The Rev. Malcolm Boyd, an Episcopal priest known for his activist ministries, died Friday, February 27, at age 91, reports the Religion News Service (RNS) in a Huffington Post item. Boyd marched with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in Selma, Alabama, for civil rights, and in 1977 he came out as gay.

He held the first “AIDS Mass” in 1985, and together with his partner, Mark Thompson, he lead the gay spirituality movement. The two married in a Los Angeles cathedral in 2004. Boyd and others in the movement believed that gay people, by virtue of their unique experiences and viewpoints, could make valuable contributions to society.

Boyd wrote 28 books, including the best-seller Are You Running With Me, Jesus?, a 1965 collection of modern prayers. Before his life as a priest, he was a successful producer in Hollywood’s golden age who worked with silent film star Mary Pickford.