1. Pastor Phillippa Phaneuf of the North Chili United Methodist Church in Rochester, New York came out as trans to her congregation in a powerful sermon during which she declared, "The best way to put this is that I'm not becoming a woman, I'm giving up pretending to be a man." She explained to listeners that the pure joy she has felt since beginning hormone replacement therapy three months ago couldn't possibly be something of which God disapproves. She said "Imagine if your doctor came and told you that your quality and outlook on life could transform exponentially to the positive. Would you listen to that doctor? If you felt God's Holy Spirit surrounding you in ways that you haven't felt in years, would you have a sense that might be something that God was okay with?" Do you think it's brave for this Pastor to reveal to her congregation her decision of gender transformation and ask that they are open-minded enough to accept her as who she is and will become?
