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“It was a miracle,” he remembers thinking.
Before she could go under the knife, however, she had to endure a six-month process required by the clinic, which included thorough medical and psychological tests and interviews.
She eventually began hormone therapy.
“I went home and popped one and stood in front of the mirror and waited,” he says.
After three months and not much progress, she began non-reversible injections.
Before the surgeries, Weekley had to hire an attorney and go through the lengthy process of changing all of his legal documents.
The courts, he says, were “horribly prejudicial,” and “didn’t easily change the documents.”
The first surgery took place in August 1974, when he stayed in the hospital for three weeks after receiving a phalloplasty — cosmetic surgery of the penis. The second surgery took place the following December for chest surgery, and Weekley went back once more for additional treatment in June 1975.
While he says his family visited him in the hospital for just one of the surgeries, he kept a strong relationship with his grandfather. “(He) taught me how to tie a tie,” he says.
His insurance paid for all of the surgeries, but today most insurance plans wouldn’t cover them because gender reassignment is not considered a “life threatening” condition, Weekley says. “They have no idea how wrong they are,” he says.
For his new name, Weekley chose David, meaning “Beloved of God.”
After his sex-change operations, Weekley studied psychology at Boston University and, while in graduate school at Miami University of Ohio, began to feel drawn to the church.
Weekley had previously stayed away from church due to the hateful things he had heard regarding homosexuals and other minorities. However, after feeling a connection to the United Methodist Church, he joined.
That connection, among other reasons, led him to attend seminary school at Boston University School of Theology. He earned a Master of Divinity Degree in philosophy, theology, and ethics.
This was something he never thought he would do, despite being passionate for preaching at a young age.
“I used to preach to my stuffed animals and I don’t know why,” he says. “My growing up was so horrific that I couldn’t speak in public.”
However, once he entered the Methodist church, he reentered the closet.
“One of the greatest ironies and pains is that the church is the place I’ve had to go back in the closet,” he says. “I’ve stood with colleagues who have said horrific things to me, and they don’t even know it.”
Weekley moved to Portland in 1993 to serve a local church, eventually ending up at Epworth United Methodist.
Gay rights within the Methodist church are undoubtedly political, he says. While the church has its own official stand, progressive members are tolerant toward gay rights, which clashes with the conservatives’ beliefs.
The majority of Methodists in the U.S. reside in the Bible Belt and are conservative, which enabled delegates at the 2008 general conference to pass a new rule stating that no United Methodist funds could be used to educate people on gay and lesbian issues.
At the last general conference, there was talk of the church formally splitting.
“Over the years it’s gotten less vociferous, but there is still no resolution,” Weekley says.
Some progress has been made at the smaller, localized annual conferences.
Weekley’s progressive Oregon-Idaho conference recently had the highest percentage of votes for an “All means all” declaration, which would amend the church’s bylaws to include everyone in the church.
The declaration was narrowly defeated nationally, however, showing that, “the conservatives have enough people and power to always defeat the rest of the denomination,” he says.
Weekley has advocated for inclusivity, not just to national audiences but also to much smaller ones, serving as dean of a summer church camp this year at Epworth.
Though the camp focused mainly on the civil rights movement, a portion focused on breaking traditional sex roles and accepting different kinds of families.
One parent withdrew children from the camp after learning of its liberal content.
“Can girls play baseball? Can boys play with dolls? Of course you can,” Weekley says. “And that was apparently enough for this person to decide not to bring their kids.”
Despite keeping his secret for the past 27 years, Weekley has led a “blessed” life, he says. “God got me through.”
He has been married twice, and his children and current wife Deborah provide a steady stream of support. The couple have five children (two from a previous marriage) ranging in age from 21 to 39, as well as six grandchildren.
Weekley is up for a national award at this year’s Reconciling Ministries Network Convocation, (a movement to increase the awareness of issues in the gay community and promote inclusivity in the church) and is writing a book about his coming-out experience.
The book’s working title is “In From the Wilderness: The Practice of Gaman.”
He shared his first manuscript with his congregation on Sunday as well. It features his experience at Minidoka and an annotated bibliography of resources for others out there in similar situations.
However, now that he has come out publicly, Weekley and his wife are preparing for any potential backlash. In fact, that’s why he’s asked that his birth name not be published — for fear that hate groups would use it as negative propaganda.
They have taken some necessary precautions in case of any trouble that could arise from aggressive prejudice.
“Trust God, but tie your camel,” Weekley says, quoting a Middle Eastern proverb.
Phoenix, the other openly transgender United Methodist clergy person in the U.S., had charges filed against him from clergy in his conference and was brought before the Judicial Council (the United Methodist Church’s equivalent of the Supreme Court).
The charges to have him removed from the church proved to be unfounded and Phoenix was able to retain his ordination. He is working in Anchorage, Alaska, in environmental health and justice and calling on Congress to pass legislation ending the discrimination he endured.
While the Book of Discipline forbids gays from joining the church, nothing explicitly turns away transgender people, which protects Phoenix and Weekley.
