The Listening Team Report recommends that “the Presiding Bishop bring disciplinary charges against Bishop Rohrer under Chapter 20 (20.22.01b; 20.22.02c) with the full knowledge that such action could result in removal from the Office of the Bishop and the removal from the ministry of Word and Sacrament of this church.”
On May 31, 2022, the Listening Team Report Regarding the Actions of the Sierra Pacific Synod was released – a month after it was submitted to Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton. There is too much to cover here, but I will highlight points that I believe are important at this time.
Note about clarification of terms
The Listening Team Report included the following paragraph that clarified their use of terms. I will be using their same terms in this piece.
The reader should note that the italicized pronouns they/them/their, meant to express use in a singular form when referring to an individual’s preferred pronoun, will be used throughout the document. Additionally, the affected Latiné community has changed names during its journey, and to help the reader understand this report more easily, we will refer to it as “the Community” (capital C). In the same fashion, throughout the document, we will refer to the ELCA Listening Team as “the Team” (capital T).
Bishop Eaton tried to withhold the report
Bishop Eaton initially refused the recommendation of the Team to publicly distribute the report, insisting that it was meant for her alone. This was a point she reiterated on the first day of the Sierra Pacific Synod Assembly, June 2, 2022. She said that it was “unfortunate” that the report was made public to some segments of the church.
To say that Bishop Eaton’s position is troubling is an understatement. In fact, the Listening Team was so concerned about her refusal to release the report that they had to make a public statement refuting her and calling for its release.
Bishop’s Rohrer’s actions do not meet the standard for discipline? Really?
Even more troubling, however, is Bishop Eaton’s belief that the actions of Bishop Megan Rohrer do not meet the standard of someone who has behaved or engaged in conduct incompatible of the ministerial office. After reading the Listening Team Report for myself, I find it unconscionable that Bishop Eaton would reach this conclusion.
The 24-page Listening Team Report demonstrates that Bishop Rohrer engaged in dishonesty, deception, duplicity, and manipulation. They spiritually assaulted and then neglected the Community after stripping them of their pastor, effectively cutting off their ministry with the ELCA. They abused their staff. And they refused to follow the ELCA Constitutional procedure and denied due process to Rev. Nelson.
But there is one detail in the Listening Panel Report that should end any pastor’s career.
Bishop Rohrer threatened a 10-year-old Latina girl in the Sacristy who was preparing to help lead worship on Dec. 12.
On page 11, the Listening Team Report shares this information:
A number of independent testimonials of the Community reported a racist verbal assault against a child of the Community by the Bishop before worship began. The Team interviewed the child, as well as adult witnesses. Bishop Rohrer threatened the child and the father of the child, who were in the Sacristy preparing the child for her role in leading worship. The bishop said loudly to both of them that they would ‘call the police’ if the child and her father did not leave the Sacristy immediately.
The Listening Team Report went on the explain that “the threat of ‘calling the police’ is an egregious action, especially when dealing with vulnerable communities of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC communities). It is especially fearful for communities to who might include undocumented people, where ‘police’ oftentimes includes U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).”
No matter what has been said or unsaid about Rev. Nelson Rabell-González in the Listening Team Report or on the floor of the Sierra Pacific Synod Assembly, this singular action of threatening to call the police on a Latina girl in a house of worship should be enough proof that Megan Rohrer must be removed from their position as bishop and from the roster of Word and Sacrament ministry.
But it wasn’t enough for Bishop Eaton.
Will it be enough for the Sierra Pacific Synod Assembly?
“I am that proof!”
In a dramatic speech at the Synod Assembly on Thursday, June 2, Rev. Hazel Davidson Salazar countered the barrage of misdirection and distraction from Bishop Rohrer and their supporters. She told them not to be misled about what is going on here, about the pattern of abusing congregations, what happened to Misión Latina Luterana, and to her. (Watch the discussion on recent events with Bishop Rohrer on Youtube here.)
She then courageously addressed Bishop Eaton’s claim that initiating a disciplinary process needs proof. “I am that proof!” Her open letter to the bishops describing what Bishop Rohrer has done to her, as well as her public blog posts, should be all the proof needed for discipline.
But it wasn’t enough for Bishop Eaton.
Will it be enough for the Sierra Pacific Synod Assembly?
