In All Things Charity Archive

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Greg wearing a special clergy stole that says “In All Things Charity” which was made for him and given to him when he became the Executive Director of the group In All Things Charity.

During Greg's suspension, he headed up a national movement dedicated to extending full inclusion of gay and lesbian persons in the United Methodist Church. It was called "In All Things Charity," based on a quote from John Wesley, the founder of United Methodism.

People from all over the United States joined this grass roots movement which culminated in direct action and civil disobedience at the May 2000 United Methodist General Conference in Cleveland, Ohio. Despite the arrest of over 200 people and a group taking over the podium at the Conference, there was no easing up of restrictions on LGBT persons, LGBT clergy, or the right of clergy to offer marriage ministry to LGBT persons.

The documented history of this movement was archived in June 2001, at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois. The title of the collection is: "Homosexuality and the United Methodist Church: The Gregory Dell papers and In All Things Charity, a National Ministry of Broadway United Methodist Church."  It is housed as a subset of the "Gender Studies Collection" at NIU.

The Trustees of Broadway United Methodist Church were the signors of the "Deed of Gift Agreement" for the church, dated June 21, 2001.

The archivist at the time, Glen Gildemeister, said of the collection, "I know people have a very deep stake in the materials they want to preserve and that is surely true with these. They are of general historical importance and now will get the professional care and security they deserve.  But more importantly, these are the record of a group of people who put themselves on the line for something held dear to the heart and by preserving them and making them available you can know that sacrifice will always be known and not be lost."

The archival collection can be accessed for research purposes in "Rare Books and Special Collections - Gender Studies" located in Founders Memorial Library 402, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, Illinois 60115, (815) 753-9838, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.  The collection does not circulate out of the building, but can be looked at on site. It has been entered into an electronic searchable online catalog and stored under appropriate climate control.

The chair of the Electronic Information Resources Management Department at NIU spoke of the "strong willingness of the University Libraries to give these materials a safe and accessible home to ensure their availability and conservation for future generations of gay and lesbian historians and scholars of all disciplines."

This material was verified on July 20, 2017.