Justin R. Cannon

Justin Russell Cannon (born July 9, 1984) is an American clergyman and the founding director of Inclusive Orthodoxy, an affirming outreach ministry to lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans Christians centered on his booklet The Bible, Christianity, and Homosexuality (ISBN 978-1438249612), which is described by the Los Angeles Times as "an illuminating...analysis that argues the Bible doesn't condemn faithful gay relationships." (Michael McGough, July 18, 2005). He also is the founder of Rainbow Christians, the internet’s first gay Christian personals website and a contributor to the Gay Christian Network online forum.

Justin graduated from Earlham College in 2006 where he received his B.A. in French and Francophone Studies. During his studies at Earlham College, he served on the editorial board for The Earlham Literary Magazine and started up the school's poetry appreciation group, Poetheads Anonymous. He is the editor of both Sanctified: An Anthology of Poetry by LGBT Christians (ISBN 978-1438247854), released July 2008, and Homosexuality in the Orthodox Church (ISBN 978-1456416874), released January 2011, and was interviewed in the 2012 film The Right to Love: An American Family.

His ministry was founded in 2005 under the name "Truth Sets Free" and in 2007 he re-launched his ministry website under the name "Inclusive Orthodoxy." According to his website, "Inclusive Orthodoxy seeks a revitalization of the faith, which is both orthodox in theology and grounded in the progressive message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ—a message of love, a proclamation of hope for the oppressed, an invitation towards all regardless of race, ethnicity, sex, gender, gender identity, or sexual orientation. We are calling for the Church to extend its inclusivity upon the foundation of Christian orthodoxy, and to embrace the radical implications of the Gospel message, not despite Scripture and Tradition, but in light of it." [1] His ministry affirms the divine inspiration of the Bible, the sacredness of Tradition, and affirms "...that there is a place within the full life and ministry of the Christian Church for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Christians, both those who are called to lifelong celibacy and those who are partnered."[2]

Cannon was featured as a "Future Gay Hero" in the prominent gay newsmagazine The Advocate (July 5, 2005) shortly before he graduated from Earlham College. He subsequently appeared on The Michelangelo Signorile Show on SIRIUS OutQ, and his work was cited in The New York Times, and has even been well-received internationally as he was cited in the French LGBTQ magazine Préf ("Ainsi Soient-Ils" January/February #12 Issue). March 29, 2007, ABC News' Sacramento affiliate, News 10, ran a feature on Cannon and his website Rainbow Christians.

In 2006 Cannon was recognized as one of Out magazine's top 100 most influential gay people of the year. Each year Out magazine, a national gay and lesbian general interest publication, honors one hundred individuals through a feature magazine issue and a special party/reception. Other honorees in 2006 included Rufus Wainwright, Anne Hathaway, Michael Kors Iman, John Cameron Mitchell, and Lance Bass. In November 2007, he was honored as one of Instinct's 2007 Leading Men of the Year for his activism in the gay community.

From 2009–2012 he worked as Program Manager of Episcopal Charities, San Francisco. Cannon was ordained as a deacon on June 4, 2011, and as a priest on December 3, 2011 in the Episcopal Church through the Diocese of California by Marc Andrus. He currently serves as priest-in-charge of Saint Giles Episcopal Church in Moraga, California.

Cannon is also the founder and director of a ministry called Holy Hikes, which was founded in 2010. Holy Hikes meets monthly to celebrate the Holy Eucharist outdoors in the context of a nature hike. Cannon writes on his website, "This ministry is a response to creation's longing. We gather not to 'use' or simply 'care for' the earth, but to recognize our communion with all of life. It is in recognizing this interconnectedness that we can move forward in fully serving the Creator."