Expansive Language, Expansive Love

I urge you to access the activities of General Convention by going to www.generalconvention.org. Click on “virtual binder” you can view the resolutions on which actions were taken. I think it will be worth your while to explore the resolutions that were passed and see how they might impact your life and that of our church.

An area that is likely to pique interest is that of “expansive language.” Resolution D078 provides for the trial usage in Eucharistic Prayers A, B and D of language that is more expansive in our relationship and references to God and each other. It pulls in some of the language used in the Enriching Our Worship (EOW) series of services. It includes other changes that many congregations have essentially automatically been making in an effort to refer to God in more expansive language.

How many of us have begun prayers with “God be with you” rather than “The Lord be with you?” This resolution authorizes that language. In the opening acclamation for the Eucharist you will now be able to hear: “Blessed be God: most holy, glorious, and undivided Trinity.” To which the people may respond: “And blessed be God’s reign, now and for ever. Amen.”

One of the provisions of this trial usage is that it is authorized for use until the next revision of The Book of Common Prayer. This means we can use it beginning the First Sunday of Advent, 2018 and continue from there. 

Resolution B012 is the one that should allow same sex couples to be married in their own parishes whether the bishop of the diocese approves or not. How that will really play out is still to be resolved.

Resolution D067 calls upon us to use “bias free” language in referring to God and humankind. Most might immediately think that is more gender neutral language but it goes beyond that. The language of some Scripture is almost accusatory in tone. John’s version of the Gospel is sometimes anti-semitic in places. This resolution allows for the use of language that doesn’t automatically convey cultural biases. Hopefully that will allow us to see Scripture with more clarity.

Resolution C054 calls upon the church to be more inclusive of transgender persons and seeks avenues to achieve that.

Resolution D088 calls for the creation of policies for amending church records particularly for transgender people. This should make it easier once someone makes their transition to have some very important records reflect their expressed gender identity. 

I find it ironic that we have to pass resolutions to provide for more “expansive” language. God’s love is beyond expansive and always has been. It is our limited view of both love and God that needs expanding in both language and concept. God is beyond our humanly concocted notions of who God is or how God acts or in truth, anything about God. The Divine is always going to be beyond the ability of our limited minds to conceive.

May we learn to be more expansive about how we relate to each other as children of the Living God. Boundaries are of our creation, not God’s. Love knows no boundaries, despite our attempts otherwise.

Holy Spirit, sustainer of who we are as God’s children, expand our minds to engage with our fears and ignorance to see each other as God sees us. Holy Spirit, expand our hearts to match the boundless heart of God in pure and holy and unconditional love for each other and for the God to whom we turn in faith and trust for all that we are.

Please continue to offer prayers for healing and recovery for our Presiding Bishop as he rests and recuperates from prostate cancer surgery.

---

Bruce Garner, President
Integrity USA: The Episcopal Rainbow

Done. Check the Box. Well, Not Really

Last week I wrote about The Episcopal Church’s short term memory once we have enacted legislation, especially when it pertains to issues of justice, inclusion and prejudice. There is another aspect of that concept that plays out in how well others really understand us as queer folk. Some folks “get” us and some do not… I’m inclined toward the numbers of those who do not being at least a plurality, if not a majority.

This mentality goes back to what I call the “check box” mentality of our church. That is the mentality that lets us get away with thinking such thoughts as: “We have women’s ordination, so we have addressed and resolved that “issue.” Notions about the deployment of women clergy are no where on the radar screen. The “glass ceiling” related to compensation and benefits didn’t get in the conversation either. How many women fill the positions of cardinal rectors? We changed the canons. Done. Check the box. Well... not really.

We do the same thing about issues of race. We tout our canons that prohibit discrimination in every aspect of the life of our church. But again, where are we on deployment? Having people of color in visible roles of leadership does not mean that we find the same allegedly welcoming attitude at the diocesan and parish level. Because we have passed our canons, we have resolved the “race issue.” So why do I still see the need for training and education on what it means to be the beloved community? Why do we still need to have anti-racism workshops and training? Why are the percentages of people of color, not to mention those in ordained positions way below the percentages of the general population? We passed the canons. Done. Check the box. Well… not really.

