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Finding Aid to Richard R. Mickley Photographs Coll2012.123
Coll2012.123
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Table of contents
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries, University of Southern California
Title: Richard R. Mickley photographs
creator:
Mickley, Dick (Richard Raymond)
Identifier/Call Number: Coll2012.123
Physical Description:
45 Photographic Prints
Date (inclusive): circa 1988-1991
Abstract: Photographs documenting Richard R. Mickley personal life and his service to the Metropolotian Community Church in Auckland,
New Zealand.
Richard Raymond Mickley was the oldest of ten children of Raymond and Clara Mickley of Danville, Ohio. He entered Brunnerdale
Seminary of the Society of the Precious Blood in Canton, Ohio at the age of 13. His superiors advised him to leave the seminary
and find “a nice wife.” After serving in the U.S. Army in Korea during the police action, he met his future wife, Nancy with
whom he would have eight children. He taught Latin and later owned and operated a restaurant with his wife. He returned to
Catholic parish work as the Director of Religious Education in Michigan, one of the first five lay directors in the United
States. For many years he worked with Ralph Martin and Steve Clark in the National Cursillo Movement Leadership and later
in the Catholic Charismatic movement. He was named one of the first lay ministers of the Eucharist in the country.
While in Detroit he realized he was gay and he became involved with the Gay Liberation Front (GLF). Mickley went on to join
a group of pastors who took turns leading worship services to bring “religious liberation” to the people of Detroit. After
hearing fiery speeches by Reverend Troy Perry, the pastors decided to bring the Metropolitan Community Church (MCC) to Detroit.
He was later called to serve as Assistant Pastor of MCC in Chicago. As this developed, Mickley's family suffered; he and Nancy
decided to end their marriage.
From Chicago, Mickley moved to Phoenix where he worked with Reverend Joseph Gilbert. Gilbert introduced him to prison ministry
and inspired him to write the Prison Ministry Handbook. He was then invited to Los Angeles to head the Prison Ministry office
and serve as the Director of Publications. Mickley also worked in the parish ministry at MCC Los Angeles, later as the interim
pastor in Upland, and then as pastor of MCC Ventura. He took a leave of absence and earned a master’s degree in psychological
counseling at Sierra University, and then a Ph.D. in clinical psychology specializing in LGBT relationships at International
College in 1983.
In 1988 he was called back into parish ministry through the intervention of Reverend Ken Martin and soon thereafter was called
as pastor to MCC Auckland, New Zealand. After three and half years in Auckland, Mickley answered a desperate plea from the
Philippines in May 1991. He networked with them for five weeks and on June 26, 1991, he held the first public gay and lesbian
pride mass in the Philippines at the high altar of the Holy Child National Cathedral with 50 people in attendance. A week
later he left for Los Angeles with a petition signed by 43 gay and lesbian Christians calling for him to return to Manila
and set up a church. With the approval of Reverend Perry and the MCC Board of Elders, Mickley established MCC Manila on September
7, 1991. It was the first openly gay and lesbian organization in the country. In 1992 Pro Gay with MCC Manila as a co-sponsor
held the first gay and lesbian pride parade in Asia. The parade was held with 50 brave gays and lesbians marching on a rainy
day, June 26, 1994. In 1995, MCC pastoral policy required Mickley to retire. He then founded the Order of St. Aelred to continue
his pastoral work, but not to duplicate the MCC parish ministry.
In 2004 Bishop James Burch, founding and presiding Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of One Spirit, ordained Father Richard Mickley
as a bishop to enhance their ministry to the LGBT community. He was honored as one of ten outstanding elderly people in 2013
in the Philippines by the Coalition of Services of the Elderly (COSE). He also founded a wellness program, The Well, for persons
living with HIV and those attempting to overcome addictions.
Sources:
Mickley, Michael R. "Bishop Richard Mickley, CDOD, Ph.D." The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Religious Archives Network.
http://www.lgbtran.org/Profile.aspx?ID=247 (retrieved August 28, 2014).
The Catholic Dioceses of One Spirit. "Catholic Dioceses of One Spirit in Philippines." http://onespiritcatholic.org/our-members-of-the-catholic-church/catholic-diocese-of-one-spirit-in-philippines
(retrieved August 28, 2014).
The collection is open to researchers. There are no access restrictions.
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the ONE Archivist. Permission
for publication is given on behalf of ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives at USC Libraries as the owner of the physical
items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Richard R. Mickley, circa 1988.
[Box #, Item MSS#], Richard R. Mickley Photographs, Coll2014-123, ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries, University
of Southern California.
Collection processed by Michael C. Oliveira, August 2014.
Box 5, Folder 24, [Auckland, New Zealand] Metropolitan Community Church historical collection, Coll2009-006, ONE National
Gay and Lesbian Archives, Los Angeles, California.
Photographs documenting Richard R. Mickley's personal life and his service to the Metropolotian Community Church in Auckland,
New Zealand.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Metropolitan Community Church
Photographs
Mickley, Dick (Richard Raymond)