Transgender Priest

A few years back, Bishop Gene Robinson made news by being the first openly gay clergy in the Episcopalian tradition.  As I recall the church had a big split about it.

After that, the ELCA Lutherans voted by a narrow margin to allow gay and lesbian pastors.

And today we read that the Catholics are ordaining a transgender woman....which is a woman who dresses and lives like a man.

How tolerant we all are!!

The priest is transgender. And he's starting up a parish that's modeled after the Roman Catholic Church.

"I never really felt like I identified as female," said Shannon Kearns, describing his childhood. Shannon was born female but transitioned to male in his late '20s.

His transgender journey has brought him peace. "I feel more at home in my body that I have ever before."

And now, the culmination of another remarkable journey. Shannon will be ordained as the first transgender priest in the North American Old Catholic Church, one of the largest Old Catholic bodies in the United States. It's an off-shoot of the Roman Catholic Church, with parishes in 23 states. (Nationwide, there are believed to be between 50 and 100 transgender clergy in the Christian tradition.)

"If you really value Catholic tradition and ritual and liturgy, and you value equality and social justice, there's a place for you," Shannon explained, describing the North American Old Catholic Church.

Here;  http://kstp.com/news/stories/s2901973.shtml

So if you value ritual, liturgy, equality and social justice then there's a place for you....says the transgender priest.

Interesting that she/he NEVER said anything about the value of a PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS CHRIST!

"The Lord says: 'These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.  Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught."  Isaiah 29:13

Sounds an awful lot like all sorts of folks in America who go to church at Christmas and Easter, say the Apostles Creed, maybe put a $1 in the plate, say a few Hail Mary's...and then they are good to go!

One client (who happened to be Catholic) told me once, "Yeah, I'm not sure I'm buying all this God stuff...but I figure if it happens to be true then I better get some fire insurance by showing up at mass a few times per year."

Sad.  Our society has unlimited access to Bibles, churches, Christian books, Bible study groups, Christian radio.....and yet we seem to be dying for lack of knowledge...and millions don't know Christ.