The Listening Team Report was unanimous
It is worth noting the make-up of the three-person Listening Team. The Rev. Margaret Payne is a highly respected retired bishop of the New England Synod, chosen by Bishop Eaton. Roberto Lara is the president of the Latino Ministries Association of the ELCA, representing the interests of the Latiné community. The third person was recommended by Bishop Rohrer – The Rev. Constanze Hagmaier, bishop of the South Dakota Synod.
Don’t miss this last detail. Megan Rohrer’s own hand-picked member of the Listening Team changed her mind once she learned the truth. She joined her two other colleagues on the Listening Team in unanimously calling for disciplinary action against Bishop Rohrer.
But it wasn’t enough for Bishop Eaton.
Will it be enough for the Sierra Pacific Synod Assembly?
What about Pastor Nelson?
As I’ve stated from my very first post about the travesty against Rev. Rabell- González, I am a white, cisgender, heterosexual female who is ordained in the ELCA. Rev. Nelson Rabell-González has been my friend and colleague since we were both MDiv students at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia (now United Lutheran Seminary) in the 1990s. So, my perspective on this is informed by my friendship and professional relationship with Rev. Rabell-González and by my conversations with him since early 2021, even before last year’s synod assembly.
For six months, I have tried to help Rev. Nelson tell his side of the story since he has been denied due process by the Sierra Pacific Synod and the ELCA. I’ve tried to explain what led up to the accusations against him last year. And to give a theologically-informed perspective on the unfolding of events on Dec. 12, 2021, and its aftermath.
So, as much as I appreciate the due diligence and courageous work of the panel, I will say that there are parts of the Listening Team Report that I find lacking and that I believe mischaracterize Rev. Nelson’s actions.
For example, on page 6, the report states, “Some felt [the escalation of the allegations] was also prompted by Pastor Rabell-Gonzáles’ increasingly active harangues.” That’s an interesting word choice. A “harangue” can be a speech, a rant, or a lecture that comes off as a diatribe. Is that how we’re characterizing Pastor Rabell-Gonzáles’ anti-racism work? And his sermons that addressed systemic racism? And his speeches at public events for Black Lives Matter protests?
Is this how anti-racism work is being portrayed? As “harassment and bullying”?
Given that one of the members of the listening panel is Latino, it’s possible that the word “harangue” was not their choice, but what they heard from interviewees. In any case, this is a classic response of whiteness portraying itself as a victim when its privilege and brutality is challenged.
What was said and what was left unsaid
On page 3 of the Listening Team Report, they are careful to state that “the panel was informed that they were not to revisit the decisions of the Sierra Pacific Synod regarding the case of former ELCA Pastor Nelson Rabell-González.” Thus, the report included nothing about the fact that Rev. Nelson was the one who blew the whistle on a white man harassing Latina women in his Community when they were still at St. Paul Lutheran in Lodi, Calif.
The voices of these women are not included in this report. Neither were they represented on the floor of the Synod Assembly on Friday, June 2.
Instead, both the report, as well as Bishop Rohrer and their supporters demonstrate a pattern of lies, misdirection, and miscommunication. They did this with their previous congregation, Grace Lutheran in San Francisco which you can read about here. And with Rev. Nelson, they lead people to falsely believe that he abused multiple people.
We need to be very clear, once again, that NO charges of abuse – sexual, physical, or otherwise – were ever brought against Rev. Nelson Rabell-González. Neither did the accusations against him have anything to do with abuse. Rev. Nelson Rabell-González never abused ANYONE.
But Bishop Rohrer and their supporters have continually insinuated or publicly stated that he serially abused multiple victims since 2018. This is a lie. How do we know? It’s because of the double-bind.
As I explained in this article, as soon as even one person came to the synod with that type of accusation, they were legally obligated to respond immediately. If they did not do so, they would have been (and still would be) liable for allowing the abuse to happen.
The fact is, they did not take any action against Rev. Nelson until the day before the 2021 synod assembly when they forced him to disclose allegations of harassment. Obviously, whatever complaints there were about Rev. Nelson were not serious enough to warrant any disciplinary action.
Not only that, but the Synod set him up with a new mission congregation and funding. Why would the previous bishop and Synod Council allow a “serial abuser” to continue in any ministry, let alone a new mission start?
Do you see how Bishop’s Rohrer’s story doesn’t add up? Because either the synod is negligent, or people are lying. You can’t have it both ways.
Again, this pattern of lying, misinformation, and misdirection in order to ruin the reputation and career of an ELCA rostered minister should be cause for bringing disciplinary action against Bishop Rohrer.
But it wasn’t enough for Bishop Eaton.