Now we come to issues about sexual orientation/gender identity/gender expression. Again, we passed those canons prohibiting discrimination in all aspects of the life of the church including ordination and now even marriage. So….where does that put us? Yes we have some LGBTQ+ folks in leadership in the church at all levels. What does that mean? Did some of them “pass” to get where they are? Are some of them simply tokens to appease general opinion? Back to deployment: How many visible calls are made to LGBTQ+ clergy outside very large metropolitan areas? Two queer bishops is an indicator of the presence of LGBTQ+ people in our church. We passed our canons. Done. Check the box. Well… not really as is evidenced by the situation in the Diocese of Tennessee and seven others.

So why would I ever think that so many just do not “get” us queer folk (anymore than they “get” women clergy and people of color)? It isn’t a long journey to take to answer that question. Aside from the less than tolerant current political climate, having a cisgender white male wonder (sometimes aloud even) why the gays and lesbians and trans folks cannot and do not grow into a perspective other than that of who they are, namely gay, lesbian or transgender? Seriously?

You are going to ask me why I am not willing or not capable of viewing things beyond what you think is my limited perspective as a gay man? Would you ask a black person why they cannot view a perspective other than being black? (In reality many probably would, but let’s not go there for now). Would you ask a woman to view things from a male (invariably white) perspective? (I can pretty much guarantee that many would ask that question based solely on what has been going on for months now about sexual harassment.)

Kindred in Christ, we really do have some serious work to do! And it is not just for us queer folk that we need to do this work. It is for all who would claim to follow Christ and meet with an attitude that finds only one perspective, one race, one cisgender, one sexual orientation to be “the norm.” Our work is for everyone who encounters an attitude that they need to change their outlook and perspective to more closely align with those of the perceived majority. The work is not done. There is no box to check.

What will it take for us to rise up and say that it’s time that we as a church start learning more about what it is like to be the other instead of asking the other why their perspective is so limited? Again, I see this as the ministry of lay people. We have nothing to lose by asking pointed questions. Our ministries, our vocations, our salaries are not on the line. We CAN ask the difficult questions and continue to ask until we get real answers. I would hope that those answers would be based on the ministry given us in the Gospel and in the vows of our Baptismal Covenant.

Do you think we're done? Should we check the box?

So I will close with yet another (probably maddening) question: When will you start asking why the way things continue to remain the way they are for so much of our church? When?

Bruce Garner, President

Integrity USA ... The Episcopal Rainbow

The Millstone of the Nashville Statement

In Nashville in October of 2014, I joined about fifteen LGBTQ people who were invited to a closed-door, off-the-record conversation with the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission. I was disappointed, this week, to recognize the names of many from that meeting on the list of anti-LGBTQ evangelical leaders who drafted the “Nashville Statement,” a comprehensive fundamentalist Christian manifesto on sexuality and gender.

That 2014 meeting went late into the night, and the discussion was intense. What I remember most clearly were the pleas and tears of some of these men in attendance (all of them were men) begging us to understand that they didn't hate LGBTQ people––saying how much it hurt them to have people call them “bigots” and “homophobes.”

We ended the evening having all promised more kindness, more listening, more respect, and more dialogue, and I, perhaps naively, hoped both sides were sincerely committed to those goals moving forward.

In the subsequent months and years that followed, and with growing intensity since the Supreme Court’s marriage equality ruling in 2015, they have abandoned all remaining pretense of tolerance for the LGBTQ community. Since then, they have demonized and pathologized transgender people, lobbied for bills that discriminate against LGBTQ people under the name of "religious freedom," and created a martyrdom complex for their own decreasing social relevance.

A year after the meeting in Nashville, I traveled to Louisville, for a biblical counselor's conference on what they billed as "Transgender Confusion." At the conference, one of the Nashville Statement's signees said during his presentation that any parent with a transgender child should sever ties with the child completely––that they should abandon their child for being transgender. When asked about their responsibility to LGBTQ lives––particularly the alarming numbers of LGBTQ youth lost to suicide––the panel denied culpability, smirked at the notion of their theology being toxic or harmful, and suggested that while such deaths are tragic, the reality of eternal separation from God (damnation) was far sadder.

