The Center for American Progress listed 13 Progressive Faith Leaders to Watch in 2013. Episcopalians Gary Hall and Cam Partridge were among them:
5. (The) Very Rev. Gary R. Hall—an Episcopal priest and dean of the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.—is becoming a leader of faith-led support for gun-violence prevention. In the wake of the mass shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, Hall declared in a sermon that, “The gun lobby is no match for the cross lobby” and has joined with other faith leaders to keep attention on the issue and to urge lawmakers to pass sensible, effective legislation. As an advocate for social justice, Hall is taking up other challenging issues as well: He recently championed the National Cathedral’s decision to begin performing same-sex marriages and instituted the use of the Episcopal Church’s new rite for same-sex blessings at National Cathedral services. As the debates over gun-violence prevention and marriage equality continue, expect Hall to keep lifting his voice in support of the gay and transgender equality, gun-violence prevention, and other pressing issues.
10. (The) Rev. Cameron Partridge—one of the first transgender chaplains at a major university (Boston University) and one of seven openly transgender priests in the Episcopal Church—is a rising leader in transgender advocacy, both inside and outside his religious tradition. In 2012 Partridge was part of TransEpiscopal, an organization that collaborated with other advocacy groups to urge the Episcopal Church to amend its canons and formally include transgender people as candidates for all forms of ministry. Partridge has also worked with the Interfaith Committee for Transgender Equality to push for the passage of Massachusetts’s 2011 Transgender Equal Rights Bill that bars discrimination against transgendered people in employment, housing, education, and lending, and enables prosecutors to bring hate-crime charges in attacks that target someone for being transgender. Recently profiled by Religionandpolitics.org and the Huffington Post for his work, Partridge, who also lectures at the Harvard Divinity School, is quickly becoming one of the leaders of faith-based transgender advocacy and is an example of increasing diversity among university chaplains.
The others were Sister Simone Campbell, Richard Cizik, Rev. Delman Coates, Rabbi Laurie Coskey, Valarie Kaur, Rev. Debbi Lee, Ben Lowe, Pastor Michael McBride, Rev. Gabriel Salguero, Remziya Suleyman, and “The faith-based organizer”.
The article concludes:
These 13 progressive faith leaders were selected by the Center for American Progress’s Faith and Progressive Policy Initiative because they are dynamic examples of America’s growing progressive faith movement. To be sure, their work—combined with the tireless efforts of countless other faith leaders—has already positively changed the social and religious landscape of our nation. Look for the efforts of these faith leaders and others to continue to build a stronger, healthier, safer, smarter, and more inclusive America in 2013.