Moorestown residents John and Lois Dinsmore, members of the First Baptist Church of Moorestown, were presented with the 2024 Barbra MacNair Award for Christian Witness by the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists (AWAB) on July 14.
“On Sundays I see new people, and sometimes it’s obvious that they’re looking for an LGBTQ-friendly church,” John said. “Sometimes it isn’t, but I always go up and introduce myself and say hi, and introduce them to someone else …
“It’s just kind of what we do,” he added. “Other people have sort of looked at that and followed what we do as well … Just be there. Lend an ear. Listen.”
“We were fortunate in that growing up in the ’50s, our parents, mine and his (John’s), were unusually tolerant,” Lois recalled, addressing her husband. “We were never taught to avoid other people … I can remember my parents having (people) coming to dinner all the time from the church, and your (John’s) mom was the same way.
“We were fortunate in that because not everybody that grew up with us had that …” she added. “That makes a difference, too, when your parents keep on saying to you, ‘Hey, be nice to people.’”
The MacNair award for Christian Witness celebrates the commitment of one or more individuals who inspire whole communities to think, believe, act and serve differently, according to Rev. Brian Henderson, executive director of AWAB.
Award recipients inspire communities to be welcoming and affirming, and they inspire members of the LGBTQIA-plus community and community allies, as Henderson likes to say, to do together what none of them can do on their own.
“I think recipients of the MacNair award, historically, have been individuals, or in the case this year of the Dinsmores, John and Lois, a couple who have helped their faith family be a faith family together,” Henderson explained. “Not segregated into, ‘these people over here and these people over (here),’ but they have helped their faith family collectively, as individuals, no matter who or how they are, to do together what none of them can do on their own.”
AWAB is a resource/partnership among Baptist churches who celebrate and affirm those who identify as LGBTQIA+ in the full life of the church. Since 1993, it has supported churches in being and becoming Welcoming and Affirming of all people, regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation, according to the organization’s website.
The MacNair award is given to lay persons whose lives have inspired understanding and acceptance of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people by opening dialogue that would not otherwise be there, opening the eyes of those who might otherwise turn away, and, by example, helping to advance the affirmation of everyone, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, as noted in AWAB’s most recent newsletter.
“I would say that they stand out by being model advocates for the work of inclusion,” Henderson said of MacNair award recipients. “They help normalize how people – LGBTQ-plus folk and allies – can coexist and be a community together, because in fact we’ve always been coexisting together.
“People can be people together outside of the proverbial closets so many of us have been taught to occupy.”
The Dinsmores have been longtime allies, advocates and activists for the LGBTQIA-plus community.
First Baptist Church’s senior pastor, Rev. Linda Pepe, nominate John and Lois for the MacNair award, and described them as having been allies, advocates and activists for LGBTQIA inclusion for decades. In the early 2000s, when the church began holding discussions and study groups about the church becoming Welcoming and Affirming, the Dinsmores were at the forefront.
The couple actively participate in QMunity, the LGBTQIA-plus group at the church, and frequently host meetings, gatherings and events for the group at their home. They also host a monthly luncheon for a diverse group of people from the church to grow and deepen congregational relationships.
A big part of that focus is to promote better understanding between those identifying in the LGBTQIA-plus community and the straight community. Lois serves on the leadership team and has served as co-chair for many years. During her leadership, the church’s LGBTQIA population has grown to more than 50% of the congregation.
John is the chair of properties and grounds. His dedication to ensuring church property is welcoming to all people extends – but is not limited to – banners, signage, ADA (Americans With Disabilities Act) code compliance, a green energy focus and creative ways to propel funding for expenses.
John and Lois often cook homemade soups and stews for the church’s food pantry patrons and if need be, deliver to those who cannot get there in person. They have also participated in Pride events and are often first to volunteer.
“What makes John and Lois stand out is their witness to full inclusion, lived out in the wider community,” Pepe noted in the AWAB’s most recent newsletter. “They employ gentleness and humor in helping the community of Moorestown better understand the need for inclusion and acceptance, whether in a local restaurant, a marriage equality campaign, or simply meeting one on one with someone on the street.
“John and Lois are LGBTQ-plus first responders.”