However, conservative Methodists have been battling the “All Means All” declaration, working to exclude transgender people.
Both Phoenix and Weekley could potentially face having their credentials taken away if legislation is passed at the next general conference (which takes place every four years) in 2012 banning transgender people.
“There’s always that possibility — just like there was in 2008,” Phoenix says.
Although Greg Nelson, director of communications for the Oregon-Idaho Annual Conference, thinks that it’s likely similar legislation will be brought up again soon, he believes that, “it’s important that this came out before the conference in 2012.
While Weekley and his wife are preparing for the worst, they are optimistic about the future of the church.
Weekley says that he has, for the past 27 years, thought about switching to a church that is more accepting of his choices, but ultimately decided to stay loyal.
“There have been many times I’ve thought about walking away and considering a different denomination,” he says, “but my heart has always caused me to remain in the hope of effecting change.”
He remains hopeful that the Methodist church can one day retain the same acceptance toward gay rights and perhaps pass legislation similar to the Episcopal Church, which recently adopted protections for gays and transgender people.
“This really puts it all on the line,” Weekley says of his decision to share his news with his congregation and the world. “I’m not leaving, I’m just coming out. I’m not walking away, but I’m not staying quiet and hidden anymore.”
cmcfadden@portlandtribune.com
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I wish Rev. Weekley, his wife, and his congregation all the best. He would be warmly welcomed in UCC congregations, but he is to be commended for wanting to work within the Methodist Church to bring understanding and acceptance to that community.
(email verified)
Sun, Aug 30, 2009 at 10:30 PM
"Phoenix, the only other openly transgender clergy person in the U.S..."
Actually, there are openly transgender clergy in the United Church of Christ (including Malcolm Himschoot), and, according to your article, in many other religious communities.
So, I believe that sentence should read, "Phoenix, the only other openly transgender clergy person in the United Methodist Church..."
Rev. Kyle Lovett
A United Church of Christ Clergywoman
(email verified)
Sun, Aug 30, 2009 at 10:54 PM
Editorial response:
Yes. That is what we meant to say. It has now been clarified. Thanks.
-Mark Garber, editor
The statements "the Methodist church also will withhold church membership from anyone who is openly gay." and "While the Book of Discipline forbids gays from joining the church," are not accurate. Again, all persons are welcome to participate and, upon taking the vows of membership, to join a congregation. I think some of our openly gay church members would be surprised to read your statements.
(email verified)
Sun, Aug 30, 2009 at 11:08 PM
Please notice the key element of this story.
Because the congregation knew and respected him, they cheered him when he was brave enough to admit he was a trans person. Just as I hear that in lots of schools, when gay kids come out, some of the kids actually place them on a pedestal, recognizing their act of bravery.
The closet is the most horrible thing the churches ever created, by those who actually worship Satan. In general they were the same people who hated the Jews, Jesus own people. They were the same people who enslaved Blacks, and when that ended created segregation as a replacement - so people wouldn't know Blacks as people, but as "them", or "that one". A term btw used by McCain to refer to Barack Obama in the second debate. The same pig who left the wife who waited 7 years for him to return from Vietnam, to marry a woman worth 200 million $$$. And he was the repub candidate.
Breaking down the closet is the single most important thing people can do to end the segregation and shame and denigration of gay people. A breakdown which is already partially happening. Another example is last month's Episcopal church saying yes to gay pastors in relationships, and their working on a formal church blessing for gay couples. All driven by the ordination of Bishop Gene Robinson about 5 years ago. And the same thing happened two weeks ago in the Evangelical Lutheran church. While the Presbyterian USA church came close also this summer on the same subject, and far far closer then the last vote a couple years ago
Today I was out with my wife in Annapolis MD. And thinking I had forgot to wear something that supports our LGBT friends. Until I woke up and realized my T Shirt is an HRC T shirt.
I'm not gay, but I think GLBT equality is the social justice issue of our time. And nothing will do more to help move it along, then people loudly proclaiming they are gay, or supporters of gay equality.
(email verified)
Sun, Aug 30, 2009 at 11:20 PM
Kudos to Weekely for his bravery.
May the time come when everyone can be openly who and what they are, without feeling any shame or fear -- because LGBTQ people have been with us since the beginning of time -- and they are just one more manifestation of God's infinite expression.
(email verified)
Mon, Aug 31, 2009 at 08:16 AM
What an absolutely beautiful and touching story. A story that everyone needs to drink in. If all people could be open to the conversation and listen to each other this world would be a better place and our children and young people would be able to sare their own stories more freely.
(email verified)
Mon, Aug 31, 2009 at 08:31 AM
Your article says "Besides opposing the ordination of gay clergy, the Methodist church also will withhold church membership from anyone who is openly gay." This is not true. There has been one case of a pastor in Virginia refusing membership to an openly gay man, and that case was argued in the church courts on the basis that membership is granted by the pastor. To preserve that principle, the church courts allowed the situation to stand, though everyone involved (except, of course, the pastor involved) regretted the necessity of the decision. The United Methodist Church, like nearly all mainline churches, welcomes all who seek to follow the way of Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace and Lord of Love. Yes, the Church has a lot of leadership issues to overcome, but to say that membership is withheld is just not true.
