| Complete honesty needed in dealing with transgender clergy  By Elaine V. Emeth We seem to be unclear about our attitude toward transgender clergy. On one hand, we seem to be saying that our transgender clergy colleague is gifted, graced and appointable. On the other hand, we are placing her on an involuntary leave-of-absence. This suggests that the problem is not so much the presence of a transgender clergyperson in our midst, as it is our communal discomfort and inconsistency. As the body of Christ, our primary concerns are for the local church and for the pastor. What we should do, I believe, is confess to the Rev. Rebecca Steen that, although she is gifted and graced to return to pastoral ministry, her journey from being male to being female is a stumbling block for many of her clergy colleagues and for members of our congregations. We need to admit that we are sufficiently uncomfortable and protective of her and of our congregations and that we feel it is best if she does not return to the local church as a pastor at this time. If and when she is cleared of the complaint against her, she should be offered a suitable appointment beyond the local church, at the conference level or in a specialized ministry, where her highly-publicized sex-change will not undermine her effectiveness in ministry. Paul writes in Romans 14:13-21 and again in 1 Corinthians 8:7-13, that we may not do what is otherwise all right to do, if it will cause beginners to falter in their faith. Sending Rebecca into a pastoral position in a local church seems likely to cause a crisis of faith for church members. That sad reality falls short of the fullness of the Gospel that we are vowed to teach by word and example. Another concern for us as United Methodists is that our Discipline remain a useful tool for faithful, corporate discipleship. The consideration of the appointability of Rebecca Steen required our Board of Ordained Ministry and our Cabinet to practice discernment in uncharted territory that sets a precedent for the whole denomination. At least the recognition of giftedness and grace as signs of appointability will be applied as a principle to future transgender cases. Saying that Rebecca is gifted and graced and therefore appointable, while certain other gifted and graced pastors are not appointable, is inconsistent. Two additional principles have been applied in Rebeccas situation, but they are arguably shaky as justification for treating transgender clergy differently than other clergy. These are her prior ordination as an elder, and the implication that the Disciplines definition of high moral standards for sexual behavior does not specifically exclude transsexuality. But is the appointability of transgendered clergy protected by the Discipline by omission? Unfortunately, I think not. If it is protected, what have we to say about other conscientious expressions of human sexual behavior? The truth is that our current, narrow definition of highly moral sexual ethics for clergy misses the mark, providing us with an inadequate tool for discerning the appointability of pastors whose sexual choices fall outside the norm. I believe that we need to articulate our sexual values more accurately and begin to break down the barriers, but no one wants to push Rebecca onto the frontline, even if she volunteers. Nor can we complacently accept the status quo. We must work to dismantle stumbling blocks in cooperation with Gods sufficient grace. In the meantime, we need to confess to Rebecca our confusion and our inability to overcome the conundrum that her transgender journey presents to us. We need to give her our blessing, tell her that we do not judge her and that we still recognize her gifts and her credentials. However, the truth is that we are stumped we affirm that she is appointable, but her sex-change is a stumbling block for us. We need to ask her forgiveness. The Rev. Elaine V. Emeth is a pastor at Westminster UMC in Westminster. | 
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