Introducing Our Bayard Rustin Fellow, Rev. Jason Carson Wilson

Dear CRS Community,

Since 1882, Community Renewal Society member congregations have done great work that cut across racial, ethnic, geographic, and socioeconomic lines to help create meaningful and lasting change. Our member congregations form an effective and powerful coalition speaking truth with a persuasive and prophetic voice. In the spirit of our long commitment to justice, a proposal was made to deepen CRS’ work in support of LGBTQ+ issues.

To that end, our membership approved living into a commitment to LGBTQ+ advocacy during our Annual Membership Assembly on Oct. 3.

We are delighted to introduce you to CRS’ first Bayard Rustin Fellow, Rev. Jason Carson Wilson, who will lead this work. Rustin was a Black gay civil rights icon known for organizing the 1963 March on Washington. He spent his last few years fighting discrimination against LGBTQ+ people living with HIV/AIDS. We developed this fellowship to pay homage to Rustin’s deep faith and advocacy! Rev. Wilson’s work will primarily focus on connecting CRS’ policy priorities to LGBTQ+ issues, developing trainings and programs for our congregations and representing CRS at community tables. Of course, we encourage our community leaders to help identify other advocacy opportunities.

This will be deep and exciting work. We invite you to consider how your congregation could join CRS in the fight against poverty and racial injustice, while championing LGBTQ+ equality. We invite you to consider joining CRS’ LGBTQ+ Issue Team.

P.S. If your church isn’t a member of CRS, we invite you to learn about the benefits of membership.