This letter is from the Papers of the Rev. Dr. Robert Smith (learn more below).In this letter, written in 1993, Presiding Bishop Herb Chilstrom recommends the principles of what will become President Bill Clinton's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell Policy" (1994). Arguing that the police works well for Lutheran clergy, Chilstrom indicates that this policy is of benefit to LGB individuals. The ELCA's policy of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" was in place from 1989-2009, though the denomination still allows individuals and communities to retain biases against LGBTQ individuals and by claiming a "bound conscience."
The Rev. Dr. Robert H. Smith was a professor at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary, a theologian and author of numerous books. His papers are courtesy of the Rev. Donna Duensing. For academic purposes please use the following citation for these primary sources: Document, Folder, The Papers of the Rev. Dr. Robert Smith, Queerly Lutheran Archive, San Francisco, CA, Date of Document.
Documents are for personal and academic use only. Individuals interested in publishing or reposting documents must seek permission from Pastor Megan Rohrer (pastor@gracesf.com).
The Rev. Charles "Chuck" Lewis is a retired pastor known for his radical ministry in San Francisco at the North Beach Fellowship (a ministry primarily to black public housing residents) and was potentially the first Lutheran missionary to the LGBT community. Officially, recorded as a ministry to "single men" Pastor Lewis is a founding member of the Council of Religion and the Homosexual and a leading figure in clergy led advocacy for gay rights in the 60's and 70's. This portion of The Rev. Chuck Lewis papers is courtesy of the Rev. Chuck Lewis and the ELCA Region II Archives.
For academic purposes please use the following citation for
these primary sources: Document, Folder, The Papers of the Rev. Chuck Lewis, Queerly Lutheran Archive, San Francisco, CA, Date of Document.
Documents are for personal and academic use only. Individuals
interested in publishing or reposting documents must seek permission
from Pastor Megan Rohrer (pastor@gracesf.com).
Letters with Carl Segerhammer Here President of the Pacific Southwest Synod (LCA) Segerhammar notes: "you are far more than a ministry or mission to the homosexuals" and later expresses his success at refraining from telling a lesbian who calls to talk that she should stop being a lesbian.
Agenda(1966 Folder) (note the participation of Vanguard and the Diggers - Vanguard is the
has been called the first Gay Liberation organization in the US by
historian Susan Stryker)
Daughters of Bilitis (Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon, the co-founders worked as secretaries at Glide in order to have free use of the copy machine for their magazines. They were some of the homophile leaders that asked the Central City Pastors to Create the Council for the Religion and the Homosexual. Later, when Jo Chadwick's funding is ended at North Beach Mission (because she could not be ordained the board of missions would only support her work for one year), Jo becomes a ghost writer returning letters from fans for Lyon and Martin)
Chuck Lewis worked with other Central City Pastors to create a federal poverty district in the Tenderloin and SOMA neighborhoods. The pastors argued that the ramifications of being gay were equivalent to being a community of color and the area became the first mostly white neighborhood to receive poverty funds. The programs created by these pastors continue to shape the life, ministry and service of San Francisco's Central City to this Day. Here are a few of the documents used to make their case:
The Rev. Dr. Megan Rohrer is the first openly transgender pastor ordained in the Lutheran church, currently serving Grace Lutheran in San Francisco, an author of numerous books and an award winning historian, their papers appear hear for academic purposes please use the following citation for
these primary sources: Document, Folder, The Papers of the Rev. Dr. Megan Rohrer, Queerly Lutheran Archive, San Francisco, CA, Date of Document.
Documents are for personal and academic use only. Individuals
interested in publishing or reposting documents must seek permission
from Pastor Megan Rohrer (pastor@gracesf.com).
Videos: Vanguard Pastors - 1961-1971 - Oral Histories (Learn more about the work of the Rev. Charles Lewis) Oral Histories and audio from: Susan Stryker, Paul Gabriel, Megan Rohrer
and the Pacifica Audio Archive. Photos courtesy of the GLBT Historical
Society. Video edited and written by Megan Rohrer for the Vanguard
Revisited speaking tour multimedia exhibit. 2011
Extraordinary Ordination of Pastor Megan Rohrer, November 18, 2006 - Part One
Extraordinary Ordination of Pastor Megan Rohrer, November 18, 2016 - Part Two
July 25, 2010 Rite of Reception for the SPS7: In 1990 two San Francisco Lutheran Churches, St. Francis and First
United, defied the policy that prevented openly GLBT individuals from
serving as pastors when they ordained a gay man and a lesbian couple.
As a result the two churches were expelled from the Evangelical Lutheran
Church in America (ELCA). More than 20 years later: 18 pastors had
been ordained in defiance of the church, 3 pastors were removed by trial
and and countless others were denied the ability to serve openly as
GLBT pastors in the Lutheran Church. The ELCA changed its
policies and this was the first group of GLBT pastors who
faithfully served the church, despite their undocumented status, tobe
recognized by the ELCA. Seven GLBT pastors, from the Bay Area were
either received or reinstated to the ELCA roster of pastors.
The Rev. Dr. Robert H. Smith was a professor at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary, a theologian and author of numerous books. His papers are courtesy of the Rev. Donna Duensing. For academic purposes please use the following citation for these primary sources: Document, Folder, The Papers of the Rev. Dr. Robert Smith, Queerly Lutheran Archive, San Francisco, CA, Date of Document.
Documents are for personal and academic use only. Individuals interested in publishing or reposting documents must seek permission from Pastor Megan Rohrer (pastor@gracesf.com).
This blog, is a continuation of the work that I began in the book Queerly Lutheran. In celebration of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation I will begin digitizing and curating the LGBTQ history of the Lutheran Church (primarily focused on my location in the United States).
As a part of this process, I will be creating an archive of documents that students research - by appointment in person at Grace Lutheran in San Francisco or using the online archives that I will be creating here.
Contact me, Pastor Megan Rohrer, at pastor@gracesf.com or 415-731-1305 if you have papers you are willing to let me digitize and include in either our online or in person research or exhibits.
If you are a student or individual interested in helping with the research, digitizing and archiving let me know.
