Susan E. Gilmore is an activist, businesswoman, and Christian church worker who graduated from bible college in the early 1980s with a degree in biblical studies. At that time, she planned a career in Christian work but subsequently realized that her sexual orientation would prohibit her from pursuing this goal. Realizing the importance of being true to her sexual identity, she instead chose a career in real estate and is currently vice president and regional manager for one of the largest title insurance companies in the nation.
Gilmore felt called to write her book, The Peace Seeker: One Woman’s Battle in the Church’s War on Homosexuality, to increase awareness about the Christian Church’s misinterpretation and prejudice regarding homosexuality. The book chronicles Gilmore’s personal journey to sexual identity and struggle to reconcile that identity with the religious teachings of the Bible and church officials about homosexuality. It follows her search for understanding and compassion from church officials and fellow parishioners as she seeks to balance her sexual identity and her deeply felt Christian beliefs and practices. The book makes clear how, despite not being allowed by the Christian Church to serve in a full-time capacity, she considered God central to her life, prompting her to personally investigate several biblical passages used to bolster the church’s teaching that homosexuality is a sin and to discover how to reconcile her sexual orientation with the God of love and creation at the center of her world. The book further asks Christians who regard homosexuality as a sin to reconsider their beliefs in light of her findings and to view Christian homosexuals with more compassion.
Today, Gilmore, who lives outside Philadelphia, is an outspoken advocate for increased tolerance toward gay Christians who have been ostracized from their family of faith. She is also an activist blazing paths to peace between the Christian Church and Christian homosexuals to both minimize inner conflicts for gay Christians and create greater understanding and compassion in the Christian community.