Mervyn Kingston
Rev Mervyn Kingston (George Mervyn Kingston, 1947–2013) was an Anglican priest in Northern Ireland, who worked for acceptance of gay people within the Church. He was a pioneer of the gay Christian movement in Ireland since the early 1980s as well as a member of the Northern Ireland Gay Rights Association (NIGRA).[1]
He was born in East Belfast, and worked for the Department for Health and Social Services, before being ordained in 1974 as a priest of the Church of Ireland. Until forced by ill-health to retire, he was Rector of Creggan, Ballymascanlon and Rathcor, thus serving an area covering parts of north Louth (in the Republic) and south Armagh (in Northern Ireland).[2]
In 2003 Mervyn Kingston, together with his partner, Dr Richard O'Leary, founded Changing Attitude Ireland, which has campaigned for the full inclusion of LGBT people in churches and for the introduction of civil marriage equality in both parts of Ireland.[1]
In 2005, two year's before Rev Kingston's retirement from the ministry, he and Dr O'Leary formed a civil partnership.
In 2006 he achieved a significant victory for gay people. The Department of Social and Family Affairs had refused to pay adult dependent allowance to Dr O'Leary, who had taken unpaid leave from work to care for him. The Department initially refused to pay: Kingston appealed to the Equality Tribunal, and the Government overturned the refusal.[2]
In 2009 he was due to take part, on behalf of Changing Attitude, in a service in St Patrick’s Cathedral, Armagh intended to "celebrate diversity"; he was to have prayed that God would "bless all of our relationships" and "give us patience and understanding as we seek to build bridges with those who have difficulty in accepting us and our opinions", but the Orange Order objected to his taking part and the service was cancelled.[3]
In 2012 he told a fringe meeting at a Church of Ireland conference on sexuality that he was the terminally ill clergyman who had been refused ‘Permission to Officiate’ by the Bishop of Down in 2007 and by the Bishop of Connor in February 2012.[4]
References
<references- ↑ 1.0 1.1 http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2013/08/07/gay-rights-campaigner-and-co-founder-of-changing-attitude-ireland-dies/ Scott Roberts, "Gay rights campaigner and co-founder of Changing Attitude Ireland dies" Pink News 7 August 2013
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/people/church-of-ireland-priest-who-championed-gay-rights-and-ecumenism-1.1497592 "Church of Ireland priest who championed gay rights and ecumenism" Irish Times 17 August 2013
- ↑ http://paddyanglican.blogspot.co.uk/2009/05/church-of-ireland-scores-anti-gay-own.html PaddAnglican blog, Church of Ireland scores Anti-Gay own goal!" 1 May 2009
- ↑ http://inclusive-church.org.uk/news/changing-attitude-ireland Inclusive Church blog, "Changing Attitude Ireland" 20 March 2012
