Lutheran Denomination Installs First Out, Trans Bishop

Dr. Megan Rohrer was installed as bishop of the Sierra Pacific Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church (ELCA) in America over the weekend, which makes them the denomination’s first out, trans bishop, according to an AP release.

“I step into this role because a diverse community of Lutherans in Northern California and Nevada prayerfully and thoughtfully voted to do a historic thing,” Rohrer says in a statement. “My installation will celebrate all that is possible when we trust God to shepherd us forward.”

The installation took place at 2 p.m. at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, with Rohrer joined by Elizabeth Eaton, presiding bishop of the ELCA, and nearly all 65 bishops of the various ELCA synods across the country. The synod staff serving alongside Rohrer was installed as well.

The weekend came with other, related events, including a listening session led by Reverend Nicole Farcia, the first Latinx trans pastor in the ELCA, a roller-skating event to raise funds for a youth camp, and an interfaith memorial service commemorating the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks.

Rohrer was the first out, trans pastor ordained by the ELCA in 2006, and they were elected in May to a six-year term as bishop of the synod, which covers about 200 congregations in California and Nevada. They previously served as pastor of the Grace Lutheran Church in San Francisco and a chaplain coordinator for the city’s police department, where they also worked with the city’s homeless and LGBTQ community.

They studied religion at Augustana University in their hometown of Sioux Falls, SD, before they moved to California to obtain master and doctoral degrees at the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley.

Rohrer became one of seven LGBTQ pastors accepted by the progressive Evangelical Lutheran church in 2010, following the church’s ordination of pastors in same-gender relationships.

“The diverse events surrounding my installation point to a God who joins us in worship, on the streets, at our jobs and when we roller-skate,” Bishop Rohrer says. “During all the difficulties we have encountered through the pandemic, it is more important than ever to celebrate joy, hope and love everywhere that we find it.”

Photo courtesy of Bishop Megan Rohrer and Vince Donovan via Facebook