Advertisement

Obituary: Rev. Rodney E. Reinhart

Jason A. Michael

Born in Toledo, Ohio and raised in Detroit, Rodney Reinhart's first calling was to teach. He earned a degree in English and secondary education from Oakland University and taught for many years in the Detroit public schools. But by the 1970s, it was a calling to serve God that Reinhart yielded to.
He studied theology and church history at Colgate Rochester, Bexley Hall-Crozer, the seminary consortium in Rochester, New York, earning his Masters of Divinity in 1975. Later, he did further graduate work at the University of Michigan and at Wayne State University.
Having realized he was gay in junior high school, Reinhart became involved in Detroit's burgeoning gay and lesbian community in the 1970s. By the following decade he had started Integrity-Detroit, a group working for the full equality of LGBT persons in every part of the Episcopal Church, with his partner Richard Kelch. Together they represented the group on the Detroit Area Gay/Lesbian Council, an early LGBT rights organization in the city.
In 1983, Reinhart was ordained as a deacon at St. Cyprian's Episcopal Church in Detroit. A year later, he was ordained as a priest at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church on the campus of Detroit's Wayne State University. Also in 1984, Reinhart co-founded the People Who Care About People With AIDS interfaith worship service.
"Rev. Reinhart reminded the religious community of its need to minister, pray for and demonstrate concern for the AIDS afflicted at a time when so many treated its suffering and dying as pariahs outside God's love and redemption," said friend Charles Alexander. "It was a courageous ministry for Rev. Reinhart to undertake over many years."
The service continued as an annual tradition for over 20 years. For much of his career in Detroit, Reinhart specialized in interim and transitional ministries. Working in close coordination with the Bishop of Michigan, Reinhart helped troubled parishes transition through times of conflict and change. Reinhart was very concerned about the tragedy of religious prejudice and war. In 1999, he established the World Sabbath of Religious Reconciliation, an interfaith holy day dedicated to overcoming religious and racial war, an event which continues to this day.
Reinhart relocated to the Chicago area in 2004. There he served as rector of St. Clement's Church in Harvey and St. Joseph and St. Aidan's in Blue Island. At St. Clement's Church, Reinhart oversaw an effective anti-hunger pantry and community garden program that fed as many as 300 impoverished families each month. At St. Joseph and St. Aidan's, Reinhart led an evangelistic program to heal the environment and make peace in the world. Under his leadership, St. Joseph and St. Aidan's became a great center for helping homeless veterans survive through the winter.
"He was without a doubt the most decent, caring man I have ever met in my life," said Alan Engle, Reinhart's husband. "That's the best anyone could say about Rodney Reinhart."
Peter Cooper, a longtime friend of Reinhart's, said he will remember Reinhart's fun side. "He was a gregarious man," Cooper said. "He was always involved in doing something, either working with the LGBT movement, working with seniors, with labor unions, working with the disadvantaged … He was always trying to help someone else. And yet he knew how to have a good time himself."
Reinhart summed himself up rather eloquently in a story Between The Lines did on him nearly two decades ago.
"God's will for my life was to be grateful for the gift of being gay and to live this life out in the most effective, faithful and creative way possible."
Visitation for Reinhart will take place from 3-6 p.m. Friday, Dec. 4 at Coat's Funeral Home, which is located at 3141 Sashabaw Road in Waterford. Funeral services will take place at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 5 at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, which is located at 5301 Hatchery Road in Waterford.

Advertisement
Advertisement

From the Pride Source Marketplace

Go to the Marketplace
Directory default
This all­ suite hotel boasts an ideal location, close to many well ­known Detroit corporations and…
Learn More
Directory default
Giraffe Design Build's unique calling card is the intersection of inspired design and excellent…
Learn More
Directory default
Creating positive social change supporting all forms of gender identity and expression through…
Learn More
Advertisement