Will it be enough for the Sierra Pacific Synod Assembly?
Will it be enough for the Conference of Bishops?
When the Conference of Bishops meets on Sunday, June 5, it is my opinion that no matter what happens during the remainder of the Sierra Pacific Synod Assembly, they bring disciplinary charges not just against Bishop Rohrer, but also against Bishop Eaton. While Elizabeth Eaton has done much good during her tenure as Presiding Bishop of the ELCA, the way she has handled the situation with Pastor Rabell-González, Bishop Rohrer, Misión Latina Luterana, and the Sierra Pacific Synod is, I believe, grounds for investigation.
Bishop Eaton, too, has shown a lack of integrity, and practiced deception, duplicity, and manipulation. Her handling of the Listening Panel Report alone, as well as her doubling down on defending her actions is proof enough.
She, too, has not given professional attention to her duties. She has neglected the calls for help from Pastor Rabell González, from the Community, and from the whole church.
And she still wants to visit the Community of Santa María? How can she face that congregation knowing that she did not find Bishop Rohrer’s actions worth a disciplinary procedure? What will she say to that 10-year-old Latina child who was told to leave the sacristy or Bishop Rohrer would call the police on them?
Jesus had words for this kind of sin.
“If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea,” (Matthew 18:6).
Obviously, Bishop Eaton’s words do not match their actions when it comes to the stated commitment to address racism in the ELCA.
In her statement accompanying the release of the Listening Panel Report, she said:
Let me state clearly – the ELCA is a church that will not tolerate racism in any way. We will hold ourselves as fully accountable as any other person or group, and we will condemn racism wherever it exists. We look to our allies in communities of color for help and accompaniment in this long journey, and we will need the prayers and partnership from all corners of the Church. I look forward to beginning that work in earnest with you.
But, in fact, Bishop Eaton has tolerated racism. In fact, she has aided and abetted racism by refusing to initiate a disciplinary procedure against Bishop Rohrer. If she truly wants to hold herself fully accountable and condemn racism wherever it exists, she must turn Luther’s mirror on herself.
And don’t miss the inherent white supremacy in this statement: “We look to our allies in communities of color for help and accompaniment in this long journey.”
Excuse me? No.
We should be looking to communities of color for leadership, not “accompaniment.”
Bishop Eaton, this is not a journey you are qualified to lead. You have proven time and time again that you are not morally, ethically, or spiritually equipped for leading this denomination into the work of dismantling racism. The white audacity of your assumption that communities of color will accompany us is the tell.
It is time to for Bishop Eaton to step down — or be removed — so that true leadership from communities of color can show us the way.
Author’s update, June 7, 2022
Megan Rohrer is no longer bishop of the Sierra Pacific Synod of the ELCA. Following the contentious Synod Assembly, an announcement was released on Mon., June 5, that Bishop Eaton and the Conference of Bishops initiated a disciplinary process against Rohrer. Rohrer subsequently released a statement that they had resigned from the position of Bishop. This is a developing story which I will address in future posts.
Read also:
Part Four: The NDA, the Church, and the Attempt to Silence Rev. Nelson Rabell-González
Part Thirteen: The Corporate Captivity of the ELCA
Part Fifteen: Bishop William Gohl: Bishop Megan Rohrer’s Actions Warrant Discipline, Removal
Part Sixteen: The ELCA’s Whiteness Protection Program: Bishop Eaton and Bishop Rohrer
Thanks to Shruti Kulkarni for her assistance on this article. For a complete compilation of all documents, blogs, commentaries, and posts from all parties about the situation in the Sierra Pacific Synod, visit her website: https://whathappenedinthesps.weebly.com/. This website compiles communications relating to the controversy for accountability, clarification, and ease of access.
The Rev. Dr. Leah D. Schade is ordained in the ELCA. She does not speak for the ELCA; her opinions are her own. She is the author of Preaching in the Purple Zone: Ministry in the Red-Blue Divide (Rowman & Littlefield, 2019) and Creation-Crisis Preaching: Ecology, Theology, and the Pulpit (Chalice Press, 2015). She is the co-editor of Rooted and Rising: Voices of Courage in a Time of Climate Crisis (Rowman & Littlefield, 2019). Her latest book, co-written with Jerry Sumney is Apocalypse When?: A Guide to Interpreting and Preaching Apocalyptic Texts (Wipf & Stock, 2020).
Twitter: @LeahSchade
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LeahDSchade/
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