Viva Brighton Issue #58 December 2017
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INTERVIEW<br />
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MYbrighton: Rev Michael Hydes<br />
The Village Metropolitan Community Church<br />
Are you local? I’m originally from Newcastle upon<br />
Tyne. I started life as a Jehovah’s Witness but when<br />
I was 20 they threw me out for being gay. I was<br />
homeless for a while before the Samaritans found<br />
me a place in Bradford. Work eventually took me to<br />
London where I found the Metropolitan Community<br />
Church and realised that I had a calling to ministry.<br />
After studying at King’s I went to New York<br />
and met my husband, Chris. I helped set up the first<br />
emergency queer youth shelter in New York and<br />
then accepted a call to lead an MCC church. My<br />
parish was in Hagerstown, Maryland, in the middle<br />
of a really conservative area not far from Camp David<br />
and a very active Klu Klux Klan group. Because<br />
we were at the centre of the LGBT community we<br />
were able to fight for same-sex marriage rights, and<br />
my husband and I were one of the first couples to<br />
be legally married in the state.<br />
What brought you to <strong>Brighton</strong>? After nine<br />
years in Hagerstown my mother was diagnosed<br />
with cancer, so we moved back to the UK to help<br />
support her. I knew that I wanted to lead a church<br />
that focused on the needs of the local LGBTQ+<br />
communities here. I really believe in supporting<br />
and praying for the work of organisations like<br />
Switchboard and the LGBT Community Safety<br />
Forum, groups that do important work but often<br />
get ignored by mainstream churches. So we set up<br />
The Village MCC, a church that’s very much a part<br />
of local LGBTQ+ community life. I’ve earned the<br />
nickname ‘Reverend Bear’.<br />
Who is in the congregation? People who are gay,<br />
lesbian, bisexual, trans and straight, of all ages and<br />
diverse backgrounds. Because my Christian identity<br />
is not rooted in a mainstream tradition I’m able to<br />
be flexible in ways others might find uncomfortable.<br />
I can speak openly about LGBTQ+ issues with my<br />
collar on and try as much as possible to support the<br />
LGBTQ+ community. It’s important to me that<br />
should someone need a helping hand they know we<br />
are here.<br />
Do you consider yourself a <strong>Brighton</strong>ian now?<br />
If you mean ‘am I a complete weirdo?’ then yes.<br />
<strong>Brighton</strong> is wonderfully diverse. The incidence of<br />
LGBTQ+ hate crime here is so much lower than<br />
elsewhere in the country and the city is extraordinary<br />
in its openness and acceptance. But it’s easy to<br />
forget that others, both in the UK and abroad, don’t<br />
always have it as easy. I believe that it’s not okay<br />
just to model acceptance, we have to reach out and<br />
support others.<br />
What would you change about the place? I’d<br />
like there to be more genuinely affordable housing,<br />
especially for key workers. There’s such a shortage<br />
of nurses and care workers in <strong>Brighton</strong>. I have met<br />
a lot of people on the street with significant mental<br />
health issues and believe that if there is to be care<br />
in the community, we have to have the resources to<br />
provide it.<br />
What do you like to do on a day off? The dogs<br />
are a big part of our life. Sometimes we’ll go walking<br />
on Devil’s Dyke, but every day we’ll walk them<br />
to the beach. I’m also a hypnotherapist and funeral<br />
officiate. I enjoy studying and continuing education<br />
projects. I have a very curious mind.<br />
When did you last swim in the sea? Last year. We<br />
did go paddling this year, one beautiful day when<br />
there was that bit of sand by the pier at low tide. I<br />
always think there’s a beautiful beach there, it’s just<br />
20 feet down, under all those stones.<br />
Interview by Lizzie Lower<br />
thevillagemcc.org<br />
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