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Today we honor the life and legacy of Rev. Elder John Gill. John was a dear friend to so many, a transformational leader, and one of our finest pastors in this global Fellowship. May his memory be a blessing to us all.
1945: Rev. John Gill was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to a Presbyterian family.
1967: Rev. John Gill entered Princeton Theological Seminary, and upon graduation became a youth minister in the Presbyterian Church.
1971: in April, at a conference in New York on homosexuality and religion. Rev. John Gill decided to come out. He was dismissed from his Presbyterian church. In July, he met Rev. Troy Perry and in September, he was licensed as a minister in the Metropolitan Community Church.
1972: On January 6, Rev. John Gill organized the Atlanta Metropolitan Community Church. He was ordained in September and later served as the Southeast District Coordinator.
1973: In June, Rev. John Gill, as District Coordinator, joined MCC founder Rev. Troy Perry in New Orleans following the tragic fire in a gay bar that killed 32 people including MCC New Orleans’ pastor, and a number of members. They conducted a memorial service and in the following weeks raised funds for the burial of fire victims. In September, Atlanta MCC hosted the UFMCC General Conference and Rev. John Gill was elected to the Board of Elders. He served in the role for one term.
1975—2009: In 1975, Rev. Gill became the Pastor of MCC-Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where he served until he was elected Pastor of MCC of the Resurrection in Houston, Texas in 1985, serving until 1995. Rev. Gill then pastored King of Peace MCC in St. Petersburg, Florida for 11 years until 2006. Then until 2010, Rev. Gill served as interim Pastor in MCC-San Diego, California and MCC-Phoenix, Arizona.
2009-2010: On February 2nd of 2009, Rev. John Gill celebrated his 25th anniversary with his spouse, John Phlegar. His retirement from the active pastoral ministry began in 2011, just a few months shy of having served for forty years as clergy in UFMCC.
Rev. Elder John Gill was a compassionate, inspiring leader who changed lives and brought people closer to God. Let us keep his beloved John, friends, family, and loved ones in our prayers.
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