A pastor who came out as transgender during a recent church service says her viral declaration has helped others "come out" already."

Footage of Rev Dr Phillipa Phaneuf, 51, pastor at North Chili United Methodist Church in Rochester, New York, went viral.

She told the congregation she was trans and added: "I'm not becoming a woman, I'm giving up pretending to be a man."

Speaking since the sermon on November 23, she said has received an outpouring of encouragement from church members, clergy, and people who say she inspired them to come out themselves - as well as online hate.

She also revealed she has been having hormone therapy for three months and while she plans to eventually have surgery, she joked: "The closest thing to surgery is having my ears pierced recently."

She describes receiving "heartfelt, authentic emails and texts from people telling me how much this has either inspired them or connected with their lives"."

"I've had some people reach out and say that they're a fierce ally and a supporter because of their loved ones, she added."

"The amount of people that have been vulnerable and honest and sharing their own journey and how it connects has been meaningful."

"It's really moving to be given this honor of being a part of people sharing their journey with me and how it's connected."

This, Phaneuf says, contrasted with what she called "very unoriginal, tired, old, lazy hate comments that are just simply copied and pasted from one rage bait article to another."

Phaneuf's transition comes as the United Methodist Church recently lifted bans on LGBTQ+ ordination and same-sex marriage, changes she called helpful and liberating.

She consulted with church leadership beforehand, wanting to "reduce the amount of surprises" and ensure open communication about the transition, she said."

Looking back on her childhood, Phaneuf said she always felt different from other boys her age.

"'I gravitated toward women friends and was more in touch with my feelings than other boys," she said. "

"I enjoyed long conversations more than sports and didn't fit the typical boy stereotype."

The pastor, who identifies as asexual and aromantic, said she has always been attracted to women romantically but knew "I wasn't attracted to men in any way." "

She described her past relationships as "authentic and meaningful" while acknowledging her current identity as someone not seeking romantic relationships."

As she continues her transition through hormone replacement therapy, which involves estrogen and testosterone blockers that will create physical changes over years, Phaneuf said her church's mission remains unchanged.

She says her parents do not support her.

"'My parents have a different theological mindset about what's appropriate," Phaneuf said. "

"It's heartbreaking, but I understand how they came to that conclusion."

She said her scriptural understanding differs from her parents', who hold a strict binary scriptural approach.

Phaneuf cited Galatians 3:28, where Paul writes about transcending traditional categories in Christ.

"Paul says that because of Jesus Christ, there's no longer Jew or Gentile, there's no longer slave or free, and there is no longer male and female," she said. "

"In the love and belonging community of Jesus Christ, gender identity has been transcended."

"We don't even consider gender identity when we're thinking about the love of Jesus Christ."

Phaneuf says Paul wrote to communities that included people choosing different gender identities, like eunuchs, making his words about gender intentional.

She says the communities included people that "included becoming eunuchs of choosing a different gender identity than being male or female."

She added: "So he was very intentional about saying something in regards to gender."

Her congregation will continue focusing on ensuring "as many people know that God loves them beyond all measure, just exactly the way that they are"."

She added: "While I am in this transition of what my physical appearance looks like, so many of the things that we treasure and cherish in terms of ministry is that we're going to be doing that the same way."

"The hope is that we simply become an even safer space for people to know that they belong and that they're loved."