The Rev. Paul Abels (1937-1992) was the first openly gay minister with a congregation in a major Christian denomination in America (from New York Times obituary on 3/14/92). Paul was the pastor of the Washington Square United Methodist Church in New York City from 1973 to 1984. This congregation in Greenwich Village was locally known as the Peace Church for its opposition to the Vietnam War and for its large gay and lesbian membership.
Paul was born in Yellow Springs, Ohio, on August 4, 1937, to Carrie Mae (Atkins) and James Albert Abels. He was educated in the public schools of Yellow Springs and Cedarville, Ohio (where during high school he had a column in the town's weekly newspaper) and enter the college of liberal arts at Drew in 1955. Paul earned a B.A. degree from Drew University in 1959 and a M. Div. in 1963. He was ordained an Elder in the Northern New Jersey Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church in 1963. Paul also earned a Master of Sacred Music degree from United Theological Seminary in 1965. During this period he served churches as minister of music in Towaco and Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey, and as pastor in West New York, New Jersey.
Paul worked for the National Council of Churches from 1964 to 1969 as program assistant in youth ministry and later as Director for the Arts. He compiled and edited Anthology of Religious Folk Music and New Hymns for a New Day . The latter publication, used widely as a worship resource, led him to the forefront of advocates of new music in the church and in this capacity he led workshops and lectured at colleges and universities in the U.S. and Canada. Paul's arrangements of folk hymns have been widely reprinted in church music collections throughout the U.S., Canada, Japan, Australia and Sweden.
In 1969 he left the NCC to become a freelance performing arts manager. Among his activities were Provo Muse, the first nonprofit performing arts management company in the U.S., director of church music for Galaxy Music Corporation, and director of the Westbeth Artists Housing Community.
In 1973 Paul was appointed pastor of Washington Square United Methodist Church. While at Washington Square, he initiated a $1.5 million restoration campaign, planned the church's 125th anniversary, and worked with the many community groups housed in the building, including the Harvey Milk School, a parent-run day care center, and many lesbian/gay support and social groups.
On Sunday, November 27, 1977, Abels was featured in a New York Times article entitled "Minister Sponsors Homosexual Rituals." The article told about four "covenant services" that Paul had performed in recent months. And in the article Paul identifies himself as a "homosexual."
Controversy arose throughout the denomination with many critics calling for his removal. Bishop Ralph Ward asked Paul to take a leave of absence. Paul refused and his appointment was upheld by vote of the New York Annual Conference. The bishop then appealed to the Judicial Council, highest court in United Methodism, which ruled in 1979 that Abels was in "good standing" and in "effective relation" and could remain as pastor at Washington Square.
Paul took early retirement from the pastorate in June, 1984, following the vote of the 1984 General Conference of the United Methodist Church to bar the ordination and appointment of "self-avowed, practicing homosexuals."
He and his partner, Thom Hunt, moved to Rensselaerville, New York where they restored the historic Catalpa House and opened it as a bed and breakfast. From 1984 to 1989, Paul was Executive Director of Equinox Services Agency in Albany. After leaving Equinox, he devoted his time to innkeeping, writing and consulting. He died on March 12, 1992, from complications related to AIDS.
______________________________
The Rev. Paul Abels Dies at 54; Gay Pastor Lead 'Peace' Church
By BRUCE LAMBERT
The Rev. Paul M. Abels, a former Greenwich Village pastor who was the first openly gay minister with a congregation in a major Christian denomination in America, died on Thursday at his home in Rensselaerville, N.Y. He was 54 years old.
He died of complications from AIDS, said Thomas Hunt, his companion for the past 14 years.
Mr. Abels was the pastor of the Washington Square United Methodist Church from 1973 to 1984. It was known by some as the Peace Church for its opposition to the Vietnam War, and it had a large membership of gay men and women. Object of Criticism
Controversy arose when he publicly acknowledged his homosexuality in 1977 and began performing "covenant ceremonies" for gay couples who were unable to have legal weddings.
Citing a Biblical passage against homosexuality, critics called for his removal. His bishop urged Mr. Abels to take a leave, but he declined, and a regional Methodist body voted in his favor. The bishop appealed to a national church council, which decided Mr. Abels could retain his congregation.
But the criticism continued, and he retired shortly before a 1984 national church conference voted to bar actively gay men and women from ordination or service as clergy. That is still the policy of the Methodists and most other denominations. Mr. Abels remained a Methodist and became active with Affirmation, a national group of gay and lesbian church members.
