Mark Bowman

Mark Bowman, long-time advocate for LGBTQ justice, was raised in north central Ohio and earned an MDiv at Boston University School of Theology in 1982. Denied clergy status in The United Methodist Church as a gay man, he worked for Bread for the World following seminary and was active with Affirmation: United Methodists for LGBT Concerns. He was among the founders of the Reconciling Congregation Program (now Reconciling Ministries Network) in 1984 and served as co-coordinator and then as executive director, guiding the expansion of this grass roots movement until 1999. There he published the award-winning Open Hands magazine and became a leader in the ecumenical Welcoming Church Movement. Bowman subsequently organized two national conferences of this ecumenical movement, Witness Our Welcome (WOW) 2000 and 2003, each drawing hundreds of participants. The Methodist Federation for Social Action honored Bowman with the Lee & Mae Ball Award for Outstanding Christian Social Witness in 2000. An ongoing interest in history led him to initiate the LGBTQ Religious Archives Network (LGBTQ-RAN) in 2001. LGBTQ-RAN is an innovative grass roots project drawing on digital technology to preserve the history of LGBTQ religious movements around the world. He currently serves as executive director of this unique historical enterprise. Also a trained musician, Bowman has served as choir director, song leader and accompanist in a number of congregations. He trained with the United Methodist Global Praise program and the Iona Community (Scotland) as enlivener of congregational song and has led singing and worship in local, regional and national gatherings. He currently lives in Chicago where he enjoys biking, gardening and hanging out with his three grandchildren.