(email verified)
Mon, Aug 31, 2009 at 08:59 AM
Dear Steve Kay, The key element of your response is calling Senator McCain a pig. If you truly care so much for all of humanity, why the name calling? Isn't it the same thing as calling gays derogatory terms, or using the n word with regards to African-Americans? You can self-aggrandize all you like, but calling McCain a pig flies in the face of your "caring". Additionally, why drag politics into a theological discussion? Don't you believe in the separation of church and state?
(email verified)
Mon, Aug 31, 2009 at 10:26 AM
Congratulations to David, Deborah, and Epworth UMC. What a fantastic story. And as you know, you have friends in the Episcopal Church who are with you all the way. TransEpiscopal is at blog.transepiscopal.com.
peace,
Rev. Cameron Partridge
(email verified)
Mon, Aug 31, 2009 at 10:44 AM
When Jesus walked the earth, he purposely sought out sinners, a hated tax collector & other societal "losers", then through grace & love, he converted them to followers. A bigoted church that accepts so called "righteous" sinners but refuses to accept gays, is NOT filled with true Christians.
However I would like to pose one question. If this pastor thinks God made a mistake in her/his gender of birth, how many other "mistakes" did God make? If there is even one single, tiny error in the bible or in God's past performance, what can be believed at all? How could ANYTHING concerning God be trusted? So, just how many more "mistakes" did God make?
(email verified)
Mon, Aug 31, 2009 at 11:27 AM
" For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God "
1 Corinthians 3:19
All that needs to be said about God's "mistakes"
(email verified)
Mon, Aug 31, 2009 at 11:48 AM
Now I remember why I don't go to church.
(email verified)
Mon, Aug 31, 2009 at 12:39 PM
Have any of you read your Bibles today?
God wants a relationship with all of us!
He loves all of us without reservation as we should love one-another. But out of love we are to help our brothers and sisters to combat their sins. Acceptance of a person is not acceptance of there sins. To truly love a person is not to allow them to live in sin, which separates them from God, but to encourage them to live by God's law while understanding that God's grace won by the blood of Jesus is truly all that is necessary. And that out of this loving relationship we will strive to live by God's law out of respect for him as we would for a loving father.
I feel that many of us miss what Christianity is and have been led astray by our own desires. What God desires is spelled out in scripture and he has warned us that there are those who will try to lead us astray.
I fear for the souls of many of those who have responded and pray that the Holy Spirit would come upon you and lead you to a truer understanding of God's word.
I know my opinion of LGBT "community" will not make me popular in Portland, but Christ loves each of you even if you choose to separate yourself from him. And although you may argue that God has made you this way, I would argue that you have chosen to separate yourself from God and that he is calling out to each of you if you would only listen!
God's Peace and Mercy be with each of you.
(email verified)
Mon, Aug 31, 2009 at 01:15 PM
I too applaud the way this congregation responded, the Reverend for his courage at choosing to tell the truth, and many of the mainstream Protestant denominations that are starting to see past the closed-mindedness of their forebears.
But at the end of the day...
It only solidifies my personal belief that faith often requires the faithful to perform fatal leaps of logic and demands a skeptical eye on reason and fact.
That these churches even need to have these discussions to begin with proves just how far behind the curve of reality the entire concept of religion really is.
I certainly don't knock anyone for their faith and spiritual convictions, but the doctrines and dogmas of the world's established religious bodies have done ar more to destroy the true message of Christ, Yahweh, Allah, etc. etc. than any non-believer such as I.
I'm just glad to see change happening. This type of progress is a far cry from my childhood in the Bible Belt and my father's fundamentalist church, where an electric guitar was a tool of the Devil, Satan planted the dinosaur fossils in the ground to lead believers astray, and gays were possessed of demons that should be exorcised.
(email verified)
Mon, Aug 31, 2009 at 01:21 PM
I'd like to add my own Japanese expressions for he/she/it; Baka yarou! Kichigai! Aho tare!
(email verified)
Mon, Aug 31, 2009 at 02:23 PM
Folks,
Don’t forget the Homosexual Agenda includes this kind of soft sell to jam their acceptance down your throat! They will tell you that, see, even priests, bankers, car salesmen, mayors, and congressmen are homosexuals, therefore they are a “natural element” in society which therefore has to embrace their perversions. They don’t want to admit the fact that , instead, there is a bigger plan in place where homosexuals are encouraged to subtly infiltrate different professions purposely to become priests, bankers, car salesmen, mayors and congressmen in order to further the overall agenda.
(email verified)
Mon, Aug 31, 2009 at 02:39 PM
The situation in the UMC is bad enough -- please don't misrepresent it as being worse than it is!
