Firing of Junia Joplin

Rev. Junia "June" Joplin is a Canadian pastor who was fired from serving as pastor at Lorne Park Baptist Church (LPBC) around a month after having come out in 2020. The church claimed this was done out of theological reasons, however she claims this was because she came out as a transgender woman.

Background

Rev. Junia Joplin is originally from North Carolina, where she lived with her parents, brother and two sisters. At 11 years old, she first started preaching at a local Baptist church. She At that age, she also realized that she wanted to be a woman while attending a Christian summer camp in New York. She says that she was raised as a conservative Christian and grew up in a fundamentalist Baptist church. At 19 years old, she first became involved in ministry and later in 2007 got her first job as a senior pastor. She served in various ministry roles in southeastern U.S. She is a graduate of Appalachian State University and the Baptist Theological Seminary. She also serves on the board of directors at Good Faith Media (GFM) and has had her work published by Ethics Daily and Smyth & Helwys publishers. She began as a lead pastor at LPBC in Mississauga, Ontario in 2014. She first began transitioning in 2018 at 39 years old.

Coming Out

Joplin first came out to her spouse in 2018 and then to her few close friends. Around 2019 she then came out to her siblings. Then around 2020, she came out to her two sons. She then came out to her parents days before the sermon. During the COVID-19 lockdowns, she held an online Zoom service on June 14, 2020, where at 41 years old she came out as a transgender woman to LPBC during a sermon. Despite having received what Joplin claims to have been a large amount of support from the congregation, she had also been sent an email from LPBC's leadership council that stated "...no decisions have been made yet." She claims that she was issued a new email address that lined up her new name, alongside having been given a new photo and updated biography on the church's website.

Firing

After coming out, Joplin alleges that she was unfairly questioned through a series of virtual town halls that resulted in a July 2020 vote to fire her. She claims these questions were both deeply personal and difficult to answer, such as regarding her experience having transitioned, have come out, and how these can impact the congregation. She further claims to having been expressly barred from having any discussion regarding those matters with the congregation. She alleges that more than half the congregation voted to terminate her employment contract. In regards to this, the church issued a statement declaring "After a month of prayerful discernment and discussions between June and the congregation, it was determined, for theological reasons, that it is not in God's will that June remain as our pastor."

Upon hearing the news, Joplin said that she cried a lot. She reacted, saying that she believes that there are many Baptists which are against hiring a trans woman as their pastor. She explains that, because the Canadian Baptists of Ontario and Quebec, the church's denomination, has supported the ordination of woman pastors since 1948, that she would be safe there too. She describes feeling a sense of anxiety that she has never experienced before AbOUT church life and work. However, she states that, despite the termination, that she was never intentionally disrespected or misgendered while working at LPBC. After Joplin was fired, six of the eight members of the LPBC executive council stepped down from their positions, alongside two from LPBC's pastoral team.

In August 2020, Joplin said that she was exploring legal options. Then on February 2, 2021, she became the Recipient of the Top 25 Women of Influence award.

Lawsuit

On July 20, 2021, Joplin filed a lawsuit wrongful dismissal against LPBC in the Superior Court of Justice in Ontario, seeking nearly $200,000 in damages with the allegation that her termination was a result of discrimination. McCarthy Tétrault is representing her in this case with a team led by Adam Goldenberg, which includes Will Horne, Jessica Wuergler, and Morgan Watkins.

She alleges that the church breached the section of the Human Rights Code which prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender expression, gender identity, [...] and other grounds within employment. The lawsuit argues that, while there is allowance within the code for religious organization's to show preference towards those of a similar creed, the exemption only remains applicable when said creed is classified as an occupational qualification. The lawsuit alleges that the 111 church members in the congregation were then presented with a vote on whether to reduce Joplin's indefinite term to an 18-month contract, or to remove her entirely. The document further alleges that among the 58 who voted in favor of firing her, 50 classified it as being "fully or in part" due to their religious belief. The lawsuit makes the allegation that LPBC failed to perform a sufficiently careful examination of the duties and nature that are expected of a lead pastor. In addition, the lawsuit claims that LPBC did not show a sincerely honest good faith belief in Joplin lacking the reasonably necessary qualifications in order to perform the duties of a lead pastor. Furthermore, the lawsuit argues that if an exemption to this is found to apply by the court, that it would be unconstitutional in that it serves as an unjustifiable and unreasonable limit to the right of equality held by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom.

In response to the allegations, LPBC replied that they believe the exemption applies in this case and that their decision to terminate Joplin's employment was lawful. LPBC refused to take a position in regards to the constitutional argument. Chair of the Church's Executive Council, David Huctwith, gave the following statement in regards to the termination. “In the end, the congregation voted to terminate her employment as lead pastor of the church, with the majority of the votes to terminate made for theological reasons. We offered her what we think was a fair severance...”