Once again, there were tears because the issues of gender identity and sexuality supposedly represented a crisis at the very foundation of the Gospel and the social order itself (I've always believed that Jesus was the foundation of the Gospel, but I digress).

And so I'm here a couple of years later, seeing and hearing the same things from these men, all crying the same crocodile tears of "loving conviction" for people they have fought so passionately to demonize and blame for their own diminishing power and influence.

In the age and spirit of Trump, their bigotry is once again emboldened by their ties to political power. In fact, several of its prominent signatories make up the President’s faith advisory council. Much like white conservative evangelicals in the Reagan era, these desperate men feel like maybe, just maybe, they haven’t lost the culture war once and for all, and the Nashville Statement serves as proof that the old guard is still holding out.

Their 2014 and 2015 tears, confessions, and prayers have amounted to nothing more but a revived lust for dominance, subjugation, and the placing of an unbearable burden around the necks of LGBTQ Christians. There was no love in their words and tears then, nor is there any love in their words now; and without love, God cannot be present in anything they profess.

At the end of the day, I’m left to wonder what tears they’ll cry at the end of their time. Will they weep with remorse for lifetimes of cruelty when they find LGBTQ people in the Kingdom of Heaven? Or will they weep with disappointment and anger when they find that God is infinitely more loving and inclusive than they ever imagined?

Justin Davis
Queer Christian and LGBTQ Advocate

Dates: 

• “The Gospel, Homosexuality, and the Future of Marriage” Conference 10/28-29/2014 (Start date may have been 10/27) Nashville, Tennessee, Gaylord Opry Hotel
• “Transgender Confusion and Transformational Christianity” Pre-conference 10/5/2015, Louisville, Kentucky, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

Homosexuality Conference: 

• https://www.hrc.org/blog/a-queer-baptist-reflection-southern-baptist-conventions-erlc-2014-conferenc
• https://www.wsj.com/articles/southern-baptists-gay-community-break-bread-at-conference-1414691923
• http://time.com/3544312/baptist-conference-gays-lesbians-bishops-pope-francis/

Transgender Conference:

• http://news.sbts.edu/2015/09/14/first-ever-evangelical-conference-on-transgender-issues-set-for-oct-5-in-louisville/
• https://www.hrc.org/blog/conservative-evangelicals-discuss-transgender-community
• https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/religion/evangelical-transgender-conference-rejects-notion-that-gender-identity-can-change/2015/09/21/133aa41a-6089-11e5-8475-781cc9851652_story.html?utm_term=.59485f657901
• https://thinkprogress.org/southern-baptist-conference-struggling-lgbt-people-can-change-through-christ-7085b94dcd0e/

Update from Texas and the Transgender "Bathroom Bill"

As the special session of the Texas Legislature winds down, I would like to make a few observations on the life lessons I have learned as a Loud Mouthed Transgender Texan of Faith.

With only a week to go (as of this writing) the chance of a “bathroom bill” getting passed by the Texas House of Representatives is getting smaller and smaller. We must stay vigilant during the remaining days of the special session and also be alert to the Governor’s next political move.

First of all, I would like to say thanks to everyone who stood with and by me in so many ways that I can never fully express the love that I felt. Standing with so many other transgender/non-binary folks and our allies gave me a glimpse of what solidarity must look like. Testifying, lobbying, and sometimes even having to justify my right to exist was both daunting and lonely. For those who bought gas, put me up for the night, supplied coffee, shared a smile, sent me an encouraging Facebook post, and most especially those who reached out and gave me a hug when I was ready to give up on the world, I say "Thanks." I may have often gotten lonely but I knew that I was never truly alone. Most of you know that I can be very high strung and emotional but one of the things that always kept me grounded was the fact that on every trip to Austin, I was able to spot out fellow Episcopalians in the crowd.

One of the sadder aspects of this battle has been both the loss of support and the lack of support that
resulted from me making a public stand. Friends and family have either strengthened their connections or have further distanced themselves from me. I mourn for the losses. For me to be a Christ-like role model, I must be honest about myself and be very public about my support for the rights of the transgender community. God in all of Her glory will not let me rest until I have stood up for every young person who has not yet found their own identity and voice. Nor will I be able to rest until I have spoken out for every trans elder in our community who is just beginning to find their voice. I will raise my voice until we can all stand together with one voice.

