First Openly LGBTQ Pastor Ordained in Southern Conferences

Rev. Jane Graner Seeks to Bring 'Meaningful Change' to UMC

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The day after her ordination, the Rev. Jane Graner stood in the spacious foyer of Christ United Methodist Church in Plano, Texas, talking with three young men dressed in rainbow-colored shirts. The tall trio loomed over the shorter pastor, yet the joy radiating from her face at their exchange made her seem to be at eye level with them.

At age 57, Jane Graner at last had accomplished what she longed to be since she was a teenager: an ordained United Methodist clergywoman.

Rev. Graner was ordained June 3 by Bishop Michael McKee as an elder in full connection in the North Texas Annual Conference. She is believed to be the first openly LGBTQ person ordained in either the South Central or Southeastern jurisdictions, U. S. bastions of conservatism in The United Methodist Church.

“I keep asking myself, ‘Did that really happen?’” Rev. Graner said during an interview with United Methodist Insight.

The North Texas board of ordained ministry deferred its decision on her ordination in 2018. With her 2019 approval as an elder in full connection, she sees that deferral as God’s doing.

“I truly believe that I meant to be ordained in 2019, while The United Methodist Church is in such turmoil,” she said.

She also said she was “very happy” to be ordained by Bishop McKee, who as a seminary graduate had served as her youth pastor at North Richland Hills UMC, located in a suburb northeast of Fort Worth, Texas. Coincidentally, Bishop McKee marks his 40th year of ordination in 2019, just as Rev. Graner marks the 40th year of her calling to ministry.

“It has been 40 years wandering in the wilderness,” Rev. Graner said. “I feel like my life has come full circle.”

An arduous journey

Journeying along her life’s circle has been arduous, even tortuous at times.

A 1996 graduate of UMC-related Perkins School of Theology, Rev. Graner said she had initially envisioned herself as a “theologically trained layperson” destined for non-pastoral vocations because The United Methodist Church forbids the ordination of "self-avowed practicing homosexuals." Rev. Graner describes herself as "self-avowed but not practicing."

Altogether she has been exploring candidacy for ordained ministry for 23 years.

Describing herself as a “naturally confident person,” Rev. Graner said she nonetheless experienced fear, anger and resentment along her way to ordination. “I didn’t feel resentment toward people, but toward the United Methodist system. I’ve tried to channel that negative energy in positive, constructive ways, to work for meaningful change in the church.”

She acknowledged that she has lost jobs because of her sexual orientation. Those rejections eventually led her into a clinical depression. After she lost a job at a small church, she prayed what she called “the most frustrated, most angry prayer I’ve ever prayed.

“I was basically calling God out,” she said. “I said, ‘God, you’re calling me, and I’ve done everything I could, but nothing is happening. Help me see the things I can’t see. If you really want this to happen, the ball is in your court now.”

Two months after that anguished prayer in 2011, the Rev. Dr. Gregory S. Neal was appointed pastor of Northgate United Methodist Church in Irving, Texas, a suburb west of Dallas. Their friendship changed Rev. Graner’s trajectory.

“Greg started pushing me relentlessly to pursue ordination, because he saw in me the gifts and graces for pastoral ministry,” Rev. Graner said. “Now I see that God was at work all the time.”

‘She seemed like clergy’

Now pastor of First United Methodist Church in Farmersville, Texas, Dr. Neal described in an email what impressed him about Rev. Graner and why he prodded her to pursue pastoral ministry despite the obstacles.

“When I first met Jane Graner I was immediately impressed by the depth of her biblical and theological acumen,” Dr. Neal wrote. “I wasn’t surprised to learn that she was a seminary graduate, but I was very disappointed that Jane hadn’t been allowed to pursue ordained ministry in all the years since she had completed her degree.

“This disappointment grew as I observed her in active lay ministry at Northgate UMC. Everything about her pointed to her having a calling to full time pastoral ministry; indeed, from very early on in my interactions with her Jane just ‘seemed like clergy’ to me. To me, it was an utter waste of God’s gifts and graces if Jane didn’t pursue ordination, and so I pushed her to respond to her calling and begin the process.

“I knew it would be a huge challenge and a long, uphill battle, but I also believed that God had called her and I also believed that God still works miracles,” Dr. Neal continued. “And, I must say, Jane’s journey into ministry has confirmed my belief that God does, indeed, still work miracles! With each step that Jane took in her ministry — from declaring her candidacy to becoming certified as a candidate; from being approved as a local pastor to being commissioned as a provisional elder, to now her ordination as an elder — God has opened doors for her that had previously been shut. It was still a daunting challenge, but Jane never gave up. And I praise God for that!”

Along with Dr. Neal, dozens of allies supported Rev. Graner during her journey to ordination. “I couldn’t have done this without allies, for which I’m eternally grateful,” she said.

New pastoral appointment

After serving several years at Oak Haven United Methodist Church north of Dallas, Rev. Graner has been appointed pastor of Trinity United Methodist Church in Duncanville, a suburb about 15 miles southwest of Dallas. While recognizing what she called the “moral obligation” of being a trailblazer, Rev. Graner said her focus now is on “being the best pastor I can be for Trinity.”

“I think we’re a good fit,” she said of her appointment. “They wanted a teaching pastor, someone with theological depth. I’ve often seen myself as a teacher, so we should do well together.”

She pointed to a beautiful silver cross in a floral pattern hanging against her green clergy shirt. “The people at Trinity gave me this cross as an ordination gift.”

Besides being a good pastor, Rev. Graner wants to be an asset to the North Texas Annual Conference. “It gets old being perceived as a problem. I’d rather be perceived as an asset, and I hope to serve the conference in any way I can.

“My goal has always been to change the United Methodist Church from within,” she continued. “That means knowing when to push and when to stand back. If you push too much too fast, you get expelled from the system. You have to push just enough to get people to change. I try to make people a little uncomfortable so they’ll think about things.”

To those LGBTQ+ people who are pondering ordained ministry, or who long to overcome the prejudice against LGBTQ people that still exists, Rev. Graner offered this counsel:

“Look at the horizon, the big picture,” she said. “What are you trying to accomplish? It’s easy to protest blindly, but how does that help the big picture? Know you’re going to encounter setbacks; channel that negative energy into something positive.

“And take care of yourself – spiritually, physically and emotionally.”

In the end, Rev. Graner sees her ordination as a genuine act of God. “I prayed to God to put me where I could make the most change for the good. And now God has. It’s a grace and a blessing to be ordained this year in the United Methodist Church.”

Cynthia B. Astle serves as Editor of United Methodist Insight, which she founded in 2011.