ELCA Bishop To Preach At Transitioning ELCA Pastor's Renaming Service

You can not change your sex. You can not change your gender. Those are facts. Trying to do so goes against God's will for you and is a sin against God. (see here)

It is also a sin to encourage sinful behavior. The ELCA is guilty of this. They do this regarding homosexuality and transgenderism. This week the ELCA's St. Matthew-Trinity Lutheran Church in Hoboken, New Jersey, announced that one of their pastors is "transitioning" from female to male. They will be holding a renaming service for this pastor. The bishop of the New Jersey Synod, Tracie Bartholomew, will be the featured preacher that day. 

​Here is Pastor Rose Beeson, the transitioning woman who is having the renaming service.

Pastor Beeson's church will also be holding LGBT Etiquette Training. The church newsletter describes it this way, “a refresher course on terminology used by lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people to equip us with more tools and resources to make St. Matthew Trinity an even safer and more welcoming congregation.  This builds on SMT's historic commitment to be a Reconciling in Christ congregation, welcoming people of all sexual orientations and gender identities.” (See here)

Here are a couple excited St. Matthew-Trinity members sharing the news of their pastor's renaming ceremony. 

Proud that my @ReconcilingWrks, @ELCA (spec. @njsynod) congregation is one of hospitality, love, understanding, and progress.

Join us in supporting our pastor and showing the world what God's love looks like. https://t.co/Gs1ugQllaT

— Olivia Whitener (@owhitener) January 23, 2018

This isn't just a case of one wayward church or one wayward ELCA leader embracing transgenderism. It is happening throughout the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. 
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- Not long ago a ELCA website published an article by an ELCA pastor about her transgender child. (See here)

​- The ELCA's Sierra Pacific Synod 2016 Assembly Handbook tells us how the synod had a workshop called “The Story of Gender.” Here are the first few sentences describing the workshop: 
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“Gender is no longer just male and female. As a church we need to know and understand the language around gender identities and be able to include this language into our liturgy.
Now that many people are getting the language needed to help them understand who they are, such as transgender, people are now able to live into authenticity.” (See here, page 18)

- Also in the Sierra Pacific Synod 2016 Assembly Handbook you can read all the changes being recommending to the synod and the ELCA by the Committee on Gender Identity Inclusivity in response to two resolutions that were passed at the 2015 Sierra Pacific Synod Assembly. (see previous link and go to page 71)

- Fittingly, I just came across this tonight.

Lifting prayers for strength and courage to all my dear friends at #CC18. I am finishing my last semester of seminary by serving as a pastoral intern. Next year, I hope to be with you as a transgender Latina who is an ordained pastor in the ELCA.

— Nicole Garcia (@nicoleg152) January 28, 2018

- Then there is this from the ELCA Youth Ministry Network:

Transgender children are whole and holy, they are not mistakes, and the Body of Christ is fuller when they are present in it with us. - @hippypastorwife #Ext18

— elcaymnet (@elcaymnet) January 27, 2018

​To see more evidence of the ELCA embracing transgenderism see here and scroll down the page here. 
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