Listen to Podcast:
Intro notes:
Megan Rohrer is the first openly transgender pastor in the Lutheran church. We talk about Megan’s journey from finally deciding to accept the call to be a pastor to pushing the Lutheran church to accepting them as an ordinary pastor rather than extraordinary. We discuss faith in modern times, what is was like to be on this season of Queer Eye, the names for different pastor garments that they wore in a video shoot for Cosmo, and we end with a blessing. Even if religion is not your thing this episode is worth a listen.
Show notes:
Megan’s Instagram: @mmrohrer
Megan’s Website: https://www.revrohrer.com/
Megan’s Cosmopolitan Interview: https://youtu.be/vffST19BXX0
Quotes:
“The only thing harder than coming out as trans in the Christian community is coming out as Christian in the LGBTQ community.”
“It's definitely a big privilege in times like these, when so many people are unemployed, that my job is to ponder and think about things and to support people and to bring them hope that's that's beyond privilege.”
“The idea is that it [clergy collar] reminds me that I'm not speaking from my own heart, I'm speaking for a community.”
“I like wearing the clergy collar when I'm in spaces where people might have been told that God couldn't love their full fabulousness, because if people can see someone like me in clergy robes, sometimes that speaks louder than any words that I might say.”
“I think God is all over the place. Some people have faith in science. Some people have faith in their kids. Some people have faith in, I don't know, this is a hard list because right now we don't have faith in a lot. It's all kind of crumbling apart. But some people have faith that their paycheck is going to come on time.”
“Lutherans for those who haven't heard of them before are Christians who don't keep score. We don't think points matter in going to heaven.”
“My journey to being a pastor was a little bit more on the, “I don't know” side. I always ended up being the person where if someone was gonna like burst into tears because they had a bad breakup on public transit, they were going to sit next to me every time I was being in the place where a pastor was needed.”
“I find that my life is enriched by talking through these stories that ancient people put together and that learning the ways that their lives were messy and complicated helps me figure out how to do the best I can with the ways my life is messy and complicated.”
“I'm always really saddened that people assume that all of our sacred texts are completed because we bound them and we sold them in stores. They just stopped adding new ones after a while. I'm a big proponent of people telling their own stories as sacred stories as well.”
“I don't feel the need to tell people they have to go to church. Although if people do want to go to church, it's never been easier.”
“I know apps are trying to tell you, you have to learn a new thing to be calm, or well, or Zen. In trauma like this, doing the thing that worked before, when you were in trauma is actually the most successful. You don't have to learn a new thing.”
“I think everyone has faith in something tune into what you want to tune into, tune out to what isn't working for you.”
“There were a number of people who knew who I was, but every time they saw me, instead of saying hi, they would feel shame because they weren't as out as me. And they weren't as public as me.”
“Even by being in the closet, even by doing the least, you could do, you are still living the dream of the people in the past. Just understanding yourself, being able to have the bravery, to think about how you're going to live in the world.”
“I often think about like the pastors who died during the AIDS crisis, their deepest dream would have been to be ordained, even if they couldn't be out.”
“So my blessing is that you are fearfully and wonderfully made, loved by God exactly as you are. And even if God, isn't your thing, you're still blessed.”
“Everyone who feels lost during this time, anyone who feels like their mental health needs some support during this time, know that I am rooting for you, that community is rooting for you. And that the mystical spirit that holds our world together is rooting for you. And as I say, in all of our worship services, live forgiven, claim your wholeness, and go in peace.”
Comments