"Besides opposing the ordination of gay clergy, the Methodist church also will withhold church membership from anyone who is openly gay."
Is just not true. There are a few UMC pastors who have made the decision to withhold membership from openly gay persons, and the UMC judicial council upheld their right to do so.
That judicial council decision shocked and grieved nearly every person I know in the church -- including those who are staunchly opposed to gay marriage and gay ordination.
Membership in the United Methodist Church is NOT closed to openly GLBT persons. Some UMC pastors may choose to refuse membership to LGBT persons, but many many many more pastors and congregations welcome all of God's children -- including LGBT folks -- with open hearts, open minds and open doors.
(email verified)
Mon, Aug 31, 2009 at 03:31 PM
I applaud the minisster for being honest to his congregation. I hope he will not concentrate on his sex change experiences rather than minister to the congregation. He is not in his job because he is a tranggender but because he was accepted and hired as a man who the congregation adminred and wanted repected. now that the people in the church and community know his history, let it be and go forth with a man's life.
(email verified)
Mon, Aug 31, 2009 at 03:35 PM
"Al Kader" You seem to know of some secret plan that's unknown to the rest of the civilized world, pray tell you share that secret with the rest of us humans!
(email verified)
Mon, Aug 31, 2009 at 03:53 PM
I think its fantastic that people are finally accepting trans gender life style as normal I hope tis trend grows even faster than it is growing now Lisa Miller Beaverton Oregon transgender are wonderful.
(email verified)
Mon, Aug 31, 2009 at 04:33 PM
What's next? Lord help us, please !
(email verified)
Mon, Aug 31, 2009 at 07:04 PM
David,
i thank you for having the courage to share your story. we loved having you as a pastor 23 years ago and would feel the same if you were our pastor now. your courage in sharing your story will help others struggling with the same issues. we are all children of God just trying to find our way.
hugs, julie monk
(email verified)
Mon, Aug 31, 2009 at 07:11 PM
My own Personal Jesus came to bring a sword and to turn brother against brother. He ran a bunch of people out of His Fathers house with a bullwhip and made a mockery of the local politicians before he got what was coming to him. It is nice to see that the pastor at the Epworth United Methodist Church has been openly willing to carry a cross in Christ-like fashion and not hide in the shadows plying victim status. Not all of us are willing to put up with rejection in a Christ-like manner as this pastor has long demonstrated. Taking ones stripes is certainly not for the faint of heart, anymore than allowing ones self to be physically mutilated by monsters in surgical gowns and subsequently being chronically reliant on hormones for identity. The book is bound to be a best seller.
I left a church, in SE Portland at 35th and Main after 10 years of attendance, because not a Sunday would pass without the congregation being instructed, from the pulpit, as to how they should vote and view politics, if they were going to call themselves real Christians. I would only return to that church to help the IRS strip it of its non-profit status and testify that the pastor openly endorsed Howard Dean for president in 2004. It wouldn’t have mattered to me if the pastor had been stumping for Christ as our president. If the Ten Commandments don’t belong in the courthouse, politics doesn’t belong in church. Some would say that is a values judgment.
Now I realize that there is something different about me. My kind isn’t welcome just anywhere because of how we view the scripture. We want to read it for ourselves and arrive at our own interpretations without the coercion of well-meaning third-rate con men that couldn’t manage a captive audience; much less a political victory, in the public square so they take out their frustrations on folks who think hell is waiting for all who aren’t in church every Sunday morning and they wallow in Pastor Groupies.
The pastor at PMC told his audience that he wouldn’t preach the kinds of ‘Fire and Brimstone’ sermons (speeches, in his case) that he didn’t like hearing as a child. It took me a while to have the guts to be honest with myself about what had me so frustrated. It was sinful how jealous I was. I looked into attending seminary and getting a degree in political sciences and maybe sociology and psychology so that maybe one day I, too, could wield a pulpit as I reconciled myself with the the parts of my youth that I found undesirable, at the expense of the faithful.
My kind is a misunderstood group that is being forced into the closet by GLTB community who say things in front of us that deeply offend us. First they say things in church that offend us and then they say we are ‘fraidy cats’ (homophobes), if we disagree in the slightest. We are made out to be a group of people who are on a witch hunt as we seek the face of God and make a daily effort to live our lives in a way that is righteous, not self righteous. For us, it isn’t about what God wants, it is more important than that and we give our lives to what we believe in. We know that we have to look ourselves in the eye and wherever we go, we take ourselves with us and we want to leave this world in a better shape then we found it. We know there are enough problems in the world. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.
The rights to assembly and free association are being regularly attacked at all levels from several different positions, hard to imagine a church attacking that right. What kind of assertion is it that we will suffer for an eternity if we refuse to subject ourselves to beliefs we disagree with? Some of us allow ourselves to be taken hostage by our own belief structures. Others of us know when we are being lied to by a group whose only pursuit is serving their own personal interests by asserting their own values that they mask as Divine. As offencive as we may find the atmosphere at the churches we used to attend, or still attend, we aren’t going to employ the scientific and medical community in a reactionary and pre-emptive approach at making ourselves into something we weren’t created as, just so we can go to church or get into Heaven. Taking pills to get through church isn’t any kind of approach either and as one posting read, “Now I remember why I don’t go to church”.
