137:, and attorney Donald Cantor. The group's name was chosen as a way to discreetly refer to homosexuality. The group focused on providing counseling services for gay Christians in the region. Meetings were held at the YMCA in Hartford, with social workers, psychologists, and clergy in attendance. Members of the group would go on to found the
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had established a separate block, "Block G", for inmates who were gay or transgender. The following year, Jones negotiated meetings with the warden, and after finding out that the Block G inmates were being treated more poorly than other inmates, attempted to convince the warden to dissolve the
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to
Clinton Robert Jones and Henriette Elizabeth Jones, née Morehouse; he was the couple's only child to survive infancy. He was raised attending St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Brookfield, where his mother was an organist. His mother's family had been among the founders of the church in the 18th
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In the 1960s, Jones was appointed to the
Rehabilitation Committee for the Greater Hartford Council of Churches. The committee addressed a variety of issues, including alcoholism, drug addiction, and the care of mental health patients, but Jones became particularly interested in researching
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In 1966, the
Hartford Council of Churches agreed to pay for a private phone line in Jones' office, to protect the privacy of the individuals he was working with. Jones also ensured that his office was reachable by a private entrance, so visitors could enter and talk to him discreetly.
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As canon, Jones had immense flexibility in what projects he pursued. His first work in the position was to revitalize local
Episcopal summer camps. This would remain an interest of his, and he later became a summer camp administrator for camps across southern New England.
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In 2005, The
Friends of Christ Church Cathedral created the Canon Clinton R. Jones Award in honor of Jones' decades of ministry. The award was to be given annually to "a person of faith who works quietly in the community on issues at the cutting edge of change".
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In 1986, with Jones' retirement, Project H (which had been renamed the
Committee on Sexual Minorities in 1980) disbanded, as the presence of other LGBT organizations in the area meant the services provided by Project H had become increasingly less vital.
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Later in the 1970s, Jones founded the Gender
Identity Clinic of New England, which connected transgender people to social and healthcare workers who helped patients access affirming mental health treatments, hormone therapy, and gender-affirming surgery.
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Jones retired in 1986. However, he remained active in local ministry. He joined the
Greater Hartford Regional Ministry in 1990, later serving as the group's president. He continue to work with the group for years, only stopping shortly before his death.
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In 1971, Jones and
Project H colleague George Higgins founded the Twenty-One Club, which primarily served transgender individuals, providing them with counseling and psychiatric services. The group continued to meet at the church for 30 years.
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Jones was gay, and was in a domestic partnership with church musician
Kenneth Woods for 40 years; however, he was not open about his sexuality during his lifetime. After Jones retired in 1986, the two moved to
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In 1965, Jones met with Alfred Gross, founder of the New York-based George H. Henry Foundation, a group similar to Project H. Jones subsequently opened a Hartford chapter of the foundation, with Gross's help.
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block. Although he was unsuccessful, Jones was able to provide counseling to individual inmates in Block G. He would continue providing counseling to gay and transgender inmates until his retirement in 1986.
56:. His mother died in his junior year. Although he had initially planned to go to law school, as per his mother's aspirations for him to attend Yale, her death made Jones reconsider his future plans.
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From 1946 until 1953, Jones served as the diocese's director of youth. At the same time, from 1947 until 1951, he also served as a member of the Episcopal National Youth Commission.
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teenager who had been kicked out of her home, the teenager found herself "completely at sea when confronted with the formalized gentility of Jones’s home" and his "formal dinner".
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and the issues surrounding it. He ultimately decided that the issues would be best served by having a specific group dedicated to addressing homosexuality.
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411:"A Sermon Preached at the Thanksgiving Eucharist for the Life of the Reverend Canon Clinton R. Jones at Christ Church Cathedral, Hartford, Connecticut"
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for the Joint Commission on the Church and Human Affairs, an Episcopal commission which was "study the gay issue".
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In late 1973, Jones gave a seminar on "transsexualism" to Hartford's Police Community Relations Department.
