Julian B. Rush

Julian Bailey Rush (August 24, 1936 - November 28, 2023) was a clergyman, composer, playwright, and administrator, who prompted a national debate in the early 1980s when he became the first openly gay pastor appointed by the United Methodist Church (UMC).

Biography Family and background Julian Bailey Rush was born in Meridian, Mississippi, to Julian Otis and Rebecca (Bailey) Rush. He comes from a family of healthcare professionals. His father was a pharmacist. Both grandfathers and several relatives were doctors.

He attended Meridian High School and served as drum major his senior year. While attending school there, he participated in theatrical productions at Meridian Junior College, which was considered an extension of the high school. Upon graduation, he attended Meridian Junior College for two years. He completed his undergraduate education at Belhaven College in Jackson.

By the late 1970s, unfulfilled in his marriage, Rush was in counseling and began to come to terms with his sexuality. He was gay. Rush separated from his wife in 1979 and began volunteering at the Gay and Lesbian Center in his spare time. This was the first time that an openly gay pastor had received an appointment by the Methodist Church. Wheatley was severely criticized for his actions but survived the controversy.

Despite working only part-time at St. Paul, Rush's arrival as an openly gay pastor helped increase the church's membership.

Despite these setbacks, Rush's courage in coming out and the national publicity that followed served as an inspiration to other gay clergy. One of those individuals was Karen Oliveto, who would later become the first openly lesbian bishop in the United Methodist Church.

Colorado AIDS Project At the same time, Rush was spending more time at the Gay and Lesbian Center just as the AIDS crisis was beginning. This led to his appointment in 1983 as the first director of the Colorado AIDS Project, which became the leading organization in Colorado to assist people infected with the virus.

"Ours the Journey" was first published in Chalice Hymnal (1995) in an abridged version containing four stanzas. A five stanza version which contains three stanzas from the Chalice Hymnal version plus two additional stanzas was published in The New Century Hymnal (1996), The Faith We Sing (2000), Sing the Faith (2003), and Glory to God: The Presbyterian Hymnal (2013). Additionally, a six stanza version is published in Shaping Sanctuary: Proclaiming God's Grace in an Inclusive Church (2000), a book of worship resources. The unabridged version of "Ours the Journey" contains seven stanzas.

The two stanzas omitted from The Faith We Sing, which is the most widely distributed version, are arguably the most controversial. One stanza contains the line "Gays and lesbians together fighting to be realized." Another states that people of different races are a "rainbow coalition, all of value in thy sight."

"Without someone like Julian," Bishop Karen Oliveto said at the time of his death, "I would have lived in despair, totally wondering how can I rectify that the God who made me called me into this, but the church doesn’t want me and I think my life would have been much different." The Man Who Can Save the Day