We will continue to find each other and congregate, openly or not. We’ll turn our cheek to the hollow assertion that ‘people like us’ are a group of hate mongering paranoid homophobes looking for someone and hang from a barbed wire fence and set on fire.
Thankfully, our right to whorship as we see fit hasn’t been undermined yet and heaven is an eternal expanse full of people we won’t have to hang out with.
(email verified)
Mon, Aug 31, 2009 at 07:15 PM
How horrible to have to live a life based on a lie--that being an omission of the truth in the case of Pastor Weekley; and how wonderful for him to have the courage to finally step out and disclose the truth--particularly to those who count on and depend on their Pastor being a model of truth. It sounds like his family now--as probably his family before that he divorced from--were the ultimate recipients of living this lie; and I trust new freedom from "that" sin will bring about much favor and blessing for all.
As for the other "truth" in this story--especially for those who have an ear for truth; that is the fact that this world is full of lies--as our world is the domain of the evil one--Satan, and his deceptions are wide and far throughout the world. Mr. Kadar attempts to speak of this truth--but his passion for being "right" in attempting to discount the gay agenda does nothing but further Satan's desires by alienating those he seeks to enlighten--such is the weakness of the human condition, the Sin within us all--which we all are stuck with while a part of "this" world, thanks to the fall from Grace in the Garden of Eden.
However, we do have the hope--having accepted Jesus Christ as the one and only Savior of this world--that a new world fully founded in Love awaits us--at least all who have accepted this primary truth. Our life here is for no other purpose than to learn from life and one another how to better live a life as Jesus did--and most importantly to share the knowledge we have of the above hope I speak of--given to us through our acceptance of this truth and the power of the Holy Spirit, which is the one and only force more powerful on this earth than Satan--and is available to each of us as we seek to abide by his Holy Word--the Bible.
Just know that Satan's plan is to keep as many away from that world as possible--for he too knows the truth and the destiny awaiting him--as spelled out in the Book of Revelation (last chapter of the Bible), and he does not want to go there alone. So he continues his very effective and enduring messages of deception--so that many seek their own paths, which will ultimately bring them together in the end with the one who is responsible for all the pain and suffering in this world--expressed and delivered by his minions who have little awareness of their own blindness.
As for the premise of this story--it is not about the "Church's" ability to embrace Gays--it's about one man's struggle with life, expressed in many different forums--displays of Hate/Sin/Satan taking precedence over Love/Unity with God/Jesus--and his ongoing reconciliation with these untruths in his life. He still has far to go--as do I and every human being who still walks this earth. It's a constant journey that will end one day--only my God knows when--and I relish that I awaken each day to be able to continue this journey, trying to stay conscious to each choice I make each moment--as to whether I turned toward Jesus, or toward Satan.
One trys to put me to sleep, the other seeks to keep me awake--with my eyes wide open seeking Jesus.
In Christ Alone is my Salvation!
(email verified)
Mon, Aug 31, 2009 at 08:08 PM
Nail Splitter said: "My kind isn’t welcome just anywhere because of how we view the scripture. We want to read it for ourselves and arrive at our own interpretations without the coercion of well-meaning third-rate con men that couldn’t manage a captive audience."
==============================
And this is the true irony of certain Protestant denominations...
They owe their origins to Martin Luther, a man who railed against the heirarchical structure of and non-Biblical doctrines of the Catholic Church. He believed men should come to God on their own terms, in direct opposition to the papacy.
Yet now the likes of Pat Robertson et al. are the new papacy of the evangelicals, in a turn of events that would make Luther spin in his grave.
It's too bad that the judgmental, hateful, unintelligent, ignorant voices on the religious right are the most vocal, and are the beloved stepchildren of the mainstream media who loves to play them as both hero and villain, because they give REAL Christians - those who actually attempt to live a Christ-like life - a bad name.
The fundamentalist evangelicals want to think for their congregations, and herd them like zombies that do their bidding...anyone with an original or opposing viewpoint is viewed as a heretic.
It's no surprise that the fundamentalist sects are dominated by anti-intellectuals - those in control don't want parishoners thinking for themselves, and the parishoners themselves often don't possess the intellectual capacity TO think for themselves.
(email verified)
Tue, Sep 01, 2009 at 07:32 AM
As a 50-year old transgender man, husband, son, father, brother, cousin, neighbor & friend to many, who has had similar struggles to Rev. Weekly, all I can say is, "Thank you, thank you, thank you for your courage!"
(email verified)
Tue, Sep 01, 2009 at 08:24 AM
Dear JG
Have you been to a “fundamental evangelical” church?
