Methodist Pastor Comes Out As Transgender During Church Service

Featured image courtesy of Rev. Phillippa Phaneuf/Facebook

Rev. Dr. Phillippa Phaneuf stepped into the pulpit at North Chili United Methodist Church outside Rochester on November 23 expecting to share news with the congregation she has guided for six years. Soon, her announcement was reverberating far beyond that sanctuary. In the final minutes of worship, she told her congregation, “I get to announce with joy that I’m transitioning. I’m affirming to all of you that I am transgender. The best way to put this is that I’m not becoming a woman, I’m giving up pretending to be a man.”

Phaneuf, 51, had prepared her church leadership in advance, but she anticipated only modest attention. She spoke about the joy she has experienced since beginning hormone replacement therapy three months earlier. “Imagine if your doctor came and told you that your quality and outlook on life could transform exponentially to the positive. Would you listen to that doctor?” She added that within her first week on HRT, “it was like night and day in terms of happiness.” She framed that shift as a sign of divine affirmation, saying, “If you felt God’s Holy Spirit surrounding you in ways that you haven’t felt in years, would you have a sense that that might be something that God was okay with?”

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To help congregants absorb the news, she presented simple lists of what would change and what would not. Her voice, pronouns, clothes, and name would shift. Her commitment to ministry would remain. “What will stay the same,” she said, “is my commitment to the good news of Jesus Christ, our togetherness in ministry, (unfortunately for all of you) my personality, my style of teaching, my style of preaching, my adhd brain type (you’re welcome), my sense of humor – none of that is changing.” She told worshippers that the congregation might become “an even safer space for people who have felt marginalized,” adding that she could not have come out publicly without first feeling supported by them.

The moment was not without pain. Phaneuf disclosed that her parents opposed her transition and had asked her to make that clear. “They texted me this morning, and 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.”

Still, the response from the congregation was overwhelmingly supportive. Several told her they were moved to tears. Others said the clarity of her presentation grounded them. Phaneuf said, “I’m surrounded by loving kindness. The affirmations have been amazing.” Bishop Héctor A. Burgos Núñez of the Upper New York Conference publicly affirmed her ministry, calling her announcement “a significant step in her journey of authenticity and faith.”

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Phaneuf’s daughter, whom she calls a “fierce ally,” has been a steady source of encouragement. Members of the congregation, including older adults who have acted as surrogate parents, have filled the emotional space left by her parents’ refusal. That solidarity has strengthened her conviction that her coming out can serve a larger purpose. “That’s what we want for the people in our lives, isn’t it?” she said. “Whether we can wrap our heads around some of the decisions that they make, at the end of the day, we really want the people around us to be happy.”

As she prepares for upcoming sermons, Phaneuf is leaning into the scriptural refrain she finds most fitting for a congregation navigating change: “Don’t be afraid.” She hopes the weeks ahead will yield opportunities for deeper compassion. “If someone can see even a glimpse of themselves in me,” she said, “maybe they’ll feel there’s a place for them too. That’s what church is supposed to be.”