Instead, Martin Kenyon’s family will have the ‘service’ in the back garden of his country house in the south of the county. The former army officer split his life between London and the county and his family had hoped to hold his funeral at St Michael and All Angels in Lydbury North. But his wish to see Reverend Mpho Tutu – daughter of his close friend Archbishop Desmond Tutu and his own goddaughter – perform in church has been refused by the Church of England because she is in a same-sex wedding. Instead, she will be present with family, friends and villagers in the garden of the Martin house and will be loved, despite the life spent traveling. Mr Kenyon was friends with Desmond Tutu for 60 years after looking after the South African archbishop when he arrived in London in the early 1960s to study. The decision has caused a backlash however, with Mpho’s wife of more than six years, Tutu Van Fruth, writing a ‘Letter to God’ to speak out for her husband, which was published in the South African newspaper Independent On Line. In it she said she could not believe it when her wife told her she would not be allowed to be present at the church as priest at Martin’s funeral. He said: “I couldn’t believe my ears. Our same-sex marriage is yet another reason to hurt people for no reason. “Martin’s daughters, grandchildren, friends, Tutu’s family, and my wife, Pho, who are all grieving the death of their beloved Martin, are being punished for falling in love with me and daring to marry me. “I feel it’s my time to talk about my wife.” Martin Kenyon at home in Shropshire He said the Church of England should allow every clergyman to marry whomever he respects and loves. Mr Kenyon’s daughter Nina said the decision had also caused some discomfort in the village and they had to hastily change arrangements to use the house, but they were determined the day would not be wasted. He said: “It will be a celebration of his wonderful and full life and although he traveled a lot, met the Queen, Archbishop Tutu, Martin Luther King and many other people, he always called his home in Shropshire ‘God’s Country.’ and he was never happier than when he was here. “He opened his doors to the villagers every summer and always enjoyed showing them around the house and sharing good times and friendship – somehow it will be good for everyone to come and pay their respects. “We’ve got the church organist playing an electric piano, we’ve put up a marquee at short notice and everyone’s gathered from the caterers to the musicians to the villagers. “My thoughts on the decision on Mpho and other same-sex marriages is that it is outdated and needs to be updated, but my father insisted that he was one of the priests in the service and if he does it this way it means he will still be .” Mr Kenyon was interviewed by CNN in December 2020 outside Guy’s Hospital where he had gone for a Covid vaccine and told the US reporter he had turned up at the hospital but “couldn’t find anywhere to park my car so I was late “. . CNN found a man on the street in London, Martin Kenyon, aged 91, who was one of the first people in the world to receive the coronavirus vaccine. “Well, there’s no point in me dying now that I’ve lived so long, is there?” pic.twitter.com/WajmeKbyoq — Liam Stack (@liamstack) December 8, 2020 The clip went viral and he was interviewed on Good Morning Britain the next day, when he asked Piers Morgan: “Who are you?” Mr Kenyon will be cremated at a small family gathering later with a memorial service to be held in London in November. In a statement, the Diocese of Hereford said: “We recognize that this is a difficult situation. Advice was given in line with current House of Bishops guidance on same-sex marriage.
