Vicky Beeching
British worship musician and commentator on faith and sexuality.
Victoria Louise Beeching is a British musician and religious commentator known for her work in American contemporary worship music. She has been described by The Guardian as 'arguably the most influential Christian of her generation' due to her Twitter following and appearances on BBC's Thought for the Day.
Quick Facts
- Birth name
- Victoria Louise Beeching
- Born
- 17 July 1979
- Birthplace
- Canterbury, Kent, England
- Education
- University of Oxford, Durham University
- Occupation
- Musician and religious commentator
Facts from the source article.
Earlylife and education
Beeching grew up in Canterbury and attended Simon Langton Girls' Grammar School from ages 11 to 18. In her early teens she struggled to reconcile her conservative Christian faith with her attraction to female peers. She studied theology at the University of Oxford, earning a bachelor's degree in 2000 and a master's degree in 2001. Her mother taught her piano and guitar, and Beeching began writing songs at age 10 and leading worship in church youth services as a teenager. From 1997 to 2001 she attended Oxford Vineyard Church, where she learned from Brian Doerksen and Brenton Brown.
Musical career
Beeching moved to Nashville around 2002 for her music career. In December 2002 she released the Shelter EP through EMI UK and appeared on compilation albums. She quit her job as a Management Consultant in 2003 to focus on worship music full-time. She signed with Sparrow Records and released the EP The Journey in 2005, followed by her first full-length album Yesterday, Today & Forever on 27 December 2005. Her second album Painting the Invisible, produced by Ed Cash and Nathan Nockels, came out on 3 April 2007; several songs were written on Keith Green's old piano at the invitation of Melody Green. Seeking a less conservative environment, she moved to San Diego in 2008 and performed in churches there. Her third album Eternity Invades, released in 2010, included a song co-written with Steve Fee. She led worship at the Spring Harvest Christian festival from 2010 to 2012.
Media presence
Beeching's blog, which covered difficult Christian issues such as the role of women in the Church, won Best Blog in the 2011 Christian New Media Awards. Beginning in December 2013 she spoke out in favour of gay marriage; her blog posts received a mixed response, with some social media followers expressing vitriolic criticism. She was nominated for the 2014 National Diversity Awards in the category of Positive Role Model Race, Faith & Religion but did not make the shortlist. In August 2014 she announced she is a lesbian, and in November 2014 she was awarded third place in The Independent on Sunday's Rainbow List. As of mid-2015 she is a regular television and radio commentator on ethics, technology, women, Christianity, music and social media. In June 2018 she published the memoir Undivided with HarperCollins. She had over 50,000 Twitter followers in August 2014 and over 64,000 as of June 2017.
Personal life
Beeching received a diagnosis of linear scleroderma morphea in 2009, leading to chemotherapy that lasted a year and a half. She relocated to central London at the end of 2012. By February 2013, she was working on a PhD at Durham University’s Department of Theology and Religion, originally examining religion, technology, online connectivity, and ethics. She shifted her focus in June 2014 to Christianity and sexuality, later specified as Christianity and same-sex marriage. She remains an Evangelical Christian and a Church of England member. In May 2019, she cited high London rent and her health issues as reasons for moving to the Kent coast.
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