Champion of inclusion, Rev. Gregory Dell Dies

Surrounded by his family, the Rev. Gregory Dell, champion of inclusion in The United Methodist Church, died Oct. 30 in Raleigh, N.C., after battling Parkinson's disease for more than a decade. To the last, Greg Dell spoke up for those on the margins, even when he could no longer physically speak, according to those who knew him best. He was 70.

Social media erupted Oct. 30 and 31 with tributes to Rev. Dell, a trailblazing lifelong activist for marginalized people. Among the posts on Facebook:

Rev. Dell was best known for his ministry at Broadway United Methodist Church in the heart of Chicago's gay community. That ministry led him in 1998 to conduct what was then known as a "sacred union" ceremony – a religious blessing of relationship – for a gay couple in the church.

The action followed a restriction, adopted by the 1996 General Conference, that no United Methodist clergy should conduct such religious ceremonies, since at that time there was no legal marriage for same-sex couples in the United States. A complaint about Rev. Dell's action was filed with the Northern Illinois Annual Conference, the region unit that included Dell's congregation.

As an article by Kate Arthur on the Illinois Wesley University website put it: "After being formally charged with violating the same-sex union ban, Rev. Dell was tried by a jury of 13 Methodist ministers in March 1999. During the closely watched trial, Rev. Dell argued that his ordination vows to serve his congregation took precedence over church rules. Stephen Williams, a Methodist pastor who served as prosecutor in the case, countered that 'the Church has the right to define and hold to its teachings and to ask its pastors to stay within those boundaries.'

"A jury of 13 voted 10 to 3 to suspend him indefinitely, making him the first Methodist minister in the [United States] to be penalized for the violation. But the suspension would be lifted if he pledged not to do it again. Again he refused."

Rev. Dell's suspension was reduced eventually to one year. He returned to Broadway UMC and continued to bless gay couples, but in ways that didn't violate church law.

“I don’t know how to do anything different. This is who I am. This is what I’ve been called to do and that’s to minister to all of God’s people.”

– Rev. Greg Dell, in a 2008 article

He was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in July 2006. Ironically, the neuromuscular disease first attacked his vocal chords. He had intended to preach his final sermon on Easter Sunday 2007, but instead woke up that morning with such a severe stutter that he was unintelligible, according to the Illinois Wesleyan article.

After graduating from Illinois Wesleyan, where he was active in the Civil Rights movement, Rev. Dell chose to obtain his ministerial degree at United Methodist-related Duke University Divinity School in Durham, N.C. He and his wife Jade, also an activist, retired to a nearby Raleigh, N.C., multi-level care facility enabling Rev. Dell to be as active as his disease permitted.

As recently as April of this year, Rev. and Mrs. Dell were involved in protests of North Carolina's House Bill No. 2, the now-infamous state law barring transgender people from using public restroom facilities corresponding to their gender identity. With his wife's help, Rev. Dell joined in a reminiscence of protests he organized at the 2000 General Conference in Cleveland, Ohio, with his clergy colleague, the Rev. Gilbert H. Caldwell.

"My second arrest at the Cleveland General Conference with Greg Dell and others was a 'mountaintop spiritual experience' because of the unifying spirit with which we confronted The United Methodist Church's homophobia," Rev. Caldwell wrote in "Hateful Music of Anti-Gay Legislation Lingers On."

A Dell family representative posted a note on Facebook saying that a memorial service for Rev. Dell will be scheduled soon, probably in Chicago.

Cynthia B. Astle serves as Editor and Founder of United Methodist Insight.