By Joe Udo
NEW YORK (CONVERSEER) – A United States pastor, Reverend Phil Phaneuf, has told his congregation that he’s transitioned from a man to a woman.
The 51-year-old pastor of the North Chili United Methodist Church in New York disclosed this to the congregation during a church service, saying that he’s giving up pretending to be a man.
Phaneuf said his parents are not in support when he told them about his new phase of life.
He also stated that he’s chosen “Fiona” as his middle name.
“Rarely, rarely do I, I did not get into ministry to talk about myself or my personal life, but sometimes there are things that happen in a pastor’s personal life that is going to find its way out into, into ministry.
“And so I am inviting you to join me in a season of creative transformation for myself. And I think for all of us, imagine, so I get to announce with joy that I’m transitioning.
“I’m affirming and saying to all of you that I am transgender.
And so, the best way to put this is that I’m not becoming a woman. I’m giving up pretending to be a man.
“What will change? Thank God you have never chosen me as your pastor based off of my appearance.
Amen.
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“None of you ever judged me, or that was not part of the intake process of me being your pastor, was because of how my face looked, or my body, or how long my hair is, or my clothes. Because at the end of the day, we know that clothes are just fibres. They do not carry an anatomy with them. So to say that something is girls’ clothes or boys’ clothes. Well, they don’t come with a reproductive system.
“So what will change my voice? It might go a tad higher, uh, pronouns, she, her, but I’m not going to be pronoun police. Okay. Because I don’t think that anybody will miss gender or miss pronoun out of malice.
“This is a process to transition. What will change is my full name. I’m taking on for me Fiona’s middle name so that we have that in common.
“What may change is that we might become known within the community as an even safer space for people who have felt marginalised.
“Are my parents okay with this? Absolutely not. They texted me this morning and they said, they asked for me to tell you all that they do not support me and that they have chosen their convictions and their beliefs over supporting their child. I’m in the category of what they call asexual.
“Uh, I’ve been that way since we’ve all been together is that I am not, I’m not living my life in such a way that I am looking for romance. And that’s okay. We all have to live the way that we live,” Phaneuf said.
Video Below
