Posts Tagged ‘Trans/GNC Bloggers’
Courage To Connect: Observing The Transgender Day Of Remembrance
Earlier this year, I was able to attend the Philadelphia Trans Health Conference. For those of you who may not know, this is a gathering of trans, genderqueer, gender bending, gender transcending and otherwise gender non-conforming (GNC) people of all ages, ethnicities, sexual orientations and income levels, as well as our families and friends, for…
Read MoreHow To Be A Trans* Ally
My feelings about “allies” to the transgender community are complicated. Sometimes this “ally” concept seems really powerful to me, and other times, it just seems like another shallow label. Sometimes the way we talk about “allies” feels insightful and important. Sometimes our language feels rigid and inadequate. In transgender communities, allies are very important—hugely important.…
Read MoreBreaking Bread At The Margins
I was at a local diner (the kind where the waitress knows your name and your order before you open your mouth) seated across from a long time advocate for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender and queer (LGBTQ) inclusion in the Presbyterian Church (USA). Time and again throughout his career he had been one of…
Read MoreHonoring Queer Experiences Of God
When I was first coming to terms with my queerness, I was terrified. I was a student at a college where being gay could get you kicked out. I had no idea how to reconcile my sexuality and gender identity with the things I was being taught in my classes and church. All I really…
Read MoreHow Can Our Churches be Safe Havens for Transgender People?
Image via Mary Button’s Stations of the Cross—outdated terminology reflects a banner from a 1998 vigil for Rita Hester, a transgender woman murdered in Allston, MA. The outpouring of grief and anger over Hester’s death inspired the founding of the International Transgender Day of Rememberance. “I stood in a crowd with you last night as we cried…
Read MoreChristian Compassion For Chelsea Manning & The Iraqi People: A Trans Veteran’s Perspective
Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger…
Read MoreOn Chelsea Manning’s Coming Out: A Christian Response
On August 22, Private First Class Manning, the U.S. soldier sentenced to thirty-five years in prison on charges of leaking classified government documents, came out publicaly as a transgender woman. Rev. Allyson Robinson, former executive director of OutServe-SLDN, offers her thoughts below on Chelsea’s announcement. What is your reaction to Chelsea Manning’s coming out as a transgender…
Read MoreComing Out Of The Wilderness & Into The City
Rev. David Weekley saw himself as a pastor tending to his flock until he came out as one of the first openly transgender ministers serving in the United Methodist Church. At the age of 58, his life moved in an unexpected direction, away from the institutional church and toward working with the transgender community. Becky Garrison…
Read MoreDevotion Through Dysphoria
Back in the middle school years, I used to worry that I didn’t look or act like everyone else. I spent a ton of time in front of the mirror trying to learn to change my face with makeup, and even though my personality didn’t suit it, I spent lots of my parent’s money on…
Read MoreSupporting ENDA: Because The Bible Tells Me So
The Bible is clear about God’s insistence on compassion and justice, so it makes sense that Bible-believing people of faith would support measures—like the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA)—that seek to end injustice in the workplace. In fact, the Bible has a great deal to say about economic justice and includes almost nothing about sexuality and gender…
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