Nicole Michelle Garcia was born Michael on December 12, 1959, in Boulder, Colorado, the oldest son in a Hispanic, Roman Catholic family. On December 12, 1532, the Virgin of Guadalupe appeared to an Indian peasant, Juan Diego, and told him to take roses to the Bishop of Mexico. As Juan Diego opened his blanket, the roses fell to the floor and the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe appeared on the blanket. Michael was a Guadalupano. The church and the Virgin of Guadalupe were important parts of life during his formative years. He grew up a good Roman Catholic boy; played guitar in the church choir. While in college, he served on the church council. To the world, Michael was a quiet, studious, young man. On the inside, he constantly battled depression. He tried too hard, but never felt like he fit in anywhere. He prayed to God to help him fit in. He didn’t like the things the other guys liked and felt uncomfortable spending time doing “guy things.”
Michael met Gwyn while in college at the University of Colorado in Boulder. She seemed to like Michael because he was gentle and sensitive. Gwyn was his first “girlfriend” and was very independent and open-minded. She introduced him to the Rocky Horror Picture Show. Michael saw this movie at least 30 times in two years. He had never heard the term “transvestite” before and had never thought anyone else liked to do what he did. When he told Gwyn he liked wearing women’s clothes, she was not surprised. She actually let him “dress up” for her.
Michael received a B.A. in political science in 1982 and started graduate school. During the first semester his relationship with Gwyn ended. He feared he would never again find someone with whom he felt safe with this secret. He did not finish the second semester; moved out of his parents’ house and lived in a house with friends. Michael worked in retail sales--at one time or another, he sold men’s clothing, jewelry, women’s perfume and cars. By November of 1989, he was living with a cousin in the back room of her trailer. Life was going nowhere, fast. One morning he ended up in a detox center. He realized that he had lost all direction, faith and hope. He started attending Alcoholics Anonymous and grudgingly allowed God back into his life.
During the following years, Michael worked hard--was promoted a few times and became an assistant store manager. He was able to afford his own place. He was praying again, but hadn’t found a church to attend on a regular basis. Michael was “buying and purging” on a regular basis. He would get the courage to buy a few pieces of women’s clothing to wear around the house. Later he would feel terrible about having these feelings and throw away all the women’s garments. He tried to repress those so-called “shameful” feelings.
Michael met a woman in 1993 who seemed like every man’s dream. The family adored her. They were married on October 1, 1994, in a big wedding in a Roman Catholic Church. Michael began a new career, law enforcement. He didn’t have to think about what he was supposed to wear. He was trained to be to be commanding and finally learned to be macho. By his 41st birthday, he was married to a wonderful woman and they both had successful careers. They lived in a large house near downtown Denver with two new cars in the garage. But there were problems looming. They wanted kids, but she didn’t get pregnant. Michael managed to avoid sexual situations as much as possible--usually working second shift and taking on extra duties. He was still trying to repress his shameful feelings and began drinking again. They agreed to divorce and he moved to a little house in the suburbs.
The downward spiral continued and Michael even contemplated suicide. But when his employer sent out a message about confidential mental health treatment, he made the call out of desperation. After two sessions, the therapist recommended long-term therapy. With the therapist's help, he began to come to terms with the fact that he may be a “cross-dresser.” At the therapist's recommendation, he went to a support group at the Gender Identity Center of Colorado (GIC). In February 2003, Michael attended the Goldrush Conference, sponsored by the GIC, bringing together the transgender world for a few days. Speakers and workshops dealt with a wide variety of topics, such as make-up, clothes, surgeries, therapy and how to walk and talk like a man or a woman. Although Michael went to the conference to come to terms with being a cross-dresser, he sat in on a workshop that dealt with transsexuals. As he sat there and listened to the stories, he started realizing they were telling his story. During that workshop, Michael had a “moment of clarity,” a term from the AA Big Book. This moment happened when he realized and accepted who he was. Michael was a woman. Then came a feeling Michael had never felt before--inner peace.
The prospect of making this gender transition--to become Nicole--was huge. Her therapist referred her to another therapist, who specialized in Gender Identity Disorder. She was referred to a medical doctor and on July 8, 2003, started hormone replacement therapy. As a part of therapy, she decided to dress as a woman during the evenings and on weekends. She began attending St. Paul Lutheran Church in downtown Denver with René, a friend from the GIC conference. She joined St. Paul after several months--in April 2004--because the people treated her as an individual, not as a transgender woman.