After leaving the ministry, he ran Equinox, a nonprofit organization in Albany for runaway teen-agers, battered women, the homeless and drug and alcohol abusers. Since 1989 he worked as a consultant and, with Mr. Hunt as partner, opened Catalpa House, a bed-and-breakfast tourist home in Rensselaerville.
He was a past president of the Rensselaerville Historical Society and Rensselaerville Historic District Association. He was a founder of Provo Muse, a performing arts organization, and the Gay and Lesbian Emergency Fund in New York for victims of anti-gay violence.
Mr. Abels was born in Xenia, Ohio. He graduated from Drew University and its seminary and also earned a master's degree in sacred music from Union Theological Seminary. He was an organist and pianist.
He worked for the National Council of Churches in New York from 1964 to 1969, as a program assistant in music ministry and later as director for the arts. He compiled and edited the "Anthology of Religious Folk Music" and "New Hymns for a New Day," which the council published. Some of his own hymns were included in the books. From 1969 to 1972, he worked in performing arts management. In 1972 and 1973, he was the general administrator of the Westbeth artists' housing center.
He had been married and divorced. He is survived by two sisters, Leola Abels and Alberta Paul, and two brothers, Stanley and Lowell, all of the Cedarville, Ohio, area.
Paul was born in Yellow Springs, Ohio, on August 4, 1937, to Carrie Mae (Atkins) and James Albert Abels. He was educated in the public schools of Yellow Springs and Cedarville, Ohio (where during high school he had a column in the town's weekly newspaper) and enter the college of liberal arts at Drew in 1955. Paul earned a B.A. degree from Drew University in 1959 and a M. Div. in 1963. He was ordained an Elder in the Northern New Jersey Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church in 1963. Paul also earned a Master of Sacred Music degree from United Theological Seminary in 1965. During this period he served churches as minister of music in Towaco and Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey, and as pastor in West New York, New Jersey.
Paul worked for the National Council of Churches from 1964 to 1969 as program assistant in youth ministry and later as Director for the Arts. He compiled and edited Anthology of Religious Folk Music and New Hymns for a New Day . The latter publication, used widely as a worship resource, led him to the forefront of advocates of new music in the church and in this capacity he led workshops and lectured at colleges and universities in the U.S. and Canada. Paul's arrangements of folk hymns have been widely reprinted in church music collections throughout the U.S., Canada, Japan, Australia and Sweden.
In 1969 he left the NCC to become a freelance performing arts manager. Among his activities were Provo Muse, the first nonprofit performing arts management company in the U.S., director of church music for Galaxy Music Corporation, and director of the Westbeth Artists Housing Community.
In 1973 Paul was appointed pastor of Washington Square United Methodist Church. While at Washington Square, he initiated a $1.5 million restoration campaign, planned the church's 125th anniversary, and worked with the many community groups housed in the building, including the Harvey Milk School, a parent-run day care center, and many lesbian/gay support and social groups.
On Sunday, November 27, 1977, Abels was featured in a New York Times article entitled "Minister Sponsors Homosexual Rituals." The article told about four "covenant services" that Paul had performed in recent months. And in the article Paul identifies himself as a "homosexual."
Controversy arose throughout the denomination with many critics calling for his removal. Bishop Ralph Ward asked Paul to take a leave of absence. Paul refused and his appointment was upheld by vote of the New York Annual Conference. The bishop then appealed to the Judicial Council, highest court in United Methodism, which ruled in 1979 that Abels was in "good standing" and in "effective relation" and could remain as pastor at Washington Square.
Paul took early retirement from the pastorate in June, 1984, following the vote of the 1984 General Conference of the United Methodist Church to bar the ordination and appointment of "self-avowed, practicing homosexuals."
He and his partner, Thom Hunt, moved to Rensselaerville, New York where they restored the historic Catalpa House and opened it as a bed and breakfast. From 1984 to 1989, Paul was Executive Director of Equinox Services Agency in Albany. After leaving Equinox, he devoted his time to innkeeping, writing and consulting. He died on March 12, 1992, from complications related to AIDS.
______________________________
The Rev. Paul Abels Dies at 54; Gay Pastor Lead 'Peace' Church
By BRUCE LAMBERT
The Rev. Paul M. Abels, a former Greenwich Village pastor who was the first openly gay minister with a congregation in a major Christian denomination in America, died on Thursday at his home in Rensselaerville, N.Y. He was 54 years old.
