Julian Rush was a clergyman, composer, playwright, and administrator, who prompted a national debate in the early 1980s when he became the first openly gay pastor appointed by the United Methodist Church (UMC).

[2] After studying church drama at the Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University, he worked as a youth minister in Texas and staged a successful production of Jesus Christ Superstar.

[2][3] In a controversial move, Bishop Melvin E. Wheatley assigned Rush to the smaller St. Paul United Methodist Church in Denver.

[3][4][5][6] Despite working only part-time at St. Paul, Rush's arrival as an openly gay pastor helped increase the church's membership.

These de-commissioning efforts proved unsuccessful because it required proof that Rush was a practicing homosexual to be removed by the Church.

[8] For at least two years, Rush continued to work part-time at St. Paul despite spending between 50-60 hours a week with the Colorado AIDS Project.

[4] By the time he left the Colorado AIDS Project in 2000, the organization had grown to over 50 paid employees and an annual budget of over $3 million.

It was written for the 1985 Rocky Mountain Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church promoting its theme of diversity.

Additionally, a six stanza version is published in Shaping Sanctuary: Proclaiming God's Grace in an Inclusive Church (2000), a book of worship resources.

[9] "Without someone like Julian," Bishop Oliveto said at the time of his death, "I would have lived in despair, totally wondering how can I rectify that the God who made me called me into this, but the church doesn’t want me and I think my life would have been much different.