The church which Luther’s teachings spawned, as a reaction to the Catholic Church’s political agenda to be the supreme authority in Europe, was actually initially called Evangelical. It later became Lutheran as a way of separating from other evangelical movements.
The parishioners of the “Lutheran” church have always been encouraged to understand scripture and to study both on their own and corporately.
You said. “The fundamentalist evangelicals want to think for their congregations, and herd them like zombies that do their bidding...anyone with an original or opposing viewpoint is viewed as a heretic.”
This is simply an offensive statement. It is true that we each have our own opinions on many issues. There are many issues that through study of the Bible we can find God’s answer to our question. And often our human condition leads us to disagree with those who express this will of God. It can be like salt in a wound, especially to those who do not want to accept Jesus. To those who believe in the grace of God it is instruction on the path which God desires for us. Like a child disciplined by a father, we do not like to be rebuked for our behavior.
I think you have misunderstood the intention behind what you have heard, and like all men, Pat Robertson is tempted by Satan. He has been led to make public apologies for things he has said in the past. And I believe that if his words have hurt you and you were to ask him, “Why he said those hurtful things,” that he would humbly apologize and ask for your forgiveness. And this is no different from any other Christian, we sin, and we seek forgiveness from those we have harmed daily, hourly, even now.
God bless you and may his Holy Spirit encourage you.
(email verified)
Tue, Sep 01, 2009 at 08:53 AM
ok, who cares? This is none of anyone's business. He is a minister, and his job is not to turn his pulpit into a confessional for himself.....
(email verified)
Tue, Sep 01, 2009 at 09:45 AM
I read all of the comments posted here. Some with great dismay, some with great joy.
Someone commented on Satan's desire to divide. He does it with extreme ease when we fall into the trap of "us" and "them." We are all Children of God. God in Jeremiah 1:5 tells Jeremiah "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations." If God knew Jeremiah before he was born, do you not think that God also knew you, and me, and Rev. David Weekley. If we are to believe that God is omnipotent, omniscent, all knowing, then do we not have to believe that God knew that this is who David Weekley was and is? If we are to believe that God knows the beginning and the end, then do we not have to believe that God knew we would be right here, right now?
God does not make mistakes. Everything God makes serves a purpose on this earth. Ecclesiastes tells us, "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven." If God made me, am I perfect in God's eyes? Of course I am. God loves me just as I am because this is the way God made me. And, if God loves me just as I am, who are "you" to judge me?
What the Rev. Weekley did was extremely courageous. He opened himself up to great waves of support and great waves of condemnation. But, is it our right to condemn? No.
This is why there will always be wars and rumors of wars. This is why there will always be poor among us, as well. And, this is why there will always be a spirit of "us" versus "them" in the world. As a community of faith, and I include every denomination on the planet, we seem simply unable to do what Jesus asked us to do. "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and your soul and your mind. And, love each other as you love yourself."
Until we can practice what Jesus taught us and do it with love, unconditionally, we will never achieve any sort of "peace on earth." Remember, God said, "Do not call unclean that which I have called clean."
It amazes me that people who profess to be Christians are so willing to act in un-Christ-like ways. Christ would have embraced David Weekley and called him brother. Why can we all not do the same? Would Christ have excluded anyone from following him? Nope. But, we sure do, don't we?
If you want to know what's true, read the book. It's in there.
And just so you know who I am: I'm a Christian, a choir director, the child of my mother, a Child of God, and a transman who believes that even those who choose to condemn me for who I am, deserve and require my unconditional love, acceptance and prayer.
God bless.
(email verified)
Tue, Sep 01, 2009 at 02:42 PM
I don't understand why the Outlook chose to run this non-story in the first place. If the pastor, the denomination, and the congregation are all happy, why bother to plaster it on the on-line front page, or anywhere else for that matter? If I'm nosy enough to want to know what happens in that congregation, I'll attend a service there.
(email verified)
Tue, Sep 01, 2009 at 06:45 PM
Seth Allen, you said it yourself: "God doesn't make mistakes". However, humans certainly do. Having any transgender surgery is in fact, telling God, HE made a mistake! How arrogant of you to think you know better!
(email verified)
Tue, Sep 01, 2009 at 07:32 PM
Congregation erupts in applause?.........
Just another case that prooves that liberalism is a mental disorder. Maybe this man, who has also lied to the Lord Jesus Christ can go join Sam Adams who also lied to the highest power only to achieve "status". Going this direction in Christianity will send the world to Hell in a hand cart.
(email verified)
Wed, Sep 02, 2009 at 06:08 AM
God doesn't make mistakes. But sometimes, perhaps, He leads us in different directions intentionally - through transformations, changes, hardships, or being one sex on the outisde and another on the inside - in order to bring us closer to Him. There is a reason we don't all live the same lives; we may follow different paths than these people, but who can say they don't eventually lead to the same place? We all get there in our own way.
