Historic transgender bishop sends message of hope and love

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — Reverend Dr. Megan Rohrer is the bishop of the Sierra Pacific Synod, overseeing astir 200 evangelical Lutheran congregations from Central California and Nevada up to Oregon.

The bishop is making history.

“It made the past books due to the fact that I'm the archetypal openly transgender bishop successful the Lutheran Church and possibly successful each of the mainline churches crossed the world,” Rohrer said.

Rohrer says becoming bishop arsenic a transgender idiosyncratic was not thing they anticipated truthful soon.

“It was a shock," Rohrer said. "It was conscionable a precise unexpected happening for maine erstwhile I was elected, but a precise gratifying process to person truthful galore radical judge successful my enactment skills and beryllium acceptable for this.”

Rohrer’s pronouns are “they” and “them” alternatively of “he” oregon “she” due to the fact that they don't privation to beryllium enactment successful a box.

“The ideas and the expectations astir what it means to beryllium antheral oregon what it means to beryllium pistillate are not afloat thing that I place with.”

Rohrer says determination person been challenges connected their religion travel erstwhile radical statement their worthy arsenic a transgender person. However, Rohrer says they’ll proceed to unrecorded the beingness God called them to unrecorded by being a faithful idiosyncratic consistently.

“God and I are good," Rohrer said. "And truthful erstwhile idiosyncratic wants to nonstop maine a Bible verse to archer maine wherever I'm wrong, I privation to nonstop them immoderate of my favourite Bible verses not to like, person a statement with them because, you know, God ne'er erstwhile said, 'Let's instrumentality a ballot earlier deciding who God loves.' But due to the fact that like, that's precisely wherefore I deliberation the Bible is specified an important book. Like due to the fact that the radical that are going to preach the other of maine for the remainder of my beingness are conscionable arsenic loved by God arsenic I am. And the publication that I deliberation is ineffable fills their bosom conscionable arsenic overmuch arsenic it fills my heart.”

Rohrer says their narration with God has been beardown ever since they were a child, and they don’t uncertainty God loves them.

“When I was astir six, my parents were getting divorced and it was a precise convulsive divorce, and determination was this play wherever like, everything successful the location got destroyed and we were going backmost to the location to spot if determination were immoderate toys oregon thing similar we could instrumentality with us. And I conscionable had this heavy knowing that like, God loved maine and was with me. And if each this worldly successful our location was breached similar arsenic a 6-year-old to suffer each your toys, it's a large deal, right? But I conscionable had this heavy knowing similar like that Jesus was connected my broadside and that I didn't request toys due to the fact that similar Jesus was there.”

Rohrer says their relation arsenic bishop is simply a large measurement successful the church, opening the doors for different LGBTQ leaders and spreading the connection that God loves everyone. Rohrer hopes that successful the future, sex individuality isn’t arsenic large of a deal. And that others recognize God tin enactment done each the diverseness of creation.

“Folk who usage scripture conscionable to belittle oregon to beryllium racist oregon to exclude, I think, are being spiritually abusive, and I anticipation to beryllium the benignant of bishop who tin attraction for radical who person heard those messages to enactment for healing," Rohrer said. "Living faithfully consistently changes the religion much than debating.”

Rohrer says if what Jesus says is true, past emotion is the top commandment and Rohrer plans to grant that.