Convention for becoming an inclusive space for LGBTQ+ people. He recently started Estuary Space (www.estuaryspace.org), a non-profit that helps people and churches navigate through the complexities of faith and sexuality. He.serves as a board member of Q Christian Fellowship (formerly The Gay Christian Network) He helped establish the Union of Affirming Christians, a gathering of faith leaders addressing public policy.He’s been active with NQAPIA to help API families towards acceptance of their Queer family members. He also co-founded My Refuge House, a non-profit that restores survivors of commercial sexual exploitation (CSE) and abuse. He serves regularly as a hospice chaplain.
He earned is M. Div. at Talbot Theological Seminary, La Miranda, Ca. and is a graduate of Arrow Leadership, BC Canada. He and his wife Abby and their 4 Filipino children live in the Los Angeles area.
Peggy Campolo presents the 2019 Carrier Pigeon Award to Anna Golladay:
(This Article is from the UM NEWS: By Kathy L. Gilbert March 7, 2018 | UMNS)
“The Holston Conference has withdrawn the license for a local pastor who officiated at a same-sex wedding.
Anna Golladay was serving as associate pastor at St. Marks and St. Elmo United Methodist churches in Chattanooga, Tennessee, until her dismissal on Feb. 28.
Church law does not allow United Methodist pastors to officiate at same-sex weddings.
The Rev. Randy Martin, district superintendent, said he was presented with a copy of a marriage license and a photo from a same-sex wedding, including information that Golladay had officiated. When he asked her about it, she confirmed the information, which he then turned over to the conference district committee on ministry.
Golladay said she was not asked to confirm she had officiated at a same-sex wedding until after the committee had voted.
The Scenic South District committee on ministry voted to withdraw her license, Martin said.
Ordained United Methodist pastors can be brought up on charges for officiating at same-sex weddings, Martin said. Martin said no charges were brought because it was a personnel matter and Golladay admitted she had officiated at the wedding. Licensed local pastors can be charged under Paragraph 320.3 of the Book of Discipline.
Martin said Golladay is welcome to continue to be a member and be as involved in the churches’ ministries.
St. Marks and St. Elmo are part of the Reconciling Ministries Network, an independent, grassroots group that actively works for LGBTQ people in the church. Golladay was appointed to St. Marks in 2016, and the Holston Conference put the two churches in the same charge in 2017.
Golladay said these congregations are almost exclusively LGBTQ individuals and straight people who support them.
“On Monday, Feb. 26, 2018, the district committee on ministry of the Scenic South District voted to remove my credentials because I performed a wedding between two women,” Golladay wrote in a statement posted on Reconciling Ministries Network. “On Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2018, I was notified of the decision. It was that concise.”
Golladay said she was at both churches on March 4 when Martin made the announcement about her dismissal.
“I want very much for my congregants to stand in the gap of this conflict,” she said. “I felt it was necessary for me to model what that looks like by being there when my dismissal was announced.”
The Rev. Gary Ihfe, pastor of both congregations, posted a message about Golladay’s dismissal on Facebook on March 5.
“Tears were shed, hugs were given, and prayers were said,” he wrote. “I am so sorry for the pain that is being felt by many of our families who feel as though they have come under attack.”
Barry Condra, a member of St. Elmo and chair of the staff-parish relations committee, said he is an openly gay man who has been a member of St. Elmo for 15 years.
“My first reaction when I got the call from our district superintendent telling me of her dismissal was to just run and leave the church,” Condra said. He said he decided to stay to help newer members of the church not leave “hurt and wounded yet again from organized religion.”
Golladay said she is enrolled at Iliff Theological Seminary pursuing a master’s degree in theological studies with a concentration on social justice.
“I will be continuing my pursuit of that degree but am uncertain if it will ever morph into an M-Div. (Master of Divinity degree),” she said.
“I will continue to work with both congregations as needed. Many are anxious to continue the fight for full inclusion in the church. This has lit a fire under them, and I’m honored to be with them as we all navigate these waters together.”