Trans bishop: Church forced him out
S.F. reverend sues Lutheran church
The Rev. Megan Rohrer of San Francisco, believed to be the first openly transgender person made bishop in a major Christian denomination and who resigned from the post a year after being elected, has filed a lawsuit alleging he was forced out after facing months of discrimination and harassment.
Rohrer resigned last June as bishop of the Sierra Pacific Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America amid accusations of racism, after he removed the pastor of a predominantly Latino congregation in the Central Valley on a culturally significant religious holiday.
But in the lawsuit filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, Rohrer alleges he endured an “openly hostile” environment, including repeated and deliberate misgendering, almost immediately after being elected bishop in May 2021.
Rohrer also alleges he was set up as a scapegoat in the incident that ultimately led to his dismissal.
“I was pretty much left to be the person who took the blame,” Rohrer said in an interview. “I was the person receiving the blowback. And eventually, it grew stronger and stronger, and I was pushed out of the church.”
The Sierra Pacific Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is based in Sacramento and includes about 200 congregations across Northern California and Nevada. Church officials declined to comment on the lawsuit.
The lawsuit was filed by the firm Cotchett, Pitre and McCarthy in Burlingame.
Rohrer’s election as bishop in the largest denomination of the Lutheran church was historic and met with widespread public celebration, including a joyful installation ceremony at San
Francisco’s Grace Cathedral Church in September 2021.
But Rohrer said, in the lawsuit and in an interview, that leaders within the church were less enthusiastic about his assignment and that harassment began as soon as he was elected.
On his first day on the job, he said, he attended a virtual meeting with other bishops in which a high-ranking bishop made fun of a transgender pastor for including drag queens at their ordination ceremony. In later meetings, Rohrer said he was misgendered and mocked for his gender identity.
The misgendering and other acts of discrimination continued throughout Rohrer’s time as bishop until he resigned, just over a year into what was supposed to be a six-year term, Rohrer said.
“I always thought the animus would be hidden better,” said Rohrer, acknowledging he had anticipated some initial discomfort within church leadership after his appointment. “I imagined there’d be a learning curve. But to have it be so apparent — it felt bolder than I expected.”
Rohrer said he believes he was forced out in part because the church wasn’t ready to stand against mounting antitrans politics and policies in the U.S., and support for him was particularly thin among bishops from conservative states. “It was a combination of political animus and some of the vitriol that people have for trans people on a daily basis,” he said.
Rohrer resigned amid a furor over the dismissal of the Rev. Nelson RabellGonzález, the popular pastor of Misión Latina Luterana in Stockton. Rabell-González had been under investigation by the church for two years amid accusations of verbal harassment and retaliation before Rohrer was made bishop, according to the Sierra Pacific Synod.
But it fell to Rohrer to dole out Rabell-González’s punishment. Rohrer, on the instruction of church leadership, according to the lawsuit, removed Rabell-González from his position as pastor on Dec. 12, 2021, which was the Feast Day of the Virgin of Guadalupe — a significant celebration for many Latino congregants. Rabell-González’s dismissal was met with immediate anger from the congregation and accusations of racism and cultural insensitivity. Rohrer issued a public apology a week and a half later. A three-person panel put together to investigate the incident recommended in May 2022 that Rohrer be disciplined and potentially removed as bishop.
The Rev. Elizabeth Eaton, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, asked for Rohrer’s resignation at the end of May, saying Rohrer had “lost the trust and confidence of many constituents, both within and without the Sierra Pacific Synod.” Rohrer resigned a few days later.
“The Lutheran Church is really poised to become a safe space for trans people,” Rohrer said this week. “But it hurts my heart that a court ruling may be needed.
“I get messages from people all the time who say, ‘Your installation as bishop gave me so much hope, now what do I do?’ ” he said. “Part of saying my story out loud right now is reminding people, particularly LGBTQ people, that we can continue to walk forward, even when there are setbacks.”