He died of complications from AIDS, said Thomas Hunt, his companion for the past 14 years.
Mr. Abels was the pastor of the Washington Square United Methodist Church from 1973 to 1984. It was known by some as the Peace Church for its opposition to the Vietnam War, and it had a large membership of gay men and women. Object of Criticism
Controversy arose when he publicly acknowledged his homosexuality in 1977 and began performing "covenant ceremonies" for gay couples who were unable to have legal weddings.
Citing a Biblical passage against homosexuality, critics called for his removal. His bishop urged Mr. Abels to take a leave, but he declined, and a regional Methodist body voted in his favor. The bishop appealed to a national church council, which decided Mr. Abels could retain his congregation.
But the criticism continued, and he retired shortly before a 1984 national church conference voted to bar actively gay men and women from ordination or service as clergy. That is still the policy of the Methodists and most other denominations. Mr. Abels remained a Methodist and became active with Affirmation, a national group of gay and lesbian church members.
After leaving the ministry, he ran Equinox, a nonprofit organization in Albany for runaway teen-agers, battered women, the homeless and drug and alcohol abusers. Since 1989 he worked as a consultant and, with Mr. Hunt as partner, opened Catalpa House, a bed-and-breakfast tourist home in Rensselaerville.
He was a past president of the Rensselaerville Historical Society and Rensselaerville Historic District Association. He was a founder of Provo Muse, a performing arts organization, and the Gay and Lesbian Emergency Fund in New York for victims of anti-gay violence.
Mr. Abels was born in Xenia, Ohio. He graduated from Drew University and its seminary and also earned a master's degree in sacred music from Union Theological Seminary. He was an organist and pianist.
He worked for the National Council of Churches in New York from 1964 to 1969, as a program assistant in music ministry and later as director for the arts. He compiled and edited the "Anthology of Religious Folk Music" and "New Hymns for a New Day," which the council published. Some of his own hymns were included in the books. From 1969 to 1972, he worked in performing arts management. In 1972 and 1973, he was the general administrator of the Westbeth artists' housing center.
He had been married and divorced. He is survived by two sisters, Leola Abels and Alberta Paul, and two brothers, Stanley and Lowell, all of the Cedarville, Ohio, area.
The Rev. Paul Abels (1937-1992) was the first openly gay minister with a congregation in a major Christian denomination in America (from New York Times obituary on 3/14/92). Paul was the pastor of the Washington Square United Methodist Church in New York City from 1973 to 1984. This congregation in Greenwich Village was locally known as the Peace Church for its opposition to the Vietnam War and for its large gay and lesbian membership.
Paul was born in Yellow Springs, Ohio, on August 4, 1937, to Carrie Mae (Atkins) and James Albert Abels. He was educated in the public schools of Yellow Springs and Cedarville, Ohio (where during high school he had a column in the town's weekly newspaper) and enter the college of liberal arts at Drew in 1955. Paul earned a B.A. degree from Drew University in 1959 and a M. Div. in 1963. He was ordained an Elder in the Northern New Jersey Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church in 1963. Paul also earned a Master of Sacred Music degree from United Theological Seminary in 1965. During this period he served churches as minister of music in Towaco and Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey, and as pastor in West New York, New Jersey.
Paul worked for the National Council of Churches from 1964 to 1969 as program assistant in youth ministry and later as Director for the Arts. He compiled and edited Anthology of Religious Folk Music and New Hymns for a New Day . The latter publication, used widely as a worship resource, led him to the forefront of advocates of new music in the church and in this capacity he led workshops and lectured at colleges and universities in the U.S. and Canada. Paul's arrangements of folk hymns have been widely reprinted in church music collections throughout the U.S., Canada, Japan, Australia and Sweden.
In 1969 he left the NCC to become a freelance performing arts manager. Among his activities were Provo Muse, the first nonprofit performing arts management company in the U.S., director of church music for Galaxy Music Corporation, and director of the Westbeth Artists Housing Community.
In 1973 Paul was appointed pastor of Washington Square United Methodist Church. While at Washington Square, he initiated a $1.5 million restoration campaign, planned the church's 125th anniversary, and worked with the many community groups housed in the building, including the Harvey Milk School, a parent-run day care center, and many lesbian/gay support and social groups.
On Sunday, November 27, 1977, Abels was featured in a New York Times article entitled "Minister Sponsors Homosexual Rituals." The article told about four "covenant services" that Paul had performed in recent months. And in the article Paul identifies himself as a "homosexual."
