The Evangelical Lutheran Church of America has installed its first openly transgender bishop in a service held in San Francisco’s Grace Cathedral. The event took place on Saturday, where The Reverend Megan Rohrer was officially appointed as the bishop to lead one of the church’s 65 synods in Northern California and northern Nevada.
Rev. Megan Rohrer is one of the seven LGBTQ pastors accepted by the progressive Evangelical Lutheran church in 2010 after it allowed ordination of pastors in same-sex relationships. The Reverent, who wishes to be addressed as ‘they,’ was elected in May to serve a six-year term in the role with the Sierra Pacific Synod after its current bishop announced his retirement.
“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,” the bishop said in a statement.
They have previously served as pastor of Grace Church in San Francisco. They were also a chaplain coordinator for the police department in San Francisco and an activist for the wellbeing of LGBTQ community in the area. Rev. Megan Rohrer is married and has two children.
Evangelical Lutheran church is known for its progressive idea an action throughout the years. They have about 3.3 million members in the US itself.