The Church of England’s first “non-binary” minister said it was “difficult” to come out to his wife and three children after having a “moment of revelation” while reading the story of Adam and Eve.
Bingo Allison, who describes himself as gender-queer and uses the pronouns “they/them,” says he experienced an epiphany seven years ago while reading Genesis 1-3 in the Old Testament, The Daily Mail reports. He explained that the language which the bible originally used in Genesis 1:27 spoke about going “from maleness to femaleness” as opposed to just “men and women”.
The Church of England vicar, who works in Liverpool, said that as “they” read the story, “they” came to terms with “their” gender identity and realized, “There’s room for change and transformation in God’s creation, just because you were created a certain way doesn’t mean you can’t live a different way.”
Bingo, who is married with children, explained that it was “difficult” for his wife when he first came out because “obviously you marry what you think is a heterosexual man, and obviously things are more complicated than that.”
Speaking to BBC Radio Merseyside, Bingo described coming out as a “gradual process for me and my family.”
He said, “I’m married with three kids, and it was really important to come out to them and give them some time to understand me before I came out to the world.”
In his opinion, the story of transition can be gleaned from the Bible if only it is interpreted correctly: “The history of biblical interpretation is littered with the opinions of rich, white, heterosexual, same-sex, non-disabled, neurotypical men who assumed that everyone in the passages they read thought like them and perceived the world as they did.”
Bingo was ordained a priest in 2020 at St. Margaret’s Toxteth Church for the Anglican Diocese of Liverpool. He now visits schools and speaks to children to encourage other LGBTQ+ persons that they have a place in the church. He also posts selfies with captions saying Jesus ‘loves sparkly eyeshadow’.