Guest Post: Why I Tell My Story: Putting it all on the line
Monday, November 19, 2012 - 10:05am by Miriam Lazewatsky, Faith and Campaigns Fellow at GLAAD
http://www.glaad.org/blog/guest-post-why-i-tell-my-story-putting-it-all-lineAlex Patchin McNeill's driving passion is working for queer and transgender inclusion in sacred spaces, and fundraising for progressive social causes. He is the first openly transgender ministry candidate in his conservative Presbyterian region in Western North Carolina. Alex earned his Master's of Divinity from Harvard Divinity School with scholarship on the intersection of religion, gender, sexuality, and reproductive rights. He has been writing, organizing, training, and preaching for LGBT equality for the past nine years. For four years, he served as the development director at a reproductive justice organization where he honed his skills in foundation and individual fundraising. Currently, he is one of the subjects of Out of Order, a documentary film being made about queer clergy in the PC(USA). He will continue to speak, organize, and fundraise for queer religious issues until all faithful LGBT individuals can call a church home.
Did I want my (future) congregation to see me as a man or as a transgender minister? You could hear the steady bzzzzz of the leaf blowers outside the church in the silence that hung after the Reverend asked his question. In the time between the asking and my answer, I tried to scan between every possible meaning of his query: Did they still not understand that coming out to them as transgender meant that I was striving to be seen as male? If I answered that I wanted to be seen as male, would they stop me from continuing in the ordination process? If I said that I don't intend to hide the fact that I'm transgender, would that open me to all kinds of awkward follow-up questions?
I am the first person ever in my committee's region of the Presbyterian Church, USA to come out as transgender while seeking to be ordained. The fact that they were asking me anything about being transgender at all is significant. To my knowledge I am also one of the first people to come out as a transgender man seeking ordination in the denomination.