That said, if you consider a transgender person to be saying "God has made a mistake with my sex", then what do you say to someone who is born with mixed up sex chromosomes or ambiguous genitalia? Did God make a mistake here, because this person falls somewhere between male and female? These are very similar conditions to transgenderism in many ways, especially since more and more evidence seems to be showing that being transgender is biological rather than psychological. If we believe that God makes no mistakes, then we believe that intersex people and transgender people are born that way for a reason.
(email verified)
Wed, Sep 02, 2009 at 10:04 AM
Re: the comments on "being trans = telling God he made a mistake!"
- Who the hell are you calling a "mistake"?
If God predetermines the conditions into which any given individual is born, then He routinely puts children into situations and physical forms far more unfathomable than simply a man who appears female at birth, or a woman who appears male.
This is the same God who creates children with progeria (rapid aging), with missing or extra limbs, or conjoined to a twin, or paralyzed.
For that matter, this is the same God who creates people with vast variety of appearances and personalities, including immense diversity of sex and gender.
We're not a damn "mistake." God has his own ineffable reasons for making a man with two X chromosomes, or a woman with a Y. Like any other medical condition we deal with it as best we can.
I seriously doubt most people here refuse medical treatment for congenital problems because it's "telling God he made a mistake." Our situation is no different.
(email verified)
Wed, Sep 02, 2009 at 11:28 AM
So glad that his congregation,family, and friends are supporting him . He is a brave soul to come out and open his heart and tell his story t the world. God Bless
(email verified)
Wed, Sep 02, 2009 at 11:50 AM
So glad that his congregation,family, and friends are supporting him . He is a brave soul to come out and open his heart and tell his story t the world. God Bless
(email verified)
Wed, Sep 02, 2009 at 11:51 AM
I used to work with a mother who told me her child was born with both male/female genitalia and per the doctors at delivery, she had to decide which sex her child was to be. She worried for years that she might have chosen the wrong one. This is all so confusing - having read the book "Middle Sex" I wonder how each one of us would have chosen for our child in this situation. However, this preacher wasn't born with both sets so making the decision to change her/his sex based on feelings is a slap in the face of God who like scripture tells us, "knew you in your mother's womb" as you were born into this world, female. Unfortunately for everyone in the room, the Bible can be interpreted to fit ones needs in life. It should be very interesting when we all stand before the throne of God to give an account. It's not for me to judge, but I beleive what God's word says, not what some evangelical dude has crammed down my throat and I can't support the gay/les lifestyle or the decision made by this person. The Bible is very clear on this subject but will be defended by every organization till the second coming, to be "their truth". GOD HELP US ALL!
(email verified)
Wed, Sep 02, 2009 at 03:46 PM
Command-O, it's interesting that you should mention that bit about the womb, since the womb is where doctors think this developmental condition occurs - where the brain of a fetus develops opposite to how it should based on chromosomes. There are actual structural differences between the brains of men and women, and transgender people structurally have the brains of the opposite sex. How can someone deny what their brain is? If your brain is mapped out to be male, then that's the only way you can feel, and that's how you should be allowed to live. It's ridiculous to think that someone with this condition should have to suffer their entire life with people treating them like they're something they're not (which includes you treating them like they're a sinner because they have the audacity to be who they are and try to live their lives in peace).
I have friends who are transgender, and trust me - they are they sex that present as. There is no question, if you get to know someone with this condition, that their decision to physically change their bodies is not made lightly. It's not something they wake up one day and say "Hey, I think I'll have a sex change." It's something they've felt in their hearts all their lives, it's something that's caused them pain every minute of every day. God wants no one to live in pain like that, and if you think He does, then there is no point in trying to reason with you.
(email verified)
Wed, Sep 02, 2009 at 07:05 PM
Comand-O said: The Bible is very clear on this subject but will be defended by every organization till the second coming, to be "their truth"
===================================
Really? The Bible is "clear?"
Please point out the passage where God said "thou shalt not have a sex change operation," or "if a man is born a man, he shall remain a man" or anything to that effect that specifically bans gender change.
Unless you can find that passage, then the Bible is NOT clear. The Bible IS clear on that topic only to those who wish to interpret the Scripture in this manner.
Therefore, you have your own individual interpretation of the Bible and assume that everyone else should abide by it too, thereby implying that you are the only one who is right.
I suggest you look up the term "narrow-minded" in the dictionary.
The world does not revolve around you.
Your version of the Bible and Christianity is not superior to anyone else's.
I would say, God help YOU and your kind. Everyone else is doing just fine.
(email verified)
Thu, Sep 03, 2009 at 10:05 AM
Telling the truth takes courage. I'm glad Epworth responded in love. I, too, wish you and your family all the best.
What's interesting is that it doesn't matter what any of us think, really.
It does matter what God thinks though. God is grace & truth.
David believed the lie that she was not a beautiful creation by God with a special plan and purpose for how God made her.
David was sad, hurt, tired, ashamed of her thoughts and feelings, and wanting a way out.
David thought that having surgery would take care of the pain. Hmmm... doesn't sound like it did a complete job.
Then, David lived out a lie.
