Thy Will Be Done

Thy Will Be Done follows Sara Herwig, a Male-to-Female transsexual and her dream of becoming an ordained Minister in the Presbyterian Church. In Sept. 2002 Sara was accepted as a candidate for ordination. She is now on the path to becoming a Minister with a church of her own, but her openness about her personal history has made the road to completion difficult. Sara's sexual transition goes against many members' understanding of biblical guidance and has become a divisive issue in the Church.

Sara's chances for ordination have come up against yet another stumbling block with her recent marriage to Jenn, a biological female. Presbyterian Book of Order states that anyone who is in a same-sex relationship is not eligible to be ordained. The Church's conservative groups do not recognize Sara as female, but rather see her as a gay man. And yet, they are unable to acknowledge her eligibility as a candidate for ordination because she is in a same-sex relationship... as a woman.

The complex and contradictory nature of this issue is evident as we see a major religious institution caught between established policy and social conservative groups on the one hand, and the need for progressive social changes in the church on the other. The acceptance and ordination of LGBT clergy as a basic justice issue, is fiercely played out in the Christian battleground for LGBT equality. Thy Will Be Done explores these complex issues present in this and other organized Christian Churches, and promises to empower those affected and motivate those who may be in positions of power to make changes. And as for Sara, she actively seeks not only to participate in the Ministry as an openly transgendered person, but as an activist, she seeks to transform a world - spiritual and otherwise - that operates by conventional notions of sex and gender.

Scheduled Screenings:

Wed. June 23 at 11:00 am
Frameline34 LGBT Film Festival
Castro Theatre, San Francisco, CA

Credits

Funded in part by The E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation, That All May Freely Serve (TAMFS), The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, The Arlington Cultural Arts Council, The Open Meadows Foundation.

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This program is supported in part by a grant from
the Arlington Cultural Council, a local agency which
is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council,
a state agency.