Pastor, Metropolitan Community Church (Raleigh, NC)
My pastor was a rock for me and continues to be a central role model in my life. He never, ever preached a word of judgment or condemnation that I can remember, all my years growing up in the church. And whenever we had encounters with one another, he was one to always give me a hug.
A glimpse of the video
Raised in a country church in The South, Rev. Brendan Boone grew up a tomboy and later a male-identified lesbian amongst a family and congregation who affirmed him, no matter how he presented.
He recalls that at 8 years old he looked in the mirror and named for himself that his gender did not match his physical presentation.
From there, he began querying God about what he should do to address the discrepancy. In time, he transitioned to become male. Today, he identifies as a heterosexual male with a transgender experience.
Rev. Boone’s bio
The Reverend Brendan Y. Boone, a Virginia native, has been active in Metropolitan Community Churches (MCC) for some 30 years. A graduate of Hampton Institute (now University), Boone served as a Teacher and Student Activities Director in Virginia Beach, VA prior to relocating to Northern Virginia to begin formal study for professional ministry. Rev. Boone earned a Master of Divinity degree, Magna Cum Laude, from Wesley Theological Seminary in 1996 and has done postgraduate studies at both Wesley Theological Seminary and The American University in Washington, DC.
A member of the UFMCC since 1983, Rev. Boone has held active memberships in several MCC churches through the years and has served, both as a lay person and clergyperson, in a variety of capacities within the UFMCC on the District, Regional, and Denominational levels.
From 1997 to 2000, Reverend Boone served as the Assistant Pastor for Education and Training at MCC-Washington, DC. After serving at MCC-DC, Reverend Boone was a much sought after guest preacher, teacher and workshop leader both in and outside of the UFMCC.
In July of 2001, Reverend Boone became the second African-American and the first trans-identified male to be called to serve as the fourth Pastor of St. John’s MCC in Raleigh, North Carolina. In addition to serving as Senior Pastor at St. John’s, Rev. Boone also has also served as one of MCC’s Clergy Representatives to the NC Council of Churches, a member of the Board of Directors for the Alliance of AIDS Services-Carolina (AAS-C). He currently serves as a member of MCC’s People of African Descent (PAD) Advisory Council and on the Board of Directors of The Triangle Interfaith Alliance (TIA).
In 2007, Reverend Boone was appointed to serve on the Moderator’s Theologies Team for UFMCC and served on the MCC Region 3 Facilitation Team prior to being appointed the Network Leader for MCC churches in North and South Carolina, a position which he currently holds.
Reverend Boone and his wife, Sandra, currently reside in Raleigh, NC with his 84 year young Aunt and their Bishon Friese, Molly.