Sunday service took a wild turn in Rochester, New York, when a 51-year-old Methodist pastor stood at the pulpit, threw on a rainbow stole, and proudly announced: “I’m transitioning.” Rev. Phillip Phaneuf of North Chili United Methodist Church told the whole congregation that he’s “done pretending to be a man” and is now going by Phillippa. Oh, and he also identifies as asexual. Because apparently, telling your congregation who you like to get down with between the sheets is important in this Methodist church.
Rev. Phaneuf, now rocking makeup, a blonde wig, and hormone therapy, told his congregation, “I’m not becoming a woman, I’m giving up pretending to be a man.” That line right there says everything about the kind of values this church is teaching— not that we are perfect the way we are, or that we are made in God’s image, but instead God can make mistakes and place your soul into the wrong gender.
And of course, the church leadership is all in. Phaneuf says the bishop gave the green light, the theology supports it, and the church community has been “overwhelmingly affirming.” Because in today’s woke Christianity, you don’t need a Bible — just a pronoun guide and a hormone prescription.
“My parents do not support me,” Phaneuf admitted during the sermon. For some bizarre reason, he felt the need to tell his congregation that his parents had texted him to tell them all that they do not agree with his choice to change genders. Pastors spilling family drama from the pulpit was not on my 2025 bingo card. But that’s probably a lot more indicative of the kind of church this pastor is apart of than anything else.
Let’s not forget, the United Methodist Church recently rewrote its own rulebook to welcome all forms of sexual orientation and gender identity. So if your pastor wants to change genders mid-sermon, no problem. The UMC now calls sexuality a “sacred gift,” regardless of how far removed it is from, you know, actual scripture.
This isn’t just one confused individual. This is a clear sign of what happens when a church trades the gospel for gender politics. And Democrats still wonder why their members have become more and more God-less and do not attend church as much anymore.