The first transsexual bishop takes office
Already a few weeks ago a new bishop was elected in the Sierra-Pacific Synod. The special thing: it was the transsexual person Megan Rohrer. The Evangelical Lutheran Church is said to have well over three million members and is accordingly popular in America.
The fact that with Rohrer the first transsexual person was elected to the high office can be seen as a milestone in a certain way.
Among other things, because leading people within the church also stand behind the election and leave no doubt that they support the newly elected bishop. Within the framework of the corresponding festivities, a new era was heralded here in a certain way with the inauguration into the office of bishop.
How openly the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the USA deals with the transsexuality of its new bishop is shown, among other things, by the fact that on the "big day" the trans flag was decorated.
Who is Megan Rohrer, anyway?
Megan Rohrer became involved in the church at an early age, serving in the past as a pastor in San Francisco, among other roles. However, the current bishop has never lost his connection to the community. On the contrary. Rohrer already worked for various organizations and, for example, advocated for people from the LGBTQI+ community who had become homeless.
It has always been particularly important to this person to make those affected feel that they belong and are one of them.
Currently, Rohrer is also one of the people within a church who are campaigning for vaccination against the coronavirus. Thus Rohrer emphasized - among other things in the social networks - how important it is to protect oneself and others. One aspect that plays a major role in connection with this message for the new bishop (as well as in connection with other areas): charity.
The fact that he can take over the official duties, he said, is equivalent to a "celebration"."...for all that is possible when we trust God to guide us.".
Megan Rohrer is non-binary
Rohrer considers himself non-binary and has chosen to be addressed as "he" or "they."
Since the knowledge and openness of society has continued to grow in relation to transsexual people, it is a matter of course for many to be addressed in this way, which - especially when used regularly - usually quickly becomes second nature. For non-binary persons it often means a special form of freedom to be addressed "finally" with the words that suit them best.
Evangelical Lutheran Church in the USA goes innovative ways
While in this country - especially within the framework of the Catholic Church - there is still extensive discussion about homosexual marriages and the like, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the USA broke new ground comparatively early on.
As early as the beginning of the 1990s, those responsible here advocated that gays and lesbians should also belong to the faith community. About 20 years later, they were also allowed to become pastors, provided they lived in a stable partnership - as Rohrer did, for example.
Accordingly, it is self-explanatory why Rohrer is now not the only queer pastor to play an important role in the church's history. In this context, however, it is also interesting to note that since the early 1990s, the church has always spoken of gays and lesbians, not other queers, and yet no major bureaucratic hurdles stood between Rohrer and her new ministry.
This is probably due in part to the fact that the Evangelical Lutheran Church has long been a strong advocate for queer rights, including outside the country.
By the way, you can find tasteless posters in Switzerland.