Minister Reveals That He is Transsexual

A Methodist minister has announced that he was born female.

The revelation came in the course of a homily that the Rev. David Weekly, a Methodist minister, gave to his parish, reported CBS News in an Oct. 1 story.

The Rev. Weekly serves at Epworth United Methodist Church, located in Portland, Oregon.

Speaking on "The Early Show" about his disclosure, Weekly said that he had undergone gender reassignment surgery after a lifetime of identifying as male, despite having been born with female anatomy.

Transgendered persons often describe a conviction from early in life of belonging to one gender even though they have the anatomy of the other gender.

For Weekley, the revelation was not the ending of a shameful secret; he did not see his physical gender at birth as something to hide, even though he had previously kept those details to himself.

Rev. Weekly was quoted as saying, "I viewed it as part of my private life."

But once he let his parishoners in on the fact that he'd been born in a female body, Weekley said, his congregation showed him acceptance.

"It was a pretty intense time.

"But they were very supportive," Weekly added. "And following the service that day, there were many, many hugs and time for conversation and questions."

Now that the facts are out in the open, the article quoted Weekly as saying, "I feel like I have more ability to pastor to my congregation, and also other people that come to me."

Noted the reverend, "I've had so many e-mails and cards from people all over the country and world saying they would like to return to a spiritual community and my being out there gives them some hope to do that."

Identifying as male, the article noted, was not something that Weekly felt was a choice but an ineradicable part of who he was.

"From my earliest memories, I always considered myself, felt myself to be a boy.

"And I use that language because I was a child and that's the way I describe myself, my self-image was always that of a little boy.

"That's how I played," Weekly continued. "Those were my friends.

"It was only as I grew older that I began to understand there was a difference between how I viewed myself and how the world saw me."

The Methodist church has been divided over the issue of gays and lesbians, their family lives, and their place in the church. An August 3 EDGE article recounted how parishoners of a Jacksonville, Mississippi Methodist church recoiled from the June 12 testimony offered by a lesbian couple belonging to their church, with evangelical Methodists demanding an apology for the couple having been given a change to tell their story. demands for an apology for having allowed the lesbian couple to speak.

Rev. Ginger Holland of the Mississippi Fellowship of United Methodist Evangelicals was quoted in the media as saying, "To give witness of any kind appears to condone a certain practice."

While to some members of the faith the issue of gays and lesbians belonging to the church, much less speaking publicly about their relationship to God in the context of the faith, may seem a significant topic, for the couple at the center of the uproar there were other, more important issues that believers are neglecting to focus on them and their testimony.

Connie Campbell, one half of the lesbian couple who offered their testimony, was quoted as saying, "I wish we were fighting instead over how to spend $1 million to help the poor."

At present, the Methodist church does not bar transsexuals from serving as ministers, though it is possible that could change: some religious conservatives deny that it is ethical or acceptable for a person to undergo surgery to change gender.

The church does, however, deny its gay and lesbian members religious weddings, the CBS story pointed out.

Weekley addressed that, saying, "I'm not happy with that part of our church, but I've chosen over the years to stay within it hoping to work for positive change about those kinds of things."

Weekly is married to Deborah Weekley, who was also quoted in the story.

"I've always been accepting of it," said Mrs. Weekly.

Deborah went on to say, "David's one of the finest human beings I know and I've always known him as a man and he's a wonderful husband and father and an awesome minister.

"So I've never seen a conflict with it."