American activist for homeless and LGBTQ+ rights (born 1980)
Megan Rohrer (born 1980) is an American activist for homeless and LGBTQ+ rights and former Lutheran bishop.[1] Rohrer is the first openly transgender minister ordained in the Lutheran tradition.
Following his reception as a minister in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America,[3][4][5][6] Rohrer served the church as bishop of its Sierra Pacific Synod from 2021 until asked to resign in June of 2022 after allegations of racism against one of the pastors under his care came to light. On June 23, 2023, Rohrer was removed from the roster of the Sierra Pacific Synod by letter,[7] and rostered ministers were notified by email on June 28.[8]
Early life and education
Rohrer was born on April 3, 1980, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.[1] In 1998, they graduated from high school and enrolled at Augustana University to study religion.[1] In college they came out as gay, and became president of the gay–straight alliance. They encountered resistance, threats, and attempted "cures" by fellow students for their sexuality.[1][3] Rohrer graduated from Augustana in 2001.[1]
Rohrer was ordained in 2006, during a time when the ELCA did not allow LGBTQ pastors to openly serve.[14] When the policy changed in 2009, Rohrer became the first openly transgender person to serve as a minister in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.[1][4][3][15]
In 2010, Rohrer and six other Bay Area gay and transgender pastors were reinstated into the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, after the national assembly voted to allow partnered gay people to serve as clergy. The pastors' churches had previously been removed from the denomination for ordaining gay and lesbian ministers who refused to adhere to the denomination's document guiding clergy conduct, "Visions and Expectations".[16] At the time "Visions and Expectations" required that candidates for and persons on the clergy roster remain celibate outside of legal marriage and monogamous within marriage.[citation needed]
In 2014, Rohrer was installed as pastor of Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church in San Francisco.[3][5]
On December 11, 2021, the Sierra Pacific Synod terminated the employment of Nelson Rabell-González, who presided over Misión Latina Luterana in Stockton, California, and defunded the congregation. The congregation was uninformed about the decision and Rohrer, who attended the service there the next day, declined to provide an explanation. Members of the congregation protested the decision and left the building with a statue of the Virgin of Guadalupe to worship elsewhere. Rohrer also allegedly threatened to call the police on a father and child who remained in the sacristy.[21] Later that month, the Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries suspended Rohrer from their membership for alleged "racist words and actions".[22] In February 2022, the synod announced that Rabell-González was removed for "continual communications of verbal harassment and retaliatory actions from more than a dozen victims," which Rabell-González has denied. On May 27, 2022, Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton called for Rohrer's resignation, but initially declined to pursue disciplinary actions.[21]
In 2022, Rohrer was appointed to the Local Homeless Coordinating Board, which advises the San Francisco Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing.[23][non-primary source needed]
On June 3, 2022, the governing body of the Sierra Pacific Synod considered a resolution asking for Rohrer's resignation but, if Rohrer refused, for them to be dismissed through formal adjudication.[24] Out of the 324 legal votes cast, 183 voted for the resolution and 138 voted against. Since passage of this resolution required a two-thirds majority the resolution was defeated.[25] On June 4, following an announcement by Eaton that she would be "initiating the discipline process immediately including suspension of Bishop Rohrer, based on additional information that has come to light", Rohrer resigned as bishop.[26][27]
On March 1, 2023, Rohrer filed a lawsuit against the ELCA and Sierra Pacific Synod,[28] seeking monetary damages for gender discrimination, openly hostile work environment[29] and workplace[28] harassment.[30]
On June 23, 2023, Rohrer was removed from the ELCA roster of Word and Sacrament by Interim Bishop Claire S. Burkat as a result of the denial of Rohrer's petition for On Leave from Call status.[31][32]
Activism
Rohrer has helped the homeless in San Francisco, serving as Executive Director of the Welcome ministry to the homeless and hungry, leading the Singers of the Street choir, distributing sandwiches, and participating in a night ministry with other local pastors.[4][5][33][34] Rohrer has also helped to grow and distribute thousands of pounds of free food from community gardens.[4][9]
In 2015, Rohrer started a fundraiser to raise bail for Meagan Taylor, a black trans woman who was held in isolation in an Iowa jail.[35]
In the wake of the 2016 Oakland warehouse fire, in which at least three transgender people were killed, Rohrer was called upon by the city of Oakland to provide support and assistance to the community.[36]
Rohrer has advocated for trans people who would be negatively impacted by proposed "bathroom bills" that seek to restrict restroom usage based on sex assigned at birth.[37]
In 2021, Rohrer shared their experiences of being a pastor during the COVID-19 pandemic, and advocated for LGBTQ community members to get vaccinated.[38]
