Life is an adventure. I was made in England circa 1955, amid the best of Britain's quality footwear manufacturers. I was raised a third generation Pentecostal. Quality assurance all the way. It was Pleasantville perfect, until I admitted I was different.

I wasn't your ordinary churchgoer - I was passionate, almost fanatical about it. While still at school I was on the leadership team of Consortium an inter-church youth project, I was earmarked for great things pentecostal, following in the footsteps of other family members and friends such as Keith Munday (uncle) and Ernie Crew (my dad's spiritual father).

My early life could have easily come right out of the pages of "Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit" by Jeanette Winterson. I was Jess, of course; my father had the zeal of her mother.

I was a student at Mattersey Bible College (1975-77), I'm not sure about the academic value but those formation experiences of a shared spiritual community and ministry were invaluable. I now realize that to live and work among questioning, passionate students is to make oneself vulnerable. To the late David Powell, John Carter and John Phillips, and to our long suffering dean Ernie Anderson - I will always be grateful.

In 1978, while serving an internship in Hitchin, I met Richard Kirker, a deacon in the local Anglican Church, later to become the long-serving General Secretary of the Lesbian & Gay Christian Movement. At last, I found the confidence to face my fears, and discover affirmation of who I knew I was. I was not the only gay Christian after all - it was just a conspiracy of silence that had kept me thinking that way.

In 1979, I was a co-founder of the Evangelical Fellowship for Gay and Lesbian Christians. Our inaugural meeting coincided with the Assemblies of God Annual Conference at which they made their first public statement on homosexuality (not a postive one). The statement was delivered by the, then, General Secretary, Keith Munday, my uncle.

The clock was ticking. In August 1981 I resigned my only AoG ministry (Derby Hall Christian Assembly, North London) and began walking. At the time I thought it was a journey away from the church, but it has proven to be an enriching, fruitful journey of faith and Christian community.

Since those days I have lived in Warwick, London (once again) & Manchester in England; Des Moines Iowa, and Gainesville & Palm Beach in Florida, USA. Today I live in London (Ontario) Canada. I moved here in the summer of 2009 after 12 years in Florida.

In my life I have had three serious relationships (apologies to everyone else). My choice of career has impacted my relationships big time. Karl and I have been together since 2004 and we married (legally) in Montreal on June 2, 2007. Regretably, due to work and immigration issues we have been living separately since I moved to Canada. Karl continues to live in Florida.

 Alaska 2009

Roy Beaney (1960-2010) 

A great friend, fondly remembered.