William Beattie (politician) William Beattie (politician) William Beattie (born 21 September 1942) is a former minister of religion and Unionist politician in Northern Ireland. Beattie grew up in Ballymena. In 1965, he became a student minister at the Dunmurry Free Presbyterian Church, and in 1967 he became a full minister in the Church, led by Ian Paisley. He also joined Paisley's Protestant Unionist Party (PUP), and became the deputy leader. In 1970, Beattie was elected to the Northern Ireland House of Commons in a by-election in South Antrim. On the same day, Paisley was elected for Bannside, and the two became the PUP's
John Church (minister) John Church (minister) John Church (1780 – c. 1835) was an Independent minister who was most famous for his involvement in the homosexual scandal of the Vere Street Coterie. He is often claimed as the first openly gay ordained Christian minister in England. Contemporary rumours about this are unproveable one way or the other, though circumstantial evidence may suggest that his "inordinate affections which led me into error" can be equated with homosexual inclinations. A foundling discovered as a toddler barely able to walk on the steps of St John's Church Clerkenwell (hence his name) or St Andrew's Church Holborn,