Transgender friend becoming a Protestant Minister

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A friend of mine (Former Catholic) is becoming a Pentecostal minister. I have been told that she is a transgender. Until I was told this I had no idea but now I can see the signs - husky voice, large man’s hands. Her husband does not know this and I do not think her church knows this either as Pentecostals do not believe in transgenders.

I am debating on telling her that “it is not those who cry Lord, Lord who will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but those who do the will of the Father”. I also want to tell her that homosexuality is an abominations. I am worried for her soul and where she could be going in spite of her ministership.

Any advice.
 
She is she because she is she. She tells you what she tells you.

One may discreetly get a hint of or guess something, but it is not our business if it is not made our business (as I don’t think it was ever supposed to be).

“Pentecostal” covers a very wide range including some Unitarians. God has His purpose in allowing various denominations, groups or communities to attract various people. He may or may not call some people to head some off, and if so, for a different reason from one person to the next. Who knows?

There are a huge number of factors that it will be impossible to discern.

Sometimes it is very good to just be a companionable human being, or to grow apart gracefully, like one might from anyone.
 
Vic_Taltrees_UK said:
She is she because she is she. She tells you what she tells you.

One may discreetly get a hint of or guess something, but it is not our business if it is not made our business (as I don’t think it was ever supposed to be).

“Pentecostal” covers a very wide range including some Unitarians. God has His purpose in allowing various denominations, groups or communities to attract various people. He may or may not call some people to head some off, and if so, for a different reason from one person to the next. Who knows?

There are a huge number of factors that it will be impossible to discern.

Sometimes it is very good to just be a companionable human being, or to grow apart gracefully, like one might from anyone.
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I think the last line is so true and so eloquently said ( The bolding is mine) I would certainly not say anything to your friend based on something you heard second hand. If I said anything it would be to the friend spreading gossip. I would tell her that “I don’t engage in gossip.”

Mary.
 
You think that your female friend used to be a man because someone else told you this? You further believe that her husband has no idea that his wife used to be a man? I am afraid to ask how you know the husband’s knowledge level.
 
This makes me think of a question:

What happens if a male (born female) became a priest in the Catholic Church, because it was never found out that the individual was born female?

Is everything the priest says and does still of God? If they perform baptisms, or serve the Eucharist, or officiate weddings, are all those things still legitimate (from a Catholic perspective).

I apologize if I worded any of that weird, I am not officially Catholic.
 
We’re all sinners. I’m good at respecting the gender I was born with, but not so good at other things. Some people be the opposite. Let’s pray they do not persist in sin until the end – but unless it comes up in conversation or is flaunted in your face, it sounds like a personal thing.
 
I say “Mind your own business.” Other than she wants to become a minister in another denomination, stay out of her face. Peace.
 
I know they can do a lot with surgery and hormones, but I think it would be very hard for a spouse to not be aware. Not only would physical signs exist, but it would be hard to hide all of the hormone medications.
I think if the church checked her social security number and did a basic background check it would be quite obvious that she was born a male. If this isn’t in the US I would imagine that they would still have some system of screening new ministers that would reveal birth gender.
So either this is a rumor made because a woman happens to have masculine features. Or her husband and her church are aware of her gender change and approve. If it is true, I am not sure if telling her it is wrong would cause her to change her mind.
 
If she is transgendered, she considers herself to be a woman now - so making comments about homosexuals isn’t really of any relevance. I can’t believe that her husband doesn’t know, whatever you’ve heard.

As to Pentecostals “not believing” in transgender people - it’s not something to believe in or not, transgender people are part of our communities. If you mean the Pentecostals don’t approve, that’s another matter.
 
McCartney said:
A friend of mine (Former Catholic) is becoming a Pentecostal minister. I have been told that she is a transgender. Until I was told this I had no idea but now I can see the signs - husky voice, large man’s hands. Her husband does not know this and I do not think her church knows this either as Pentecostals do not believe in transgenders.

I am debating on telling her that “it is not those who cry Lord, Lord who will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but those who do the will of the Father”. I also want to tell her that homosexuality is an abominations. I am worried for her soul and where she could be going in spite of her ministership.

Any advice.
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If you are a Catholic, is it really any of your business how a Protestant Church runs its operation? Why are you worried about the operation of a Protestant Church for any reason other than evangelization?

If you want to tell he/she your opinion, that’s fine. Anything more than that is really out of line.
 
McCartney said:
A friend of mine (Former Catholic) is becoming a Pentecostal minister. I have been told that she is a transgender. Until I was told this I had no idea but now I can see the signs - husky voice, large man’s hands. Her husband does not know this and I do not think her church knows this either as Pentecostals do not believe in transgenders.

I am debating on telling her that “it is not those who cry Lord, Lord who will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but those who do the will of the Father”. I also want to tell her that homosexuality is an abominations. I am worried for her soul and where she could be going in spite of her ministership.