Controversy arose throughout the denomination with many critics calling for his removal. Bishop Ralph Ward asked Paul to take a leave of absence. Paul refused and his appointment was upheld by vote of the New York Annual Conference. The bishop then appealed to the Judicial Council, highest court in United Methodism, which ruled in 1979 that Abels was in "good standing" and in "effective relation" and could remain as pastor at Washington Square.
Paul took early retirement from the pastorate in June, 1984, following the vote of the 1984 General Conference of the United Methodist Church to bar the ordination and appointment of "self-avowed, practicing homosexuals."
He and his partner, Thom Hunt, moved to Rensselaerville, New York where they restored the historic Catalpa House and opened it as a bed and breakfast. From 1984 to 1989, Paul was Executive Director of Equinox Services Agency in Albany. After leaving Equinox, he devoted his time to innkeeping, writing and consulting. He died on March 12, 1992, from complications related to AIDS.
______________________________
The Rev. Paul Abels Dies at 54; Gay Pastor Lead 'Peace' Church
By BRUCE LAMBERT
The Rev. Paul M. Abels, a former Greenwich Village pastor who was the first openly gay minister with a congregation in a major Christian denomination in America, died on Thursday at his home in Rensselaerville, N.Y. He was 54 years old.
He died of complications from AIDS, said Thomas Hunt, his companion for the past 14 years.
Mr. Abels was the pastor of the Washington Square United Methodist Church from 1973 to 1984. It was known by some as the Peace Church for its opposition to the Vietnam War, and it had a large membership of gay men and women. Object of Criticism
Controversy arose when he publicly acknowledged his homosexuality in 1977 and began performing "covenant ceremonies" for gay couples who were unable to have legal weddings.
Citing a Biblical passage against homosexuality, critics called for his removal. His bishop urged Mr. Abels to take a leave, but he declined, and a regional Methodist body voted in his favor. The bishop appealed to a national church council, which decided Mr. Abels could retain his congregation.
But the criticism continued, and he retired shortly before a 1984 national church conference voted to bar actively gay men and women from ordination or service as clergy. That is still the policy of the Methodists and most other denominations. Mr. Abels remained a Methodist and became active with Affirmation, a national group of gay and lesbian church members.
After leaving the ministry, he ran Equinox, a nonprofit organization in Albany for runaway teen-agers, battered women, the homeless and drug and alcohol abusers. Since 1989 he worked as a consultant and, with Mr. Hunt as partner, opened Catalpa House, a bed-and-breakfast tourist home in Rensselaerville.
He was a past president of the Rensselaerville Historical Society and Rensselaerville Historic District Association. He was a founder of Provo Muse, a performing arts organization, and the Gay and Lesbian Emergency Fund in New York for victims of anti-gay violence.
Mr. Abels was born in Xenia, Ohio. He graduated from Drew University and its seminary and also earned a master's degree in sacred music from Union Theological Seminary. He was an organist and pianist.
He worked for the National Council of Churches in New York from 1964 to 1969, as a program assistant in music ministry and later as director for the arts. He compiled and edited the "Anthology of Religious Folk Music" and "New Hymns for a New Day," which the council published. Some of his own hymns were included in the books. From 1969 to 1972, he worked in performing arts management. In 1972 and 1973, he was the general administrator of the Westbeth artists' housing center.
He had been married and divorced. He is survived by two sisters, Leola Abels and Alberta Paul, and two brothers, Stanley and Lowell, all of the Cedarville, Ohio, area.
Paul was born in Yellow Springs, Ohio, on August 4, 1937, to Carrie Mae (Atkins) and James Albert Abels. He was educated in the public schools of Yellow Springs and Cedarville, Ohio (where during high school he had a column in the town's weekly newspaper) and enter the college of liberal arts at Drew in 1955. Paul earned a B.A. degree from Drew University in 1959 and a M. Div. in 1963. He was ordained an Elder in the Northern New Jersey Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church in 1963. Paul also earned a Master of Sacred Music degree from United Theological Seminary in 1965. During this period he served churches as minister of music in Towaco and Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey, and as pastor in West New York, New Jersey.
Paul worked for the National Council of Churches from 1964 to 1969 as program assistant in youth ministry and later as Director for the Arts. He compiled and edited Anthology of Religious Folk Music and New Hymns for a New Day . The latter publication, used widely as a worship resource, led him to the forefront of advocates of new music in the church and in this capacity he led workshops and lectured at colleges and universities in the U.S. and Canada. Paul's arrangements of folk hymns have been widely reprinted in church music collections throughout the U.S., Canada, Japan, Australia and Sweden.
