(ChurchLeaders) Reactions continue pouring in after the May 8 election of the first openly transgender bishop in a major American Christian denomination. In an online vote, the Rev. Megan Rohrer, 41, became bishop-elect of the Sierra Pacific Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Following a September installation, Rohrer will serve a six-year term overseeing 180 congregations in portions of California and Nevada.
Rohrer, who became the ELCA’s first transgender pastor in 2014, serves at Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church in San Francisco and is community chaplain coordinator for the city’s police department. In 2012, San Francisco’s board of supervisors declared August 12 “Pastor Megan Rohrer Day,” citing Rohrer’s advocacy for homeless people and LGBTQ youth.