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America’s first overtly transgender bishop resigned final week amid allegations of racism after firing the Puerto Rican pastor of a predominantly Latino congregation throughout an necessary Hispanic vacation.
Rev. Megan Rohrer, 42, who makes use of the pronouns ‘they,’ stated that the ‘fixed misinformation, bullying and harassment’ led to their resignation from the Sierra Pacific Synod, overseeing 200 congregations within the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Northern California and northern Nevada. Rohrer was elected in Could 2021 to serve a six-year time period.
The bishop confronted allegations of racism after they known as the police on a church member and her baby, which church investigators known as ‘an egregious motion particularly when coping with the weak communities of Black, Indigenous and Individuals of Colour.’
Bishop Megan Rohrer, left, America’s first transgender bishop, resigned underneath investigation for mishandling the termination of Pastor Nelson Rabell-Gonzalez, who was ousted for bullying
Rohrer was additionally accused of carrying a bulletproof vest when asserting the dismissal of a preferred priest, Pastor Nelson Rabell-Gonzalez, whom that they had fired from the Mision Latina Luterana in December 2021 the day earlier than the Feast of the Virgin Guadalupe, a serious non secular vacation for congregants of the Stockton, California church.
Rohrer had stated that that they had worn the vest once they made the announcement out of worry for his or her life.
Rohrer was unknown to the congregation on the day they got here to the church to announce the termination. It was additionally the identical day that the bishop threated to name the police on the kid and father or mother within the church.
The accusation of racism is at odds with Rohrer’s progressive politics.
Rohrer has been identified for advocating for LGBTQ rights in avenue activism, preaching and writing and can also be acknowledged for his or her work with the homeless.
Congregants of the Mision Latina Luterana turned so upset that their pastor had been fired that they walked out of the church with a statue of the Virgin Guadalupe
Congregants of the church accused Rohrer of smirking throughout the disruption within the service, however church leaders chalked it as much as the the bishop’s autism
Megan Rohrer, seen right here, threatened to name the police on two church members after they refused to go away
The bishop fired Rabell-Gonzalez after an investigation by the church into verbal harassment and retaliation allegations towards the pastor, all of which he has denied.
The synod council voted on December 11 to vacate Rabell-Gonzalez’s name as a mission developer and to terminate his employment after they stated he refused to satisfy sure obligatory necessities.
A report into Rohrer’s actions, which was launched June 1, made a number of suggestions to the Evangelical Lutheran Church, together with publicly apologizing to the Latino church neighborhood for the damage induced, planning anti-racism coaching for churchwide employees and leaders, paying a ‘therapeutic go to’ to the neighborhood and making a activity pressure to assessment the church’s insurance policies and procedures.
The church council was within the technique of disciplining Rohrer once they tendered their resignation from the synod.
‘The fixed misinformation, bullying and harassment has taken too arduous a toll on the Synod I like, my household and myself,’ Rohrer stated. ‘Whereas I’m doubtless sturdy sufficient to proceed serving as your bishop, I consider I’d be a poor position mannequin for my black trans youngsters if I continued on this place.’
On Twitter, Rohrer additionally accused church leaders of placing out information of investigation and disciplinary measures earlier than their household could possibly be knowledgeable.
The Rev Megan Rohrer (pictured) was elected bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s Sierra Pacific synod, changing into the primary transgender individual to function bishop within the denomination or in any of the main Christian faiths within the US
Rohrer (pictured with their spouse and two youngsters) was the primary transgender individual to be ordained within the ELCA in 2006
The largely Mexican immigrant congregants of the Mision Latina Luterana congregation had no thought their pastor was fired on December 12, in keeping with the panel’s investigation. Churchgoers had deliberate an elaborate program that day with mariachi singers, conventional dancers and performances by youngsters, all led by Rabell-Gonzalez.
A video, which one of many congregants recorded dwell, exhibits distraught congregants voicing their issues. One lady stated in Spanish: ‘Pastor Nelson has labored loads for at the present time to occur. He has carried out loads for our neighborhood. He has fought for our rights.’
Others stated the transfer to fireside him was ‘unfair’ and ‘racist.’ The report mentions different congregants requested if the complaints towards Rabell-Gonzalez had been sexual in nature and had been additional upset when they didn’t get a response from Rohrer or different leaders.
Rev. Elizabeth Eaton, the denomination’s lead bishop, introduced in a Could 27 report back to the church that she had requested Rohrer’s resignation from the synod.
‘There are problems with damaged belief in any respect ranges, from particular person members and communities to the broader church, which is able to want work to restore,’ she stated in that report.
She stated she intends to behave on and discover a number of of the listening group’s suggestions significantly the necessity for anti-racism and cultural sensitivity coaching.
The church’s Latino Ministries Affiliation had sturdy phrases for Eaton in a Could 28 assertion criticizing her for not bringing disciplinary costs towards the bishop for ‘racist actions’ towards the congregation.
The affiliation’s leaders known as Eaton’s assertion ‘weak and compassionless’ and framed racist actions as ‘unwise selections’ and ‘unlucky occasions.’ In addition they stated her message ignored the struggling of a whole neighborhood and gave ‘a white aggressor the chance to determine their very own destiny – a call deeply rooted in white supremacy and systemic racism.’
In a earlier assertion, the synod council stated it determined to terminate Rabell-Gonzalez’s employment after ‘continuous communications of verbal harassment and retaliatory actions from greater than a dozen victims from 2019 to the current.’ However church officers haven’t particularly said what the pastor’s transgressions had been.
Rabell-Gonzalez was one of many candidates within the election for bishop. After Rohrer’s appointment, church officers recognized obligatory steps for Rabell-Gonzalez to take, which officers stated he refused to adjust to, on December 9. The council’s motion to vacate his name got here two days later.
The choice to vacate the pastor’s name additionally reduce off funding for the congregation, the report stated, leaving the neighborhood with out a pastor or a church constructing.
Rabell-Gonzalez stated he’s persevering with to guide the congregation underneath a brand new identify, Iglesia Luterana Santa Maria Peregrina, on the First Congregational Church in Stockton.
Rabell-Gonzalez stated he by no means declined to comply with the synod’s suggestions, and easily needs the chance to make his case.
‘I’ve been taken off the roster with out due course of, with none disciplinary listening to and with out being accused of something,’ he stated.
Rohrer will now have the chance to mount a protection as a part of a disciplinary course of – a chance Rabell-Gonzalez says he has been denied. He additionally stated he didn’t refuse the synod’s mandate to see a therapist. When Rohrer turned bishop, Rabell-Gonzalez stated he anticipated to get an ally.
‘I obtained an oppressor as an alternative,’ he stated.
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