David has found some freedom by sharing the truth.
David, how far will you take this journey of freedom?
The Bible is very clear about homosexuality.
Jesus offers you spiritual freedom in an even deeper way.
I desire for you to continue your journey of freedom with Jesus as your Savior.
The grace of God accepts all people everywhere who are willing to admit they are sinners and need Jesus as their Savior.
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. II Corinthians 5:10
Prayerfully submitted in love.
(email verified)
Thu, Sep 03, 2009 at 01:41 PM
The Outlook was brave to print this story...someone asked why they would print a story when everyone was happy in it and I find that so humorous. Why? Because the happy part is a story...especially in east county where so many youth are scared to come out as gay, or transgender, or anything other than what is perceived as the norm.
To have this article in this paper gives me hope for all mankind. Do I wish folks were transgender? Of course not - especially for them. Do i wish people were born gay? Of course not, it is a challenge that no one would openly ask for.
But it happens.
It is life.
And acceptance is key.
(email verified)
Thu, Sep 03, 2009 at 11:41 PM
You are Truly "God's Beloved". BLESSINGS to you,your wife, your children and church family. Will be holding the BEST FOR ALL in our prayers.
(email verified)
Fri, Sep 04, 2009 at 02:02 PM
What matters is the person and their love, not their gender.
(email verified)
Fri, Sep 04, 2009 at 05:29 PM
"Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable. Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways, because this is how the nations that I am going to drive out before you became defiled. Even the land was defiled, so I punished it for its sin, and the land vomited out its inhabitants."
"Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion."
"What shall we say then? Shall WE go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?"
New International Version
(email verified)
Sat, Sep 05, 2009 at 05:12 AM
What is the big fuss. So the minister is two people in one. God is three people in one according to the concept of the trinity.
Maybe the minister is a new God.
(email verified)
Sat, Sep 05, 2009 at 01:37 PM
hmmmm....i'm a known transsexual in my presbyterian congregation. i get no applause, i get no bells and whistles. seems nobody cares. poor little me.
(email verified)
Sun, Sep 06, 2009 at 08:36 PM
I really don't care one way or the other about Weekley and his closet, but I do wonder...what does this have to do with being gay? He's transgendered, but not gay. He's a man, he's married to a woman; you can't get much hetero than that. I'm confused by the use of the word gay throughout the article.
(email verified)
Tue, Sep 08, 2009 at 06:18 PM
"the minister", rev. weekley, is not two people in one. he is one person in one. God does manifest Himself in three different realities according to christian theology but the rest of us only get one.
transsexuals are not "two spirited", schitzo or otherwise out of kilter. our only affliction is having been born with body and brain wired to different genders. one person, one mind and one spirit.
(email verified)
Wed, Sep 09, 2009 at 03:01 PM
why is everyone equating transsexuality with homosexuality??
Instead of looking at transsexuality as a “choice” (like a lot of churches consider homosexuality to be), it is more like a physical defect instead of a psychological one. I would liken it to a person born blind or deaf. If you say that transgenderism is not natural, you might as well say being deaf is not natural… most people are not deaf and ears were made for the purpose of hearing. However, being born deaf is a physical defect and is not anyone’s fault. It is not by any action of that person that they are deaf, and it is no use blaming God for it because it’s not “wrong” to be deaf, it’s just an unfortunate natural thing that happens sometimes. Like that, a transgendered person has naturally (and quite unfortunately) been born with the physical defect of having the plumbing of the opposite gender. As medicine advances, like a blind person might get corrective surgery or someone without legs might get a prosthesis, the problem of a transgendered person may be alleviated medically.
And I hope that people in the Church realize this before saying that transgendered people are sinners JUST for being transgendered. They’re not trying to deceive anyone, they are just females trapped in male bodies or males trapped in female bodies. Though transsexuality is often confused with these, it is different from cross dressing and different from homosexuality. Some people might have cases against those but why is having clinically diagnosed case of gender identity disorder is sinning.
I think the negative image comes from when someone says, “transsexual”, our minds focus on the "sexual" part. Being transgender is not a fetish or about sex... it is about having the physical birth defect of having mismatching parts... so let's stop lumping all of the transgender issues in with the homosexuality issues because they are not related.
For this is what the LORD says:
"To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths,
who choose what pleases me
and hold fast to my covenant-
5 to them I will give within my temple and its walls
a memorial and a name
better than sons and daughters;
I will give them an everlasting name
that will not be cut off. Isaiah 56:4~5
(email verified)
Tue, Sep 15, 2009 at 07:46 AM
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Re: Congregation embraces transgender minister as his secret is revealed
"While the Book of Discipline forbids gays from entering the church..." That is not accurate. The Discipline states that we welcome all people to enter the church, regardless of sexual orientation.
"A United Methodist pastor"
(email verified)
Sun, Aug 30, 2009 at 08:58 PM
Editorial response:
United Methodist Pastor: Thank you for the information. The story has been corrected.
Kevin Harden
Web editor