| #14: Preach or speak at a local community of faith, such as a synagogue, church or mosque |
[Apr. 7th, 2008|02:26 pm] |
From the NCTE:
April is a month of many religious festivals—you can commemorate the births of Buddha, Muhammad or Rama and celebrate Passover, Easter, Beltane and Baisakhi. Trans people practice the many religions of our world. Whatever your spiritual practice, if you are involved in a community of faith, consider talking to your community about transgender issues.
You might want to preach a sermon or give a short testimony about your experience as a transgender person, significant other, or ally. Another idea is to suggest a book, article or reading for a discussion group. You might organize a speaker to come do a trans 101 training for your community. Talk to the leader of your temple, mosque or church to get ideas about what might be appropriate. If you are able to speak to a gathering, your religious leader can also help you as you prepare your remarks.
Justin Tanis, NCTE staff member and author of Transgendered Ministry, Theology and Communities of Faith (Pilgrim Press, 2003), comments, “People need to hear our voices as transgender people. We have learned important things spiritually from our journeys of self-discovery. The fact that we dig deeper than the obvious about our bodies in learning about ourselves helps us to go below the surface spiritually as well. It is a powerful thing to hear our stories from pulpits and spiritual spaces.”
Other excellent spiritual resources to check out are:
Made in God’s Image: A Resource for Dialogue about the Church and Gender Differences (Reconciling Ministries Network, 2003), by Ann Thompson Cook
Transgender Journeys (Pilgrim Press, 2003), by Virginia Ramey Mollenkott and Vanessa Sheridan
So, bring trans liberation to your community of faith. |
|
|
![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
matthewtime's journal