Obama Appoints LGBT Leader to Faith Council

The White House on Friday announced the appointment of Nancy Wilson, the head of the Metropolitan Community Church, the nation's largest denomination of LGBT churches, to the President's Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.

A leading LGBT pastor, Wilson currently serves as moderator for the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches; she is one of few women to lead an international Christian denomination. She previously served as senior pastor of the Metropolitan Community Church of Los Angeles, the founding MCC church.

Wilson is one of 12 appointees to the council, which, according to a news release, "brings together religious and secular leaders as well as scholars and experts in fields related to the work of faith-based and neighborhood organizations in order to make recommendations to the government on how to improve partnerships."

President Obama said, "I am pleased to announce that these experienced and committed individuals have agreed to join this Administration, and I look forward to working with them in the months and years ahead."

Other appointees to the council include Archbishop Demetrios Trakatellis, the head of the Greek Orthodox Church of America, and Lynne Hybels, wife of megachurch pastor Bill Hybels, head of the Willow Creek Community Church near Chicago.

The council, formed in 2009, is composed of 25 members appointed to one-year terms. The White House said additional members would be announced at a later date.