Reverend John Selders, pastor of the Amistad United Church of Christ in Hartford, has started work as a consultant for GLAD and Love Makes a Family doing outreach to Connecticut’s African-American faith communities on the issue of marriage equality for same-sex couples.

Reverend Selder is a long-time activist on LGBT and HIV issues both in Connecticut and nationally, naming those issues as an essential part of a social justice agenda.  With the National Black Justice Coalition, he helped organize the first Black Church Summit in Atlanta on Jan. 20-21 to talk about making churches more welcoming to gays and lesbians, and he is also the vice-moderator of the UCC's Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Concerns.

"We're excited about joining our efforts with Reverend Selders' as we work to build support for lgbt rights in all communities," said Lee Swislow, GLAD’s Executive Director.  "His experience and commitment to social justice are valuable additions to our ongoing efforts."

"Rev. Selders has been a supporter and partner of Love Makes a Family for the past five years," said Anne Stanback, Executive Director of Love Makes a Family.  "He is well-respected both inside and outside the church community for his commitment to a broad vision of social justice, and we are fortunate to have him working with us on this new project."

In 1984, Reverend Selders confronted HIV/AIDS for the first time when a deacon in his father's congregation in St. Louis came out as gay and living with AIDS.  Reverend Selders engaged in extensive education and discussion about this new disease with the leadership of the congregation who agreed to continue this deacon in his church position and struggle with appropriate ministry responses.  HIV and LGBT issues within the church have been his passion since.

In addition to his organizing and pastoral work, Reverend Selders is Lecturer for Supervised Ministries at Yale Divinity School, and an accomplished musician.  Reverend Selders lives in Hartford with his wife Pamela and their two children.

Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders is New England's leading legal rights organization dedicated to ending discrimination based on sexual orientation, HIV status and gender identity and expression.  GLAD’s Connecticut marriage equality lawsuit, Kerrigan and Mock v. Department of Public Health, was filed in August 2004.  A motion for summary judgment will be heard in New Haven Superior Court on March 21.

Love Makes a Family is a statewide coalition of organizations and individuals leading the fight for marriage equality for same-sex couples in Connecticutl

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