Mackey, Maureen, Reverend, 1943-2014

Maureen Elise Mackey was born in October of 1943 in Teaneck, New Jersey. She was a member of the Sisters of St. Mary, and later earned her bachelor’s degree and became a high school science teacher. After serving one of several missions to the Congo, she entered medical school in 1971 at the University of Texas. After several years as a respected physiatrist in Las Vegas, Nevada, Mackey returned to school in 1999 to earn her Masters of Divinity degree at the Church Divinity School of the Pacific in Berkeley, California. She simultaneously kept her medical practice open and also served as an ordained associate pastor of Metropolitan Community Church of Las Vegas until she retired in 2005. Together with her life partner Mary Ellen Racel and Reverend George Balgan, Mackey co-founded a bilingual faith community that provided support, especially for Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender (LGBT) immigrants. This outreach gave birth to Rainbow Praise Church, where Mackey served as pastor emeritus. She died Aug 8, 2014.