Robert Watson Wood ( – ) was an American clergyman of the

United Church of Christ The United Church of Christ (UCC) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination based in the United States, with historical and confessional roots in the Congregational, Calvinist, Lutheran, and Anabaptist traditions, and with approximatel ...

, an early activist for

LGBT rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender ( LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Notably, ...

and advocate for the LGBT community both before and after the pivotal Stonewall riots in the United States, and an author. Wood was born in

Youngstown, Ohio Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio, and the largest city and county seat of Mahoning County. At the 2020 census, Youngstown had a city population of 60,068. It is a principal city of the Youngstown–Warren metropolitan area, whi ...

, on May 21, 1923. He enrolled at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

but left and enlisted in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

to fight in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

in North Africa and Italy with the 36th Infantry Division. He was severely wounded in battle, receiving the Bronze Star Medal for "heroic achievement in combat" and other military honors, and spent nearly two years medically recovering. He returned to complete his bachelor's degree at Pennsylvania. There he encountered prejudice against his sexual orientation justified through Christian scripture and resolved to learn scripture and theology himself. He began his pastoral career after graduating from Oberlin Seminary in 1951 and being ordained by the Congregational Church at

Fair Haven, Vermont Fair Haven is a town in Rutland County, Vermont, United States. The population was 2,736 at the 2020 census. Within the town is located the census-designated place of Fair Haven. The town is noted for its late 19th century residential and com ...

. He met his husband, Hugh M. Coulter, an artist and cowboy, in 1962. They remained together until Coulter's death in 1989. In 1960 Wood's book ''Christ and the Homosexual'' was published by

Vantage Press Vantage Press was a self-publishing company based in the United States. The company was founded in 1949 and ceased operations in late 2012. Vantage was the largest vanity press in the United States. By 1956, they were publishing hundreds of title ...

in New York. Although it was reviewed positively by gay publications and earned him an award from the Mattachine Society, it garnered little public attention at the time and sold approximately 3,000 copies. However, it was used as a reference for academic publications concerning gay culture. In a long career as a pastor he officiated at many same-sex weddings and continuously advocated in both the Christian world and broader society for the rights and spiritual integrity of LGBT people. He died in Concord, New Hampshire, in 2018.

Works

''Christ and the Homosexual''
(1960), New York, Vantage Press, pp 221

References

External links

"Reflections on the Rev. Robert Wood, a man of God and gay rights"
a ''Concord Monitor'' retrospective podcast and interview with Bob Paradis and Rejean Blanchette, who cared for Wood during his final years
archive link
archived 2019-03-29) {{DEFAULTSORT:Wood, Robert Watson 1923 births 2018 deaths American Christian clergy American Christian theologians United Church of Christ ministers 20th-century Congregationalist ministers United States Army personnel of World War II People from Youngstown, Ohio People from Concord, New Hampshire University of Pennsylvania alumni LGBT Protestant clergy LGBT people from Ohio Oberlin College alumni Writers from Ohio Writers from New York City 20th-century American clergy