Articles

Articles about Greg's ministry and the people it touched.

See also Media Coverage of the Charges Against Greg, the Trial, and the Appeal for articles about the events of 1998-2000.

May 16, 2024

By Kayleigh Padar, Windy City Times

Broadway United Methodist Church’s longtime efforts to include and celebrate LGBTQ+ people are now more closely aligned with the rest of the denomination’s policies.

Greg Dell at desk in office at Broadway UMC.

January 03, 2020

By CNN Wire and Ben Bradley, WGN9, Chicago

United Methodist Church bishops and leaders are proposing a split into more than one denomination in a bid to resolve years of debate over LGBT clergy and same-sex weddings, according to the church's official news agency.

November 20, 2016

This letter is a report to the Community United Methodist Church 2016 Charge Conference from Rev. Robert Harman, the Senior Pastor who welcomed Greg to his first appointment in Naperville, Illinois, beginning in June of 1970. Published here with permission of Rev. Robert J. Harman.

Dear Greg,

I received a request the other day for my annual report to the Church Conference at Community United Methodist Church in Naperville. I cannot think about CUMC today without a filter named Greg Dell.

November 15, 2016

By Jan Hensley-Olson, Affirmation newsletter, Vol. 42, Issue 1, Fall 2016

Affirmation and all organizations and individuals that fight for a more justice-filled world have lost a beloved friend. Gregory Robert Dell, age 70, passed away in Raleigh, NC, on Sunday, October 30, 2016, from complications of Parkinson’s Disease. Greg has spent a lifetime championing the disenfranchised.

Greg was a pastor

Greg Dell standing with a bright window behind him.

November 08, 2016

By Tom Holmes, OakPark.com

Pastor Greg Dell died on Oct. 30, 2016 from the complications of Parkinson's Disease. Many older members of Euclid Ave. Methodist Church here in Oak Park remember him from the years he served that congregation from 1985 to 1995.

Black and white photo of Greg Dell standing a a podium with microphones.

November 03, 2016

By Gretchen Rachel Hammond, Windy City Times

When people attended one of Rev. Gregory Dell's services at Lakeview's Broadway United Methodist Church (BUMC), no matter what their race, sexual orientation, gender identity, economic background or level in society, the first thing they heard was "we don't just tolerate you, we celebrate you."

Greg Dell standing in a church sanctuary.

November 01, 2016

By Mary Schmich, Chicago Tribune

On days when it seems that the world is tumbling backward, it helps to remember how far we've come.

The death of the Rev. Greg Dell on Sunday, at the age of 70, is one reminder.

Thoughts by and about Greg

This is how God made us, all different, so beautiful, a garden of humanity, and we should be able to come together and be who we are.

Pastor Gregory Dell
On my last visit with Greg... I told him how his consistent message of God's love for LGBTQI persons has saved lives, and that the risks he took to challenge UM polity on our behalf will continue to energize CWACM.

We've all been changed for knowing you, Greg. Rest, now. You've taught us well. We'll take it from here.

cathy knight, executive director, Church Within A Church Movement
Everyone knows what a soft spot Greg has in his heart for the babies and little ones. I think baptisms were always one of his favorite “duties.”

He beamed with joy and delight as he held our daughter aloft in a jubilant procession around the sanctuary, proclaiming, “Welcome your new sister, sisters and brothers” as everyone clapped and cheered.

Katy Clusen, member of Broadway Methodist Church, Chicago, IL
Greg said many times at Euclid that part of a deep faith is an ability to be angry about situations involving pain and loss, but that [those situations] never have the last word. This disease will not destroy him. It isn't the last word.

Carl Rinder, member of Euclid Methodist Church, Oak Park, IL
Putting faith to action is a huge piece of what he [Greg] gave the church.

Jacqueline Boyd, director of music, Broadway United Methodist Church, Chicago, IL
Greg in his ministry believed and believes that the church 'rite' of marriage ought be provided 'for all,' despite the fact in the United Methodist Church today, it is only 'afforded to some.'

Rev. Gil Caldwell
I loved hearing his voice and there was a physical joy about him when he preached.

Jim Bennett, Lambda Legal Midwest Regional Director; member Broadway UMC, Chicago, IL
Don't violate the character and nature that God gave you. It is something to be treasured, loved and expressed.

Pastor Greg Dell
He taught me how to create my own identity and my own voice and he gave me space to do that. He would step back and push me forward.

Rev. Vernice Thorn, retired pastor, member CWACM
In every fiber of his being, Greg really believed in the love of God having the kind of power that can overcome earthly power.

Rev. Lois McCullen Parr, pastor Broadway UMC, Chicago, IL
His witness has made a difference both transforming one person and in the larger story of the movement for inclusion.

Rev. Lois McCullen Parr, pastor Broadway UMC, Chicago, IL
[Greg was] a beacon on love and inclusion.

Greg's sermons were awe-inspiring, blending scripture with current events and person[al] experience then bringing it home to the scripture.

Scott McGowan, attended Broadway UMC, Chicago, IL
I became convinced... that the gospel, that which was giving life to people, was really expressed in the civil-rights movement and its insistence on justice and fairness for all people regardless of their identity.

Injustice in any form was injustice in all of its forms.

Pastor Greg Dell
He really had a heart for justice.

They were not just words for him. It was his way of life.

Everything was about justice and equity for him.

Rev. Vernice Thorn, retired pastor, member CWACM
He was funny as all get out. His sense of humor and the twinkle in his eye. Everyone who knew Greg could tell you about that expression.

He had the ability to take meaningful things seriously and maintain a sense of humor and a lightness about himself personally.

Rev. Lois McCullen Parr, pastor Broadway UMC, Chicago, IL
I can't do anything different.

My religion says that I'm to serve all people.

I can't serve some and not others.

Pastor Greg Dell
This [ministry] is what I love to do. But if it costs you your integrity to survive, it's not worth surviving.

Pastor Greg Dell

Tribute to Greg Dell

Articles

United Methodist Church Reverses Anti-LGBTQ Policies, Allowing Gay Clergy, Same-Sex Marriages

United Methodist Church Proposes Historic Split Over Gay Marriage and LGBT Clergy

A Letter to Greg Dell

Remembering Greg Dell

Rev. Greg Dell: A Remembrance

Community Remembers LGBTQ Ally Rev. Gregory Dell

A Revolutionary in Our Midst

Thoughts by and about Greg

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Thoughts by and about Greg