Curator

The Rev. Megan Rohrer (they/their/them), of Grace Lutheran in the Sunset District, is the first openly transgender pastor ordained in the Lutheran church.  In 2016, Pastor Megan will celebrate the ten year anniversary of their Extraordinary Ordination.   One of 18 pastors defiantly ordained during the time when the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) did not allow LGBT pastors to serve openly, in 2010 Pastor Megan was one of the first seven pastors received into the ELCA after their policies changed.  They received an honorable mention as an Unsung Hero of Compassion by His Holiness the Dali Lama and an honorary doctorate from Palo Alto University.

As the Executive Director of Welcome, since 2002, Pastor Megan has worked primarily with San Francisco’s LGBT homeless community.  In addition to feeding the hungry on Polk Street and in the Castro, Pastor Megan has created programs to provide groceries for HIV+ individuals, and advocates nationally for homeless LGBT youth and to help faith communities’ welcome LGBT individuals.  This year, Pastor Megan’s advocacy brought national attention to the issues faced by transgender women of color, when they raised the funds needed to get Meagan Taylor released from jail in Des Moines, IA. 

Pastor Megan has served on the TransMarch Steering Committee, the San Francisco Human Rights Commission’s LGBT Advisory committee, walks with the San Francisco Night Ministry and created a project that has given over 1,500 pairs of prescription glasses to the homeless in San Francisco for SF CARES.  In 2015, Pastor Megan became the first transgender president of the Castro Lions Club and was awarded the Connector Award by Project Homeless Connect.

Listed in the Trans100, Pastor Megan’s exhibit on transgender mentoring from 1976-2009 in San Francisco was displayed at the GLBT Historical Society and won OutHistory’s Since Stonewall Local History Competition.  Megan has also won international awards for the Trans themed documentary Zanderology and was a finalist in transgender non-fiction for the Lambda Literary Award.

One of the many pastors arrested protesting Prop 8, Pastor Megan has officiated at countless weddings for LGBT individuals before and after the marriages were legally recognized. Pastor Megan lives near Golden Gate Park with their wife Laurel and two cats.