Overview

From ""the greatest generation"" comes the true story of a World War II veteran and ordained minister whose public advocacy for social justice was segmented from his private life as a gay man. Steven C. Law's biography of the Rev. Robert W. Wood, The Story of Bob, is the story of a man before his time, who strove to live and love authentically and advocated for the gay community in church and society.The Rev. Robert W. Wood was a trailblazer in the LGBTQ rights movement. Active in the Mattachine Society, he published his book Christ and the Homosexual in 1960 under his own name at great risk. Rev. Wood participated in protests organized by Frank Kameny against the federal government's ban on gay employees. He pushed the United Church of Christ to embrace the cause of LGBTQ liberation. While he faced resistance, this struggle ultimately led to the formation of the UCC's Open and Affirming Coalition. The Story of Bob is based on interviews that the author, Steven C. Law, conducted with Rev. Wood. Law's lucid prose makes for a compelling, page-turning read.

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9780829829204

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Reviews

""Rev. Bob Wood was a homosexual who struggled with the challenges of living with same gender attraction when society, psychology, medicine, the law and the Church demanded silence and invisibility. Yet, in the 1950s and 1960s, Bob dared to challenge United Church of Christ and ecumenical leaders to become justice advocates for homosexuals. Bob was a trailblazing pioneer for queer rights and his faithful, often strident witness laid a foundation for the decades of work I began in 1970. His story properly belongs in the canon of our LGBTQ community history. May the truth of Bob's life inspire new voices of resistance in these dangerous times."" - Rev. Bill Johnson, Founder, UCC Open and Affirming Coalition ""[Bob's] story is one of persistence in an authoritarian hostile period of intolerance. His enduring faith in Christ, courage in advocacy, and belief in the goodness of our community need to be remembered and celebrated."" - The Rev. Dr. Robert Shore-Goss, author of Jesus Acted Up, co-editor of Queering Christ ""A must read book! Law has written with precision and a compassionate eye about the life of Bob, a homosexual living in a society where he cannot be himself. Yet his life is one of great courage in war, and the lonely search for love and true identity."" - Elizabeth Cox, author of Reading Van Gogh (An Amateur's Search for God) and A Question of Mercy ""From childhood to his death, Bob Wood's Christian faith and values guided him through life as a son, brother, student, veteran, minister, husband and caregiver. Read The Story of Bob to find your own guide to leading a faithful life. Read The Story of Bob to understand the personal cost and how life decisions are made while living as a gay man in a society that does not accept homosexuality. Read The Story of Bob as it is as relevant today when LGBTQ+ people cannot live as God created them."" - Marnie Warner, Board Chair, LGBTQ Religious Archives Network ""Honored as one of OUT magazine's ""14 Elders Who Blazed the Trail for LGBTQ Rights,"" Rev. Robert W. Wood (1923-2018) was a pioneering advocate for gay and lesbian rights within church and society. This biography, as told to Steven Law, chronicles Wood's decades of fearless advocacy, offering a deeply moving account of his struggle to reconcile his own identities as a gay man and a Christian minister. A must-read for anyone interested in LGBTQ+ history, UCC history, or a story about one person's commitment to bringing out progressive social change."" - Bernard Schlager, PhD, Associate Professor of Historical & Cultural Studies at Pacific School of Religion, and Executive Director of The Center for LGBTQ and Gender Studies in Religion (CLGS)

""[Bob's] story is one of persistence in an authoritarian hostile period of intolerance. His enduring faith in Christ, courage in advocacy, and belief in the goodness of our community need to be remembered and celebrated."" - The Rev. Dr. Robert Shore-Goss, author of Jesus Acted Up, co-editor of Queering Christ ""A must read book! Law has written with precision and a compassionate eye about the life of Bob, a homosexual living in a society where he cannot be himself. Yet his life is one of great courage in war, and the lonely search for love and true identity."" - Elizabeth Cox, author of Reading Van Gogh (An Amateur's Search for God) and A Question of Mercy ""From childhood to his death, Bob Wood's Christian faith and values guided him through life as a son, brother, student, veteran, minister, husband and caregiver. Read The Story of Bob to find your own guide to leading a faithful life. Read The Story of Bob to understand the personal cost and how life decisions are made while living as a gay man in a society that does not accept homosexuality. Read The Story of Bob as it is as relevant today when LGBTQ+ people cannot live as God created them."" - Marnie Warner, Board Chair, LGBTQ Religious Archives Network ""Honored as one of OUT magazine's ""14 Elders Who Blazed the Trail for LGBTQ Rights,"" Rev. Robert W. Wood (1923-2018) was a pioneering advocate for gay and lesbian rights within church and society. This biography, as told to Steven Law, chronicles Wood's decades of fearless advocacy, offering a deeply moving account of his struggle to reconcile his own identities as a gay man and a Christian minister. A must-read for anyone interested in LGBTQ+ history, UCC history, or a story about one person's commitment to bringing out progressive social change."" - Bernard Schlager, PhD, Associate Professor of Historical & Cultural Studies at Pacific School of Religion, and Executive Director of The Center for LGBTQ and Gender Studies in Religion (CLGS) ""Rev. Bob Wood was a closeted homosexual who struggled with the challenges of living with same gender attraction when society, psychology, medicine, the law and the Church demanded silence and invisibility. Yet, in the 1950s and 1960s, Bob dared to challenge United Church of Christ and ecumenical leaders to become justice advocates for homosexuals. Bob was a trailblazing pioneer for queer rights and his faithful, often strident witness laid a foundation for the decades of work I began in 1970. His story properly belongs in the canon of our LGBTQ community history. May the truth of Bob's life inspire new voices of resistance in these dangerous times."" - Rev. Bill Johnson, Founder, UCC Open and Affirming Coalition

Author Information

Steven C. Law holds degrees from Campbell University and Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School, where his focus was on Christian ethics and social policy. As an ordained pastor, he served rural and urban churches before studying creative writing with C. Michael Curtis, former editor at The Atlantic Monthly. He shared forty-five bliss-filled years with Dr. William ""Donald"" Stroud, with whom he created Découvert Fine Art, an art gallery specializing in European Master drawings. He is founder and president of the Law Stroud Foundation, and lives in Rockport, Massachusetts. J. Bennett Guess is the executive director of the ACLU of Ohio.

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