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Jones was known for his manners and his formality. One story goes that when he was temporarily housing a
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on June 15, 1941. For the next few years, until 1945, he was a pastor at St. James Church in
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Jones' personal papers, which include his correspondence, are held at the GLBTQ Archives at
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Jones died of pancreatic cancer in 2006. After his death, Woods inherited his property.
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in 1946. Jones was appointed canon (senior administrative priest) of Hartford's
67:, from which he graduated with a Master of Divinity degree in 1941, at age 24.
601:
Oral History Interview with Canon Clinton Jones Nov 4, 2002 from CCSU Archives
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333:"Canon Clinton Jones: A Revolutionary Figure in Connecticut's LGBTQ+ History"
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in 1968, considered the state's first LGBT political advocacy organization.
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In 1963, Jones founded Project H alongside George Higgins, a professor from
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In the late 1960s, Jones founded the Married Gay Men's Group of Hartford.
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575:"Diocese of Chicago: it's deja vu all over again! (20 years later)"
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In 1966, Jones and his colleagues at Project H were told that the
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at New London. Jones became the assistant minister of Hartford's
74:. His thesis was titled "Counseling and the Male Homosexual".
549:"Information on Transexualism for Law Enforcement Officers"
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Jones later pursued a Master's in Sacred Theology from
470:"An Early Advocate for Connecticut's Gay Community"
45:, but was Episcopalian by the time Jones was born.
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337:Connecticut History | a CTHumanities Project
556:Erickson Educational Foundation Newsletter
174:In 1976, Jones was a witness representing
642:20th-century American non-fiction writers
20:(November 8, 1916 – June 3, 2006) was an
24:priest and gay rights activist based in
632:20th-century American Episcopal priests
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212:Understanding Gay Relatives and Friends
409:Doubleday, William A. (June 7, 2006).
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48:Jones first attended Brookfield's
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697:People from Hartford, Connecticut
573:Gauthier, Barbara (2014-04-08).
468:Gifford, Emily E. (2020-08-14).
390:LGBTQ Religious Archives Network
84:Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut
657:American LGBTQ rights activists
41:century. His father had been a
529:Alexander, Paul (March 2000).
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682:LGBTQ people from Connecticut
72:New York Theological Seminary
702:Transgender rights activists
677:LGBTQ history in Connecticut
607:Canon Clinton Jones Archives
507:. 2006-06-04. Archived from
501:"A CHURCH LEGEND DIES AT 89"
206:Homosexuality and Counseling
65:General Theological Seminary
331:Galanis, Eve (2022-05-03).
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647:Activists from Connecticut
82:Jones was ordained in the
579:American Anglican Council
252:Central Connecticut State
707:Writers from Connecticut
200:What About Homosexuality
59:Jones went on to attend
52:, and went on to attend
32:Early life and education
18:Clinton Robert Jones Jr.
233:Manchester, Connecticut
219:Personal life and death
104:Christ Church Cathedral
100:Christ Church Cathedral
38:Brookfield, Connecticut
537:. Here Publishing: 86.
672:LGBTQ Anglican clergy
256:Elihu Burritt Library
96:U.S. Maritime Service
26:Hartford, Connecticut
652:American gay writers
531:"Husbands and Wives"
474:Connecticut Explored
50:one-room schoolhouse
662:Bard College alumni
54:Danbury High School
562:(2): 2. Fall 1973.
36:Jones was born in
43:Congregationalist
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61:Bard College
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627:2006 deaths
622:1916 births
616:Categories
603:on YouTube
584:2023-12-20
515:2023-12-20
479:2023-12-18
395:2023-12-20
342:2023-12-20
262:References
225:transexual
88:New London
176:Integrity
106:in 1948.
22:Episcopal
195:Source:
121:Activism
92:chaplain
94:in the
242:Legacy
214:(1978)
208:(1974)
202:(1972)
78:Career
16:Canon
552:(PDF)
414:(PDF)
191:Books
535:Out
254:’s
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