Any advice.
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So you believe she’s a transgendered person just because she has a “husky” voice and large hands and someone told you she was? That’s some very flimsy rationale to be going on. Many women have deeper voices and are not petite. Frankly this sounds like just another example of the recent hysteria of people accusing women who don’t conform closely to stereotypical ideals of women hood of being men attempting to use ladies rooms.

As for her husband not knowing if she is actually transgender on the off chance she is, I find it HIGHLY unlikely that would be the case. There are far too many signs that he’d have to be the most unobservant man alive to miss. :rolleyes:
 
Jake_Parker said:
This makes me think of a question:

What happens if a male (born female) became a priest in the Catholic Church, because it was never found out that the individual was born female?

Is everything the priest says and does still of God? If they perform baptisms, or serve the Eucharist, or officiate weddings, are all those things still legitimate (from a Catholic perspective).

I apologize if I worded any of that weird, I am not officially Catholic.
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Not that is an intriguing question. In theory a person who has transitioned could end up a Catholic priest given that all legal documents, etc… are changed to reference the new gender. I wonder what the RCC’s view on the validity of their orders and the subsequent events they officiate would be.
 
I would not say anything in case this information turns out to be a false rumor. Few things make a woman feel more ugly than being mistaken for a man and, if she is not transgendered and you say something to her about it, it would likely devastate her that people are saying that she is really a man.

Also, I second the poster that said it is highly unlikely that a spouse would not know.
 
Padres1969 said:
Not that is an intriguing question. In theory a person who has transitioned could end up a Catholic priest given that all legal documents, etc… are changed to reference the new gender. I wonder what the RCC’s view on the validity of their orders and the subsequent events they officiate would be.
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There is so much screening that Dioceses and Orders do these days that it would be surprising if information did not surface. On the other hand, if indeed a person were to get thru the screening and then seminary to be ordained, I wonder what the Church WOULD do. Does anyone know if this has happened before? I know there are stories of women who have taken on men’s dress and behavior in order to become priests - long ago - but they were soon discovered. These days, however, surgery and hormones will make transition complete.
 
McCartney said:
A friend of mine (Former Catholic) is becoming a Pentecostal minister. I have been told that she is a transgender. Until I was told this I had no idea but now I can see the signs - husky voice, large man’s hands. Her husband does not know this and I do not think her church knows this either as Pentecostals do not believe in transgenders.

I am debating on telling her that “it is not those who cry Lord, Lord who will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but those who do the will of the Father”. I also want to tell her that homosexuality is an abominations. I am worried for her soul and where she could be going in spite of her ministership.

Any advice.
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And what if whoever told you this is wrong, what do you think would happen to your relationship if you falsely accused her of being transgender? Some women have huskier voices, especially if they used to or do smoke and some have larger hands than average.
 
ComplineSanFran said:
There is so much screening that Dioceses and Orders do these days that it would be surprising if information did not surface. On the other hand, if indeed a person were to get thru the screening and then seminary to be ordained, I wonder what the Church WOULD do. Does anyone know if this has happened before? I know there are stories of women who have taken on men’s dress and behavior in order to become priests - long ago - but they were soon discovered. These days, however, surgery and hormones will make transition complete.
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If by some chance this did indeed happen the Church would say that the no ordination took place becuase of invalid matter.

The church does not say women can not be priests because of some arbitrary reasoning that they do not want female preistesses but because a women can not be ordained much like a saltine cracker can not be consecrated into the eucharist or grape juice into the Blood. All these have one thing in common… Invalid matter.

No I do not mean that women are unequal or not human this is just silly. They can not be preist because one neeeds to be male for the sacrament to be valid.

Peace to you and yours
 
ProdigalSun said:
If by some chance this did indeed happen the Church would say that the no ordination took place becuase of invalid matter.

The church does not say women can not be priests because of some arbitrary reasoning that they do not want female preistesses but because a women can not be ordained much like a saltine cracker can not be consecrated into the eucharist or grape juice into the Blood. All these have one thing in common… Invalid matter.

No I do not mean that women are unequal or not human this is just silly. They can not be preist because one neeeds to be male for the sacrament to be valid.

Peace to you and yours
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Because penis. No, seriously, you need specific special exemptions if you were castrated or emasculated, this isn’t an issue now, but in some places it was and as far as I know you still need the special permission in such cases.
 
Joie_de_Vivre said:
Because penis. No, seriously, you need specific special exemptions if you were castrated or emasculated, this isn’t an issue now, but in some places it was and as far as I know you still need the special permission in such cases.
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But transgendered men (who were women) DO have penises. So that would not be the issue.
 
ComplineSanFran said:
But transgendered men (who were women) DO have penises. So that would not be the issue.
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Most don’t because the results are poor at best along with expense and they don’t have real testicles; even men who had testicles removed due to cancer have to get a dispensation.
 
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