Viva Brighton Issue #58 December 2017

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