America’s first opened transgender Bishop resigned last week amid accusations of racism after a Puerto Rican pastor of a predominantly Latino congregation was sacked during an important Hispanic holiday.
The Rev. Megan Rohrer, 42, who uses the pronoun ‘they’, said that “continued misinformation, bullying and harassment” led to her resignation from the Sierra Pacific Synod, overseeing 200 congregations at the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the northern United States. california and northern Nevada, Rohrer was elected to a six-year term in May 2021.
The former bishop was found by the church’s ‘listening panel’ to have indulged in racist behavior by threatening to call the police on a church member and her child, which church investigators called ‘a serious action’, especially when faced by vulnerable communities. to tackle. Black, Swadeshi and people of color.’
Bishop Megan Rohrer, America’s first transgender bishop, has resigned under investigation for mishandling the dismissal of Pastor Nelson Rabel-Gonzales, who had been singled out for bullying.
Rohrer was also accused of wearing a bulletproof vest when announcing the dismissal of a popular priest, Pastor Nelson Rabel-Gonzales, whom he fired from Mission Latina Luterana on December 11, 2021, a day before the Feast of the Virgin Guadalupe. Stockton, California Major religious holiday for church congregations. Rohrer said that he wore the vest out of fear for his life.
The accusation of racism is contrary to Rohrer’s progressive politics.
Rohrer is known for advocating for LGBTQ rights in street activism, preaching and writing and is also recognized for her work with the homeless.
The congregations of Mission Latina Luterana became so upset that their pastor was fired that they walked out of the church with a statue of the Virgin Guadalupe.
Church congregations accused Rohrer of smiling during the interruption of service, but church leaders chalked it up to the former bishop’s autocrat.
Former bishop Megan Rohrer, seen here, threatened to call the police if two church members refused to leave
An investigation by the Evangelical Lutheran Church ‘listening panel’ found that Rohrer, who was seen here, was wearing a bulletproof vest to the service because he feared for his life.
The ex-bishop fired Rabel-Gonzales after a church investigation into allegations of verbal harassment and retaliation against the clergy, which he denied.
The Synod Council voted on 11 December to vacate the call of Rabel-Gonzales as mission developer and to terminate his employment after refusing to meet certain mandatory requirements.
A report of the pastor’s firing, which was released on June 1, made several recommendations to the Evangelical Lutheran Church, including publicly apologizing for the hurt to the Latino church community, anti-racism calls for church staff and leaders. Training involves planning, paying. Creating a task force to conduct a “healing journey” for the community and review church policies and procedures.
The church council was in the process of disciplining Rohrer when he tendered his resignation from the synod.
“The persistent misinformation, bullying and harassment have taken a toll on me, my family, and the synod I love,” Rohrer said. ‘Although I am strong enough to continue serving as your bishop, I believe that if I continue in this position I will be a poor role model for my black trans children.’
On Twitter, Rohrer also accused church leaders of posting reports of investigations and disciplinary measures before his family was notified.
The Rev. Megan Rohrer (pictured) was elected bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s Sierra Pacific Synod, becoming the first transgender person to serve as a bishop in America or in any major Christianity.
Rohrer (pictured with his wife and two children), pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in San Francisco and community clergy coordinator for the San Francisco Police Department, was the first transgender person to be appointed to ELCA in 2006.
According to the panel’s investigation, most of the Mexican immigrant congregation of the Mission Latina Luterana congregation was not aware that their pastor was fired on December 12. Churchgoers had planned an elaborate event that day with performances by mariachi singers, traditional dancers and children, led by Rabel-Gonzales.
A video, recorded live by one of the congregations, shows the troubled congregation expressing their concerns. One woman said in Spanish: “Paster Nelson has done a lot to be to this day. He has done so much for our community. He has fought for our rights.”
Others said the move to remove him was “inappropriate” and “racist”. Other circles in the report mentioned whether complaints against Rabel-Gonzales were sexual in nature and were further upset at not receiving a response from Rohrer or other leaders.
The Rev. Elizabeth Eaton, the denomination’s principal bishop, announced in a report to the church on 27 May that she had requested Rohrer’s resignation from the synod.
In that report she said, “There are issues of broken trust at all levels, from individual members and communities to the wider church, that will need work to repair it.”
She said she intends to act on many of the listening team’s recommendations and specifically address the need for anti-racism and cultural sensitivity training.
The Union of Latino Ministries of the Church took strong words for Eaton in a May 28 statement, criticizing him for not leveling disciplinary charges against the bishop for “racist actions” against the congregation.
Association leaders called Eaton’s statement “weak and pathetic” and framed the racist actions as “unwise decisions” and “unfortunate incidents”. He also said that his message ignored the suffering of the entire community and “allowed a white aggressor to decide his fate – a decision deeply rooted in white supremacy and systemic racism.”
In a previous statement, the Synod Council said it decided to terminate Rabel-Gonzales’ employment after “verbal harassment and continued communication of retaliation from more than a dozen victims from 2019 to the present.” But church officials did not say specifically what the pastor’s crimes were.
Rabel-Gonzales was one of the candidates for the bishop’s election. Following Rohrer’s appointment, church officials identified necessary steps for Rabel-Gonzales, which officials said he refused to follow on December 9. The council’s action to vacate his call came two days later.
The report said the clergy’s decision to vacate the convocation also cut funding for the congregation, leaving the community without a clergy or a church building.
Rabel-Gonzales said he is continuing to lead the congregation at the First Congregational Church in Stockton under a new name, Iglesia Lauterana Santa Maria Peregrina.
Rabel-Gonzales said he never refused to follow the synod’s recommendations, and simply wanted an opportunity to make his point.
“I have been removed from the roster without due process, without any disciplinary hearing and without any charges,” he said.
Rohrer will now have the opportunity to set up a defense as part of the disciplinary process – an opportunity Rabel-Gonzales says he has been denied. He also said that he did not rule out the Synod’s mandate to see a physician. When Rohrer became bishop, Rabel-Gonzales said he hoped to find an ally.
“I got a harasser instead,” he said.