In 1969 he left the NCC to become a freelance performing arts manager. Among his activities were Provo Muse, the first nonprofit performing arts management company in the U.S., director of church music for Galaxy Music Corporation, and director of the Westbeth Artists Housing Community.
In 1973 Paul was appointed pastor of Washington Square United Methodist Church. While at Washington Square, he initiated a $1.5 million restoration campaign, planned the church's 125th anniversary, and worked with the many community groups housed in the building, including the Harvey Milk School, a parent-run day care center, and many lesbian/gay support and social groups.
On Sunday, November 27, 1977, Abels was featured in a New York Times article entitled "Minister Sponsors Homosexual Rituals." The article told about four "covenant services" that Paul had performed in recent months. And in the article Paul identifies himself as a "homosexual."
Controversy arose throughout the denomination with many critics calling for his removal. Bishop Ralph Ward asked Paul to take a leave of absence. Paul refused and his appointment was upheld by vote of the New York Annual Conference. The bishop then appealed to the Judicial Council, highest court in United Methodism, which ruled in 1979 that Abels was in "good standing" and in "effective relation" and could remain as pastor at Washington Square.
Paul took early retirement from the pastorate in June, 1984, following the vote of the 1984 General Conference of the United Methodist Church to bar the ordination and appointment of "self-avowed, practicing homosexuals."
He and his partner, Thom Hunt, moved to Rensselaerville, New York where they restored the historic Catalpa House and opened it as a bed and breakfast. From 1984 to 1989, Paul was Executive Director of Equinox Services Agency in Albany. After leaving Equinox, he devoted his time to innkeeping, writing and consulting. He died on March 12, 1992, from complications related to AIDS.
______________________________
The Rev. Paul Abels Dies at 54; Gay Pastor Lead 'Peace' Church
By BRUCE LAMBERT
The Rev. Paul M. Abels, a former Greenwich Village pastor who was the first openly gay minister with a congregation in a major Christian denomination in America, died on Thursday at his home in Rensselaerville, N.Y. He was 54 years old.
He died of complications from AIDS, said Thomas Hunt, his companion for the past 14 years.
Mr. Abels was the pastor of the Washington Square United Methodist Church from 1973 to 1984. It was known by some as the Peace Church for its opposition to the Vietnam War, and it had a large membership of gay men and women. Object of Criticism
Controversy arose when he publicly acknowledged his homosexuality in 1977 and began performing "covenant ceremonies" for gay couples who were unable to have legal weddings.
Citing a Biblical passage against homosexuality, critics called for his removal. His bishop urged Mr. Abels to take a leave, but he declined, and a regional Methodist body voted in his favor. The bishop appealed to a national church council, which decided Mr. Abels could retain his congregation.
But the criticism continued, and he retired shortly before a 1984 national church conference voted to bar actively gay men and women from ordination or service as clergy. That is still the policy of the Methodists and most other denominations. Mr. Abels remained a Methodist and became active with Affirmation, a national group of gay and lesbian church members.
After leaving the ministry, he ran Equinox, a nonprofit organization in Albany for runaway teen-agers, battered women, the homeless and drug and alcohol abusers. Since 1989 he worked as a consultant and, with Mr. Hunt as partner, opened Catalpa House, a bed-and-breakfast tourist home in Rensselaerville.
He was a past president of the Rensselaerville Historical Society and Rensselaerville Historic District Association. He was a founder of Provo Muse, a performing arts organization, and the Gay and Lesbian Emergency Fund in New York for victims of anti-gay violence.
Mr. Abels was born in Xenia, Ohio. He graduated from Drew University and its seminary and also earned a master's degree in sacred music from Union Theological Seminary. He was an organist and pianist.
He worked for the National Council of Churches in New York from 1964 to 1969, as a program assistant in music ministry and later as director for the arts. He compiled and edited the "Anthology of Religious Folk Music" and "New Hymns for a New Day," which the council published. Some of his own hymns were included in the books. From 1969 to 1972, he worked in performing arts management. In 1972 and 1973, he was the general administrator of the Westbeth artists' housing center.
He had been married and divorced. He is survived by two sisters, Leola Abels and Alberta Paul, and two brothers, Stanley and Lowell, all of the Cedarville, Ohio, area.