Nicole first talked with her sisters about her transition. Nicole's parents also took it well, but feared Nicole would end up alone in the world. After giving them six months to process the reality of Michael becoming Nicole, she began to wear more feminine clothing on family visits, then some make-up. It took time, patience and understanding, but Nicole's family worked through this transition.
The reaction at work was easier than expected. Nicole initially came out to an officer with whom she had a close professional and personal relationship. With her help, she told a few more officers, then her immediate supervisor. After some consultation Nicole was asked to attend a department-wide supervisors’ meeting where the Director gave her full support, directing all supervisors to contact her directly if there was any dissention in the ranks. Nicole was transferred from the streets to a desk position for the transition. It wasn't long before everyone in the office was a friend and supporter.
Nicole had gender reassignment surgery in Trinidad, Colorado, on November 11, 2005. Her birth certificate was amended to reflect her new name, Nicole Michelle García, and sex, female. Soon thereafter, Nicole was transferred back to the streets at work.
In July 2008, Nicole was elected the Transgender Representative on the board of directors of Lutherans Concerned/North America (LC/NA). In June 2011, Nicole became the co-chair of the board of directors. Being a member of the board of LC/NA has provided many opportunities. In 2010, Nicole accepted an invitation to join the Latino/a Roundtable, sponsored by the Pacific School of Religion, Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies in Ministry and Religion. In 2011, Nicole joined the board of directors of the Interfaith Working Group (IWG). IWG supports people of transgender and gender non-conforming experience by being the umbrella organization for TransFaith On-line, Allies Gather, and the Yes! Coalition of Philadelphia. Nicole chairs the Leadership Development Committee as a member of the IWG board. In that capacity, Nicole is reaching out to connect with individuals in the transgender and gender non-conforming community to develop the future leaders of the movement.
As a self-identified transgender Latina and Lutheran, Nicole traveled around the U.S. telling her story to many congregations and faith groups. Nicole presented workshops at two LC/NA biennial assemblies (2008 and 2010), at National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Creating Change (2009. 2011, and 2012), the Philadelphia TransHealth Conference, (2009, 2010, 2011), and countless events in Boulder County Colorado for PFLAG, Boulder County Public Health, and the University of Colorado Boulder. Nicole is a trainer for A La Familia - a bilingual guide for addressing LGBT inclusion in Catholic and Protestant Latino families and congregations created by The Human Rights Campaign, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and UNIDOS, the National Latina/o LGBT Human Rights Organization.
In 2009, Nicole started a graduate counseling program at the University of Colorado Denver as she realized her career in law enforcement no longer fit into her concept of self. During her training to become a therapist, Nicole sought to understand the complexity of human existence and as a therapist, she hoped to move into a career helping others. At the same time, she also felt a desire to study theology but did not see a divinity degree as a possibility due to the fact she was working full time as a state parole officer, was already working toward an M.A. in counseling, and was caring for her aging mother. As it happened, the pastor at St. Paul Lutheran Church in downtown Denver held a 7:00 am service every Thursday morning. Nicole’s office was five minutes away from the church, so she made it a habit to attend the Thursday morning service. During one particular Thursday morning service in 2012, Nicole watched the pastor lift the host and as he uttered the words, “this is my body” she felt an overwhelming call from God to ordained ministry. After the service, Nicole spoke with the pastor about her call to ministry. The pastor understood the reasons why Nicole could not undertake a traditional path toward a seminary education, but he told of her of a specialized program at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota. The program was called the Distributive Learning program. In 2012, this innovative hybrid online and residential program would allow Nicole to take classes online during the fall and spring semesters and then go to the campus every January and June for two weeks of in-person classes. This seemed a workable program for her. Within two weeks, Nicole began the arduous process to enter the candidacy process to become a Lutheran pastor.
Nicole wasn’t confident that the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) would accept a transgender Latina as a candidate for ordained ministry, but she took the bold step to complete and send her application to her synod’s candidacy committee. Nicole was pleasantly pleased to receive the letter informing her that she was granted entrance to candidacy and could formally apply to Luther Seminary. She was delighted when her application to Luther Seminary was accepted. In July 2013, she resigned her position as state parole officer. Within a week, she began working as a counseling intern at the CU Denver Counseling Center and she took her first online seminary class, Greek. Nicole said the first semester was very intense and she was thrilled to pass Greek with a B-. Nicole graduated with an M.A. in Counseling in May 2014 and opened a private counseling practice specializing in gender identity.
