John Gustav-Wrathall: I Am Barnes & Thornburg

I AM...

• The son of an immigrant mom who was born in Outokumpu, Finland
• A polyglot, fluent in English, Finnish, German, French, Spanish and Portuguese, taking Mandarin classes, and somewhat conversant in Swedish and Latin
• A believing Latter-day Saint who served a mission for my church in France and is active in my ward in South Minneapolis
• A former history professor who taught American religious histories (a religious cultural pluralism class) for seven years at United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities
• A current volunteer English teacher who serves the Twin Cities’ Spanish-speaking immigrant community at the Minnesota Welcome Center
• A lay minister who has worked to build spaces where LGBTQ+ folks’ sexual orientation/gender identity can coexist harmoniously with our spirituality/faith community
• Married to a wonderful husband who has been my life partner for over 33 years, and who continues to teach me and make me a better person every day
• The father of a foster son who makes me incredibly proud of the man he has become in his family life, his friendships and his career
• A published author with a book on gay men and the YMCA by the University of Chicago Press, and articles on faith and LGBTQ history
• Obsessed with dream interpretation and have an ever-growing journal of about 2,500 recorded dreams – some of which I’ve turned into animated shorts and artistic images

This profile appeared in the January 2025 edition of I Am Barnes & Thornburg.

View the full publication.