Rodger McDaniel, progressive pastor of Highlands Presbyterian, retires after 15 years

Sep. 24—CHEYENNE — Rodger McDaniel is not a typical pastor.

His career as a lawyer; Wyoming state legislator in both the Senate and House; enrollment in the liberal, Denver-based Iliff School of Theology; director of the Wyoming Department of Family Services; and deputy director of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Division of the Department of Health, made him an unprecedented selection as the new pastor of Highlands Presbyterian Church 15 years ago.

It should come as no surprise that, under McDaniel's leadership, Highlands United Presbyterian Church became an atypical place of worship in Cheyenne.

"When people read my columns every week, they know they're not going to be walking into a church full of biblical literalists and conservatives," McDaniel said at the church on Monday. "People know what this is, and we're active in the community, and they know this is a place where we teach and practice progressive Christianity."

Such changes weren't popular when they were first instituted upon his arrival, but since then, Highlands has become a place where different walks of life can gather without fear. However, at 75 years old, McDaniel said it's time for him to let the energetic following that he and other church leaders have built take a step in a new direction.

McDaniel will give his last sermon as pastor of Highlands Presbyterian Church today.

"I came to the pulpit here with a background in social justice because that's what I had experienced," he said, reflecting on when the church first asked him to preach. "When they asked, they had lost their full-time pastor and couldn't afford to replace her. So they said, 'Would you just come and preach once a month?'

"I never planned to be a preacher. I went to seminary planning to do community social justice work. So, I did that, and within a couple of months, they were wanting me to preach three Sundays a month."

Under his leadership, it was one of the first local churches to be designated as a More Light Church, meaning that the congregation is welcoming of LGBTQ+ members and lifestyles. Upon the U.S. Supreme Court requiring states to recognize same-sex marriages in 2014, Highlands held the church's first same-sex marriage ceremony.

Beyond that, the church could be labeled "progressive" for the fact that McDaniel's sermons often emphasize topics of social justice that would traditionally conflict the decisions of local and state policymakers.

"That's when you butt heads with the government and the policymakers," the Laramie resident said. "Everybody loves you when you're donating food to Needs. But when you say, 'How come the Legislature won't make school lunches available to every kid?', then you're meddling in politics.

"I think that many of the younger generation are offended that the church doesn't act on the Gospel. They preach it, but they don't challenge the status quo."

Highlands, for example, recently raised $10,000 for the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho Tribes housed at the Wind River reservation in central Wyoming. These funds will be donated to the tribes to be used however they see fit. Another fund of $35,000 was made to help Native American students enrolled at Central Wyoming College overcome the effects of inflation during their schooling.

The church has also served as a sanctuary site for Cheyenne residents living in the United States as non-citizens — a place where they cannot legally be removed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

As a "Matthew 25 church," the congregation is committed to self-reflection by analyzing scripture with an emphasis on modern cultural topics, including subjects like institutional poverty or systemic racism.

"What that means is not that you provide food for the hungry, but that you also engage in teaching about systemic racism and how poverty is institutionalized," McDaniel said. "We do spend time in Bible study, but we also spend time reading 'The 1619 Project' and having a conversation about what it teaches.

"I would think the books that (church members) choose to do book studies with would get most pastors in this town fired."

Despite having critical influence on the direction of the church during his tenure, stepping away from a leadership role in directing the church isn't necessarily what makes the transition so difficult for him.

The church, first and foremost, is also a major source of he and his wife's social circles. Stepping away from everyday involvement with members is the sacrifice that has to be made to both spend more time with his grandchildren and ensure that Highlands is in good hands going forward.

"This is not just our church, it's our social circle," he said. "There's expectation that when you retire, you stay away from the church for at least a year so that the new person has a chance get their footing.

"It's hard. It's hard on all of us. I think people need to understand that was gonna happen at some point. It's inevitable. I used to say, 'I'll be here until they take me out by my boots,' because I love the place so much. But I decided that it's probably not the best thing for the church."

Will Carpenter is the Wyoming Tribune Eagle's Arts and Entertainment/Features Reporter. He can be reached by email at wcarpenter@wyomingnews.com or by phone at 307-633-3135. Follow him on Twitter @will_carp_.