In the mid-1970's, while still closeted personally, Mollenkott began to advocate at church
conferences in behalf of lesbian and gay Christians. In l978, with Letha Dawson Scanzoni, she
published Is the Homosexual My Neighbor?, which became the spearhead volume of Harper San
Francisco's collection of LGBT texts. The book, which won an Integrity award for "extraordinary
support of the gay Christian movement," was revised and vastly expanded in 1994.
Mollenkott served as Stylistic Consultant for the New International Version of the Bible, and as a
member of the National Council of Churches' Inclusive Language Lectionary Committee, coming out to the
NCC convention in support of the Metropolitan Community Church's application for membership. She has
guest lectured at hundreds of universities, church conferences and seminaries, and testified on behalf
of the New Jersey anti-discrimination law, receiving a l992 Achievement Award from the NJ Lesbian and
Gay Coalition. In 1999, SAGE (Senior Action in a Gay Environment) presented her with a Lifetime
Achievement Award for her work of combating heterosexism in religion.
Mollenkott has served as Board Member for various GLBT-friendly organizations, including
Evangelicals Concerned, The Center for Sexuality and Religion, and Kirkridge Retreat Center, where for
many years has led several GLBT events annually. She is a founding member of the GLBT-inclusive
Evangelical and Ecumenical Women's Caucus.
Among her twelve books, the most explicitly lesbian is Sensuous Spirituality: Out From
Fundamentalism, although lesbians have also enjoyed The Divine Feminine: Biblical Imagery of God
as Female. Her most recent and most radical work, Omnigender: A TransReligious Approach,
won the 2002 Lambda Literary Award in the bisexual/transgender category.
(This biographical statement provided by Virginia
Mollenkott.)