Erin Swenson
Erin Katrina Swenson[1] (born 1947) is an American Presbyterian minister known for her notable role for transgender individuals in the clergy. She gained recognition when the Presbytery of Greater Atlanta voted in favor of sustaining her ordination as minister in 1996. This decision came after Swenson's transition to being an openly transgender woman, following over two decades of ordained service.
Early life and education
Swenson was born in Buffalo, New York, in 1947. In 1957, her family relocated to Atlanta, Georgia, where she attended Sandy Springs High School.[2] Aged 11, Swenson had dreams in which she would transition from male to female, and began cross-dressing in her own room. However, she did not feel she could be open about her gender identity within her socially conservative and "sexually repressed" household.[3]
Swenson later enrolled at the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1965.[2] In 1967, she met her future wife, Sigrid Lyons.[4] In 1970, the couple had their first child. Soon after, Swenson pursued her studies at the Columbia Theological Seminary[2] and became a supervisor of seminarians at Emory University's Candler School of Theology in 1973.[5] Swenson completed her theological education with honors in 1973, whereupon she became an ordained minister.[1] After completing an internship, she served her ministry as the Minister of Education at the First Presbyterian Church of Dalton in Georgia.[2] In 1976, their second child was born prematurely, and required special care and multiple operations due to having cerebral palsy. It was at this time that Swenson began having suicidal thoughts.[4]
The family later returned to Atlanta, where Swenson pursued a graduate degree in Pastoral Counseling while working as a Clinical Chaplain at the Georgia Retardation Center.[2] Swenson says the marriage was difficult as the two were unable to be fully open with one another, with Swenson secretly wearing her wife's clothes; the couple divorced after 27 years of marriage.[1]
Career
In 1981, Swenson joined the staff of the Atlanta Psychiatric Clinic and the Center for Personal Growth as a pastoral clinical psychotherapist following the completion of her Master of Theology in Pastoral Counseling at Columbia Theological Seminary. In 1984, she assumed the role of Director of the Center for Pastoral Care, a collaborative effort between Peachtree Presbyterian Church and the Episcopal Cathedral of Saint Philip in Atlanta.[2] That year, she began a private marriage counseling service.[5][4]
Swenson co-founded the Brookwood Center for Psychotherapy in 1987, together with Karen Faulk. In recognition of her efforts in advancing professional licensing legislation in Georgia, Swenson received the Distinguished Service to the State award from the Georgia Association for Marriage and Family Therapy in 1995, the year she left the center and underwent gender transition.[2] This was the first known time a mainstream Protestant minister underwent gender transition while still in ordained office.[5][6][7] Swenson's father helped pay the $14,000 needed for gender-affirming surgery.[4]
After transitioning, Swenson initially did not seek to become a pastor, but wanted to have her ministry as a therapist affirmed by the church[1] and for her name to be officially changed on church registers.[5] This request caused division, with ministers and lay representatives sending the issue to the Committee on Ministry for approval.[1] After deliberation within the Committee,[8] the Presbytery of Greater Atlanta voted 186 to 161 in favor of sustaining her ordination as minister on October 22, 1996, in spite of opposition from conservative members such as Don Wade.[9][10]
In 1996, the Atlanta Lawn Tennis Association (ALTA) voted to allow Swenson to play tennis for the women's leagues, saying that as Swenson had undergone gender transition and surgery, and was recognized as a woman by the State of Georgia, she was eligible to play in the women's leagues.[11][12]
She was the founder of the Southern Association for Gender Education (SAGE)[13] and the co-moderator of More Light Presbyterians, an LGBT advocacy group within the Presbyterian Church (USA).[7][14]
In 2005, she was awarded the Lazarus Award, given by the Presbytery of the Pacific and the Synod of Southern California and Hawaii in recognition of individuals and groups that empower lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.[15]
Retirement
As of 2020[update], Swenson is retired from the ministry, and hosts a podcast, So Much More than Gender.[16]
References
- ^ a b c d e Cumming, Doug (September 2, 1995). "Seeking acceptance". The Atlanta Journal. p. 72.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Erin Swenson". LGBTQ Religious Archives Network.
- ^ Blake, John (July 9, 2000). "Swenson: Fighting an inner war - and winning". The Atlanta Constitution. pp. M1, M3.
- ^ a b c d Blake, John (July 9, 2000). "'The war inside of one's self is incredible. It's like being at odds with your own molecules'". The Atlanta Constitution. p. M1.
- ^ a b c d Pederson, Daniel (November 3, 1996). "Crossing Over". Newsweek. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
- ^ Arounnarath, Meiling (June 8, 2007). "Minister knows transgender issues". The News and Observer.
- ^ a b Dawn Baumgartner Vaughan. "Shedding light. Chapel Hill church wants clergy to be more diverse." The Herald-Sun; Durham, N.C.. 09 June 2007: F1.
- ^ "Ordination question". The Atlanta Constitution. September 21, 1996. p. 56.
- ^ Blake, John (October 23, 1996). "Presbyterians vote to keep transsexual minister in fold". The Atlanta Constitution. p. 35.
- ^ "Atlanta Presbytery votes to keep transsexual minister". Anderson Independent-Mail. The Associated Press. October 24, 1996. p. 14.
- ^ Holcomb, Todd (July 16, 1996). "Groundbreaker for ALTA". The Atlanta Constitution. p. 29.
- ^ Downey, Mike (July 17, 1996). "They Have Gone Off on a Gender Bender". The Los Angeles Times. p. 97.
- ^ McKinnon, Julissa (January 21, 2003). "Transgender minister visits local churches". The Oakland Tribune.
- ^ "Pioneering transgender minister lets her light shine". Presbyterian Mission Agency. 11 November 2021. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
- ^ Blake, John (February 5, 2005). "Atlanta minister receives award". The Atlanta Constitution. p. B2.
- ^ Malone, Tess (27 October 2020). "When Erin Swenson transitioned in the 90s, a close vote kept her ordained as Presbyterian minister. Her new podcast tells her story". Atlanta Magazine. Retrieved 13 July 2023.