‘I’m giving up pretending to be a man’: Methodist pastor tells churchgoers he is ‘transitioning,’ throws on a wig

The woke pastor of the North Chili United Methodist Church in Upstate New York recently surprised his congregation with the news that he plans to masquerade as a woman full-time and take cross-sex drugs.

No longer sporting the beard he wore in his headshot photo on the United Methodist of Upper New York website, Rev. Phillip Phaneuf, 51, donned rainbow stoles and told his congregation on Nov. 23, “I am inviting you to join me in a season of creative transformation for myself and, I think, for all of us.”

‘They do not support me.’

“I’m transitioning. I’m affirming and saying to all of you that I am transgender,” continued Phaneuf. “The best way to put this is that I’m not becoming a woman; I’m giving up pretending to be a man.”

The Methodist pastor, who is hardly the UMC’s first transvestite pastor, called for the Holy Spirit’s involvement in the process and cautioned his parishioners about the “fear of the unknown” in such circumstances.

In an apparent attempt to assuage such fear, Phaneuf told churchgoers that while he’s changing his name to “Phillippa,” they could still call him “Phil”; that his personality wouldn’t change; and that he would continue to prioritize “belonging.” He noted, however, that he was now identifying as an “asexual” and that his face, name, body hair, voice, and clothes would change — adding that there is no such thing as “girls’ clothes or boys’ clothes.”

Phaneuf — who claims his pronouns are now “she, her” — said that he wouldn’t become the “pronoun police,” as he expects that no one will “misgender or mispronoun out of malice.”

The legacy media appears keen to respect Phaneuf’s wishes, with even the New York Post playing along and Fox News Digital refraining from using his correct pronouns.

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Photo by Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty Images

The Methodist pastor claimed during his sermon that the scriptures, Methodist theology, his district superintendent, his bishop, and the UMC are “okay” with his transition.

At the expense of alienating thousands of congregations, the United Methodist Church has accommodated LGBT activists’ demands in recent years. For instance, the 2024 General Conference removed the church’s 40-year ban on non-straight clergy last year and dropped the prohibition against performing same-sex weddings.

While the pastor claimed that his superiors were receptive to his transvestism, he told his congregation that his parents were “absolutely not.”

“They texted me this morning and asked for me to tell you all that they do not support me and that they have chosen their convictions and their beliefs over supporting their child,” said Phaneuf.

Despite his parents’ alleged rejection of his lifestyle choice, the pastor was quick to lean into his superficial female role-play, getting his ears pierced, wearing makeup, and throwing on a wig.

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