| Manchester Parents Group 21st anniversary |
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Manchester Parents Group (MPG) officially celebrated its 21st Anniversary on November 24th 2007 with a Civic Reception at the city’s magnificent Victorian Town Hall. The event was hosted by The Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress of Manchester and celebrated the many years of support the group has provided for parents and family members of LGB people.
On arrival the many guests were given a warm welcome and gathered in the ante room for drinks after which we were escorted into the very grand Reception Hall by the Lord Mayor’s Master of Ceremonies, then began the formal proceedings. The Lord Mayor gave a welcome speech and thanked everyone for attending. “Manchester Parents Group was set up to challenge the misunderstanding and fear surrounding the ‘coming out’ process and to help people come to terms with the decision of a friend or family member to announce that they were lesbian, gay or bisexual. The City Council is rightly proud to celebrate the success of our family members and friends of lesbian and gay people, who have supported the brave decisions to ‘come out’ and lead a proud and positive life in Manchester. We all appreciate the importance of strong parenthood in our lives and the support our sons and daughters require from us. Manchester Parents Group represents the scaffolding beneath this concept of strong parenthood and we applaud the contribution the group has played in so many people’s lives. Thank you and good luck with the next 21 years!” Laurie Wright then responded on behalf of MPG. He thanked the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress for hosting the reception and Manchester City Council for all the help and support they have given the group over the years. He also thanked the many parents, family members and friends for attending the celebration He then invited Cath Johnson (formerly Hall), the only remaining founder of MPG, to say a few words. Cath spoke movingly about the beginnings of MPG in 1986 and how three mothers of gay sons, Joyce, Joan and herself met while helping at Manchester Gay Youth Group. The young people often asked for help “coming out” to their parents and it soon became evident there was a need for a support group for parents of gay children. So they worked tirelessly and against all odds to set up the group that was to be MPG, the first such group in the UK. Cath said, “Brenda Oakes took over the group when I became involved in setting up The Albert Kennedy Trust to help homeless gay young people and Joyce became ill and unable to attend the meetings. She continued her inspirational leadership until her retirement in 2002 “ Cath stressed how difficult and different things were in the early days and just how much progress has been made to improve the lives of gay young people and their families over the years. She thanked all the parents who have worked so hard to make this happen. The last speaker was Councillor Paul Fairweather who spoke in support of the group. Paul is a long time friend of MPG and remembered fondly the group in the early days when he was a young man campaigning for gay rights in Manchester. He recalled MPG’s involvement in campaigning and in particular the rally against Section 28 when Joyce received rapturous applause from 20,000 people when she announced “I am the proud mother of a gay son.” He also remembered our meeting with Baroness Young at the House of Lords re equal age of consent and the many protest rallies we have taken part in. He said that sadly both Joyce and Joan passed away in 2006 and it was fitting that we should remember them and pay tribute to them during our celebration. He finished by saying how much better life is for young gay people today than when he was growing up and he thanked MPG for the part they played in bringing this about. Bouquets of flowers were then presented to Cath and Brenda in recognition of all their hard work. I was very touched, and somewhat taken aback, to also receive a bouquet as a belated 70th birthday present! This concluded the official part of the event and we were then free to relax, partake of more drinks, and enjoy a delicious buffet meal whilst talking to our many friends. What a fantastic end to a year of celebration for Manchester Parents Group. Inga Rhodes www.manpg.co.uk 0845 652 2674 |