Three Bishops Honored for Championing LGBTQ Inclusion

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CENTENNIAL, Colorado— Three former bishops who served as episcopal leaders of the Mountain Sky Conference for a combined total of 28 years — Melvin E. Wheatley, Roy I. Sano, and Mary Ann Swenson — will receive the 2025 Bishop Karen Oliveto/Robin Ridenour Award for championing church inclusiveness.

The United Methodist Association of Retired Clergy & Friends (UMARC) will honor the three trailblazers who were among 15 national episcopal leaders that signed the 1996 Denver General Conference declaration opposing United Methodism’s anti-LGBTQ+ polity.  At a time of widespread societal bigotry and ecclesial discrimination in the church and society, they also ensured that LGBTQ+ persons were more welcome in Mountain Sky churches.

“The purpose of this award is to honor individuals, churches, or organizations, who have significantly advanced the human and/or ecclesial rights of LGBT persons within The United Methodist Church,” noted UMARC Co-Chairs, the Rev. Dr. Donald E. Messer, Centennial, CO, and the Rev. Dr. Harvey Martz, Highlands Ranch, CO. “Without question, these three leaders were ethically light-years ahead of most members of the denomination.”

Rev. Kay Palmer Marsh, Award Committee Chair, Longmont, CO, praised all 15 bishops who courageously shocked the church in 1996, but “UMARC especially wanted to recognize these three bishops who dared to create a climate of acceptance for all people regardless of race, gender, or sexual orientation in our four states of Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, and Montana.”

Retired Bishop Karen Oliveto and her spouse, deaconess Robin Ridenour, served the Mountain Sky Area from 1996 to 2024.  Oliveto was the first openly lesbian bishop in United Methodism. 

Presentation of the award will occur at St. Andrew United Methodist Church, Highlands Ranch, Colorado, during the June 12 Mountain Sky evening plenary led by Bishop Kristin Stoneking.  A stipend of $250 will be given to the Reconciling Ministries Network.  The pioneering organization for inclusiveness received the inaugural 2024 Oliveto/Ridenour Award. 

Wheatley, who died in 2009, was a well-known champion of human rights, having defended Japanese Americans during their forced internment during World War II. He was the first bishop to speak out against United Methodist policy when he refused to sign the 1980 episcopal document denouncing gays and lesbians. Accused of heresy in 1982 when he appointed a gay pastor, the Rev. Julian Rush, to a Denver parish, he was absolved at trial but got much hate mail. 

Sano, who experienced the stigmatization and indignity of the Japanese internment at the age of 11, was elected the first Japanese American bishop in 1984.  He advocated for farmworkers and immigrants at the Mexican border.  As a theological professor for United Methodist polity at the Pacific School of Religion, he helped his seminary student, Karen P. Oliveto, in the 1980s to navigate her ordination process with integrity.

Swenson, elected bishop in 1992, was host bishop of the 1996 Denver General Conference, when she signed the public dissent. This reflected her unwavering commitment to inclusivity and justice in both church and society, including same-gender marriage.  She supported Bishop Oliveto when attempts were made to remove Oliveto from the episcopacy. In retirement she championed human rights as Vice Moderator of the World Council of Churches.

UMARC Steering Committee member Ben Roe, Arvada, Colorado, underscored that “all 15 deserve honor and appreciation for their work and witness for full inclusion of LGBTQIA+ persons. The Rocky Mountain region was fortunate to have three who blazed the path forward.”

The other bishops signing the 1996 Declaration were Judith Craig, Ohio West Area; William W. Dew, Jr., Portland Area; Calvin D. McConnell, Seattle Area; Susan M. Morrison, Philadelphia Area; Albert “Fritz” Mutti, Kansas Area; Donald A. Ott, Michigan Area; Sharon Zimmerman Rader, Wisconsin Area; Melvin G. Talbert, San Francisco Area; Joseph H. Yeakel, Washington Area; C. Dale White (retired), Newport, Rhode Island; Jesse R. DeWitt, Naperville, Illinois (retired); and Leontine T.C. Kelly (retired), San Mateo, California.

Rev. Dr. Donald E. Messer is Co-Chair of the United Methodist Association of Retired Clergy & Friends (UMARC), & Board Chair, Center for Health and Hope, Centennial, Colorado.