As part of her seminary training, Nicole met regularly with a local clergy study group. One of the pastors in that group invited Nicole to obtain pastoral ministry experience with her congregation in Boulder. Nicole spent two years working as the “seminarian on staff” where she was provided opportunities to preach, teach, and provide pastoral care under the supervision of the pastor. Nicole had to leave the congregation in Boulder after two years to complete her pastoral internship at an ELCA congregation in Littleton CO.
Nicole earned her Master of Divinity degree from Luther Seminary in May 2018. She returned to the congregation in Boulder and began working as the Director of Congregational Care. During her year away from the Boulder church, the congregation began a period of transition as the church building and property was sold. As it happened, another piece of property, on the outskirts of Boulder, came up for sale. Part of the proceeds from the sale of the Boulder congregation were used to purchase this new property and the remainder was given away as benevolence. Nicole was given the opportunity to be the mission development pastor of a new mission church at the new location. Nicole prepared a proposal for a new, radically inclusive congregation. The synod council approved the concept of a radically inclusive church and then Nicole received special training as a mission development pastor. Nicole was ordained on November 27, 2019, to be pastor of the newly formed Westview Church. As the first known trans Latina ordained in the ELCA, Nicole’s ordination received widespread media attention.
Nicole and Westview launched their weekly worship service on December 1, 2019. The positive energy of this new mission start was abruptly halted on March 13, 2020, when they had to shut the doors of the congregation due to the onset of the Covid pandemic. Nicole worked with her staff and volunteers in the ensuing months trying to learn how to build a congregation and ministry online. In May 2021, Westview invited people back into the sanctuary in hybrid worship. As the congregation regrouped, Nicole could sense that relationships were strained and some leaders were not positive about her leadership. The vision of a radically new congregation seemed to be losing out to the desire for a more traditional style. Nicole participated in a series of meetings seeking reconciliation, but finally determined that this congregation was no longer a good fit for her leadership and she resigned on July 4, 2021.
At that same time, Nicole’s mother was needing more care as her health declined. It was actually fortuitous that Nicole had left Westview Church as she was able to devote all her time to care for her mother. It was also a blessing that both her sisters were able to move into the house Nicole shared with her mother. The three sisters cared for their mother until her death in December of 2021.
Nicole’s feelings were raw from these recent losses and she knew she was not ready to be the pastor another congregation. As she was discerning what to do next in her life Barbara Satin, the Faith Work Director at the National LGBTQ Task Force, informed Nicole that she was resigning from her position and she asked Nicole if she would consider being her successor. Nicole agreed to apply, thinking that the review process for a position like that would take months and she would have time to put personal affairs in order. However, within a month of her application, Nicole was offered the position and in April 2022, she became the Faith Work Director at the National LGBTQ Task Force.
Nicole worked remotely from her home in Colorado and traveled extensively around the United States to promote interfaith organizing. Nicole worked to rejuvenate the Welcoming Church Leaders Program by inviting more Christian based nonprofit organizations to be a part of the group. Eventually, the Welcoming Church Leaders Program rebranded and began work as the Collective of Queer Christian Leaders. Nicole assembled a team of Interfaith leaders to help create the Faith Institute and Interfaith service at the Creating Change Conferences in 2023 and 2024.
Nicole said she was incredibly fortunate for the medical insurance provided to her by the National LGBTQ Task Force as she was able to have both of her arthritic knees replaced. It was during her time after surgery and convalescing, she discerned that her true calling was to congregational ministry. She resigned from her position at the Task Force on May 15, 2024. She is in the call process and is currently under consideration for a position as the pastor for a congregation in Denver.
(This biographical statement written by Mark Bowman from an autobiographical article by Nicole Garcia in the Winter 2007 issue of LC/NA's Concord and from additional information provided by Nicole.)
Biography Date: April, 2012; rev. July 2024
Nicole talks about her gender identity transition and her emergence as an LGBT religious advocate and spokesperson in this interview recorded on October 16, 2015 at the Multi-Faith Trans Summit at the Pacific School of Religion.