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Documentary follows transgender’s
fight for ordination in PCUSA

By Edward Terry, The Layman, Posted Wednesday, September 30, 2009

A transgender Presbyterian Church (USA) candidate for ordination, who currently is without a call, is the subject of a documentary film currently under production that “addresses issues of gender justice and sexual equality in the faith communities.”
 
The film, as described by Mineral King Productions on its Web site, follows transsexual Sara Herwig in her path to ordination in the PCUSA. Born a man but now claiming to be female, Herwig was approved as a candidate for ministry by Boston Presbytery in 2002. According to a Facebook posting about the movie dated July 11, Herwig is “Candidate Certified and looking for a call; The Presbyterian Church (USA).”
 
A synopsis of “Thy Will Be Done: A Transsexual Woman’s Journey Through Family and Faith” includes a description of efforts by conservative groups to challenge her attempt to become ordained in the PCUSA. It describes a battle between “established policy and conservative social groups” and “progressive social change.”
 
“At issue is the organized Christian Church, with all its political and financial firepower, as one of the fiercest battlegrounds for LGBT rights and gender recognition. … Sara’s sexual transition goes against many members’ understanding of Biblical guidance and has become a divisive issue in the Church. … Sara’s chances for ordination have come up against yet another stumbling block with her recent marriage to Jenn, a biological female. Presbyterian Book of Order states that anyone who is in a same-sex relationship is not eligible to be ordained. The Church’s conservative groups do not recognize Sara as female, but rather see her as a gay man. And yet, they are unable to acknowledge her eligibility as a candidate for ordination because she is in a ‘same-sex’ relationship ... as a woman.”
 
The description goes on to describe her call to service.
 
“And as for Sara, she actively seeks not only to participate in the Ministry as an openly transgendered person, but as an activist, she seeks to transform a world – spiritual and otherwise – that operates by conventional notions of sex and gender.”
 
Herwig’s marriage to a biological female was performed by the Rev. Jean Southall, who on Aug. 22 was found “not guilty” of charges of violating the PCUSA’s constitution and her own ordination vows. She was tried by the Presbytery of Boston’s Permanent Judicial Commission, which argued that the language in the Book of Order that forbids same-sex marriage is descriptive rather than mandatory. There were two dissenters in the case.
 
Promising to empower those affected and motivate those in positions of power, movie promoters are seeking financial support to complete the production. According to the Grantmakers for Film and Electronic Media Web site, which helps raise money for its production, the film is in post production and still needs $136,039 to meet its $155,739 budget. There are several “private donors” listed for the drive, which began in 2003 soon after Herwig’s acceptance as a candidate by Boston Presbytery.
 
The film’s Facebook page lists the release date as January 2010.
 
The effort received a boost in July from The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, which offered a $1,000 donation. While they are known for social activism and fund-raising for AIDS charities, this “order” also has drawn criticism from some religious groups for its offensive tactics. From dressing as Catholic nuns and priests to hosting a “Hunky Jesus competition” at its 28th anniversary celebration in San Francisco, the group describes itself as “21st century nuns for the queer (gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, lesbian, kink, etc.)” on its Wikipedia page.
 
Additional “fans” of the movie, according to its Facebook page, are PCUSA affinity groups Presbyterian Welcome and That All May Freely Serve, as well as the executive director of More Light Presbyterians, and the national organizer for the Covenant Network of Presbyterians. Also listed as fans are several PCUSA ministers and elders, a seminary faculty member from Andover Newton Theological Seminary and seminary students from PCUSA sponsored institutions including Princeton, Columbia (Ga.), Union (Richmond) and Louisville seminaries.
 
The only similar case involved Erin Swenson of Atlanta, who was originally ordained as a man (Eric) but later declared that he was a woman. Swenson successfully repelled a move in the Presbytery of Greater Atlanta in 1995-96 to annul her ordination.
 
In arguing against Atlanta commissioners who opposed her ordination, Swenson said, “I have spent the best years of my life wringing enough energy from myself to carry on as husband, father, and minister against a personal reality that seemed wholly unacceptable to not only others, but to myself and God as well.” Swenson, who has a counseling practice, does not serve as a local church pastor.

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