Megan Rohrer Elected As 1st Openly Transgender Bishop In U.S. Lutheran Church

The Rev. Megan Rohrer has been elected as a bishop in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, becoming the first openly transgender person in the U.S. to do so in a major Christian denomination.

Rohrer will serve as bishop of the Sacramento-based Sierra Pacific synod, which encompasses close to 200 congregations in Central and Northern California and northern Nevada.

"I am humbled and honored, and aware that this call is bigger than me," Rohrer said in a speech after the ballots were counted on Saturday. "My hope is that your grandkids will call you, and your kids will call you, and your friends will call you, and ask you about your faith. And when they call, tell them how much you love Jesus and why Jesus' faith in you meant why you could have faith in me."

Bishops are elected to six-year terms.

Rohrer, 41, currently serves as a pastor at San Francisco's Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church and as a community chaplain coordinator for the city's police department. They are also well-known for their advocacy work with homeless and LGBTQ communities in the Bay Area and on a national level.