Brent Hawkes
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The Reverend Brent Hawkes CM ONB |
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|---|---|
Hawkes in 2006
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| Born |
June 2, 1950 Bath, New Brunswick, Canada |
| Alma mater | |
| Spouse(s) | John Sproule (m. 2006) |
| Religion | Christian |
| Church | Metropolitan Community Church |
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Congregations served
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Metropolitan Community Church of Toronto |
Brent Hawkes, CM ONB (born June 2, 1950) is a Canadian clergyman and gay rights activist.
Hawkes was born in Bath, New Brunswick to a Baptist family. Hawkes earned Bachelor of Science (1972) and Bachelor of Education (1973) degrees from Mount Allison University, and Master of Divinity (1986) and Doctor of Ministry (2001) degrees from Trinity College, an Anglican institution at the University of Toronto.
Since 1977, Hawkes has served as Senior Pastor of the Metropolitan Community Church of Toronto, a church openly affirming for LGBT parishioners.
Hawkes has served on the advisory committee of PrideVision TV, and served on the board of directors for advocacy group Egale Canada. In addition to his advocacy work on LGBT issues, he has supported anti-racist initiatives, drawn attention to poverty and poor housing, and advocated the ordination of female priests.
On January 14, 2001, Hawkes gained national attention by performing a wedding ceremony for two same-sex couples at the Metropolitan Community Church of Toronto. Although city clerks would not issue marriage licenses for same-sex marriages at this time, Hawkes employed the alternative provided in Ontario law for regular church attendees to publish official banns for three consecutive weeks, and thereby conducted a legal marriage without requiring prior government permission. In the spirit of the banns as a public opportunity for interested parties to raise legal objections, the church also issued a press release in late 2000 announcing its intentions. The government of Jean Chrétien did not endorse the marriages, although Governor-General Adrienne Clarkson sent a personal letter of support. The city clerk refused to register the record of marriage, leading to a court battle. The church sued the city, the province and the federal government. On July 12, 2002, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice ruled that the marriages performed by Hawkes in January 2001 were legal, but stayed its decision pending a possible appeal, and on June 10, 2003, the Court of Appeal for Ontario declared the common law definition of marriage as "invalid to the extent that it refers to “one man and one woman” in the ruling of Halpern v. Canada, immediately striking down all barriers against same-sex marriage in the province.
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