Peter Leland DeGroot, Pastor Who Challenged United Methodist Church Bans, Dies at 86

Peter Leland DeGroot, a United Methodist Church pastor and LGBT rights activist, died on May 9, 2026, in the United States at the age of 86. In the 1990s, he successfully challenged the church’s ban on ordaining openly LGBT individuals and later helped establish a movement for inclusivity within Methodist congregations.

Secular Career and LGBT Press

Peter Leland DeGroot was born on January 19, 1940, in New York State. He received a bachelor’s degree in psychology in 1961 and served three years in the U.S. Army. After his service, he studied public administration at American University in Washington, D.C.

In 1972, DeGroot founded and led the ICMA Retirement Corporation (now MissionSquare Retirement), a retirement program for local government employees. During his 16 years of leadership, the corporation’s assets exceeded 1 billion dollars, and its participants reached 100,000. Alongside his corporate work, DeGroot participated in the early gay rights movement: in 1975, he worked for three months as a news editor at the Washington newspaper Washington Blade .

Kidnapping and Turn to the Church

In 1988, DeGroot retired from the corporation and moved to Venezuela. There, he was kidnapped and severely injured. According to DeGroot, while waiting for rescue in a rural area, he made a vow to dedicate his life to the church if he survived.

After returning to Washington, he recovered and enrolled in Wesley Theological Seminary. He graduated with honors in 1994, earning a Master of Divinity degree.

Ministry and Advocacy for Inclusivity

DeGroot decided to challenge the United Methodist Church’s rules that banned the ordination of openly LGBT people. He publicly declared his homosexuality and committed to celibacy, which provided a formal basis to continue the ordination process. In 1993, he was ordained as a deacon by a narrow vote margin, and in 1996 as an elder.

DeGroot served for 16 years in several parishes across Maryland and Washington, retiring in 2009. In 2004, at the request of the new local bishop, he organized a meeting between the bishop and LGBT congregants. This meeting led to the creation of BWARM, a regional network of Methodists advocating for the integration of LGBT people into church life.

DeGroot is survived by his longtime life partner Luis Herrera, his sister, a nephew, and close friends. A memorial service will be held on June 27, 2026, at Foundry United Methodist Church in Washington, D.C.