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Drew Stever, a minister in the Evangelical Lutheran Church, is one of the few out transgender clergy members to be ordained by a Christian institution.
The Rev. Dr. Megan Rohrer will be bishop of the Sierra Pacific Synod, covering parts of California and Nevada.
A task force drafting a statement on sexuality for the nation's largest Lutheran group said Thursday that the church should continue defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman. However, the panel did not condemn same-gender relationships. The committee expressed regret that historic Lutheran teachings have been used to hurt gays and lesbians, and acknowledged that some congregations already accept same-sex couples.
The congregation at Salem Lutheran Church in Lake Mills, Iowa, could have voted to amend the church's constitution to allow same-sex marriages but didn't.Â
A gay pastor in a relationship with another man will face disciplinary proceedings for violating church rules banning sex outside marriage.
The Rev. Dr. Megan Rohrer says their fellow Lutherans "prayerfully and thoughtfully voted to do a historic thing."Â
With hugs and cheers Sunday, members of Atlanta's oldest Lutheran church celebrated the pastor at the center of a battle over the treatment of gay clergy in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
Leo Bancroft feared coming out as trans even though his church is accepting -- but he found a warm welcome.
Lutheran pastor
Wayne Miller of Aurora, Ill., who will soon become bishop
of the Metropolitan Chicago Synod, is calling for his
denomination to remove a celibacy requirement for gay
and lesbian clergy, reports the Chicago Sun-Times. "That's where I think the church is
going," said Miller. "That's where I think it needs to go."
After decades in the closet, Bishop Kevin Kanouse came out in an emotional sermon to hundreds of young people.
Hoff Church held the ceremony for trans woman Elin Stillingen, who said it "was like coming home."
Some of the biggest congregations find that inclusion isn't just the right thing to do -- it brings worshippers in the door.
