Christian rock musician Vicky Beeching has finally come out of the closet, sharing with her fans details about her evangelical background and struggle with sexuality. In an interview for the Independent, Beeching said that she hoped her decision to come out as gay would inspire others to do the same.
She recently tweeted a link to the article, saying, “It’s taken all my courage and all these years for me to finally do this interview.”
In the interview, she discussed how she was part of the Pentecostal Church as well as the evangelical wing of the Church of England despite knowing that she was attracted to women through her growing years. She went on to talk discuss how her awareness of same-sex attraction nearly led her to being exorcised once, in front of approximately 4,000 people at a Christian camp in the United Kingdom.
Speaking about her relationship with the church, Beeching said, “I am not angry with the church even though it’s been a painful journey. I still hold as tightly to my Christian faith as ever. I have a lot of hope for the future of the church – that we can see a move towards inclusion, welcome and love for LGBT people. Even if everyone in the church cannot agree on theology, I hope we can dialogue with graciousness and kindness toward one another. That’s the kind of conversations I hope I can now be part of.”
Beeching, who grew up in Kent and studied at Oxford, moved to Tennessee after signing with EMI as a singer. Reportedly, the rock star admitted to being gay to Katherine Welby-Roberts, daughter of Archbishop Justin Welby, before deciding to go public with her admission. In fact, Welby-Roberts also expressed support for Beeching via her Twitter page.
The spectacularly brave and brilliant @vickybeeching http://t.co/N6QqnbLaD1 Love you and your beautiful face.
— Katharine W-R (@kwelbyroberts) August 13, 2014
When Beeching came out to her parents, they accepted her graciously. Currently, Beeching feels like she can continue to keep her faith but also hopes that conservative Christians will change their minds about the subject of homosexuality.
“What Jesus taught was a radical message of welcome and inclusion and love. I feel certain God loves me just the way I am, and I have a huge sense of calling to communicate that to young people.... I felt like coming out was something I needed to do. The church has now voted to enable women to become bishops – literally almost a month ago today, on July 14.... The next big hurdle the church faces is the discussion around sexuality.... Publishing an interview with the Independent has been incredibly nerve-wracking for me. I’m nervous about the ways in which social media will respond. And how my conservative community and friends will respond. But my hope is that there will be positivity as well as negativity from people of faith, and that it might encourage other Christians who feel unable to speak up about their sexuality to find the courage and freedom to do so. We need to break the silence around the taboo of sexuality in the church and enable one another to speak about it more openly,” she said.
Beeching came out in support of same-sex marriage last year.
Photo Credit: Charisma News