I have been disappointed in leaders, most especially certain religious leaders, who seem to lack the
courage to publicly stand up for all of God’s children. Showing your support silently or in ways that are so safe that it renders your support to be invisible has been the toughest realization to bear. I and others like me will carry on with or without you. In the end, you are accountable to God for your own lack of courage. I have greater respect for folks who have the courage to voice opinions that are
different than mine than I have in folks who hide in the shade and make no stand at all.

While this battle may be winding down (at least temporarily) in my part of the world, the real battle is
just beginning on two important fronts. First of all, we must reach out to those who have been damaged by the open hostility shown to so many trans folks of all ages. We must show love and real support to those who have lost faith in the decency of humankind. Secondly, we must find a way to educate those who did not stand with us and somehow find a way to work and walk together. After all, there will be further battles to fight. To make an ally out of a foe may be God’s toughest assignment yet, but imagine the things that we could accomplish together.

There are so many folks that are fighting for social justice in our country at this time. I know that you are often weary and tired, but always keep in mind that YOU ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE.
Lastly, I ask that you pray that my own wounds will heal so that I may better see Christ in others.

S Wayne Mathis
Vice-President for Local Affairs, IntegrityUSA

Transgender Discrimination at the Highest Levels of Government

I find myself baffled at the just plain old meanness and nastiness of the Trump Administration. Trump himself seems to delight in being mean to others. He has clearly shown himself to be what he has been all along: a bully, an insecure man who demands loyalty and cannot cope with those who do not hand over their loyalty to him. Perhaps someone should remind him that loyalty per his own oath of office and that of every federal employee is to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States of America. It is not to pledge loyalty to any single individual or group….just to the Constitution.

His stance against transgender men and women serving in the United States military is not justifiable by any logical measure. But then again, we are not dealing with logic here. Any person who wants to serve or is serving in the military should be judged by only one standard: Does she or he meet the mental and physical requirements to serve. Those are essentially the same for cisgender men and women. Why should there be a different standard for transgender men and women? There should not be. Anything else is purely and blatantly discrimination based on gender expression and gender identity. Such discrimination is wrong and unjustifiable.

Trump’s position, regardless of what his military “experts” tell him is at odds with the policies of our major allies. Canada, Australia and Israel, to name only three, all allow transgender women and men to serve in their military units. Are we really so arrogant that we think they are wrong and we are right here?

Integrity USA stands in support of transgender women and men serving in our military.

We do so with the full backing of The Episcopal Church. Canon law in The Episcopal Church prohibits discrimination against transgender women and men (as well as a host of other variations in the human expression of sexuality, ability, etc.). “The law,” so to speak is on the books and has been for several years now.

I urge everyone who reads this to do exactly what I have been imploring all to do for months now: call, email, write, visit your elected representatives in the House of Representatives and in the Senate. Make your opinions known. Cite the canon law that governs our church. Cite basic human dignity and decency. Cite the decisions rendered by a number of courts that prohibits such discrimination.

It is time to raise some hell, my kindred in Christ. It’s time we flipped the tables of the money changers in the Temple. Our transgender kinfolk need us now more than ever.

Remember that when the civil and human rights of any begin to be chipped away by prejudice, bigotry, meanness and nastiness, there is nothing to prevent those same bigots from going after the other civil and human rights we have. Speak out. Silence will still equal death.

Bruce Garner
President, Integrity USA

What’s Next Integrity-- Are We Done? Are You Kidding?

What’s Next Integrity-- Are We Done?  Are You Kidding?

By:  Matt Haines, President

“When someone has been given much, much will be required in return; and when someone has been entrusted with much, even more will be required.”  Jesus of Nazareth  (LK 12:48)

We celebrate great gains these past several weeks!  We had many great successes at the General Convention of the Episcopal Church in Salt Lake City.  The Sacrament of Marriage is now a reality for same-sex couples in our Church and will be available in most of our dioceses!  Our Church has condemned the evil torture of so called “Reparative (Conversion) Therapy”.  Transgender Episcopalians have asserted that their names are sacred and are to be recognized as holy within liturgy and church records; the Church concurred overwhelmingly.  The Episcopal Church has also voted to show solidarity with LGBTQ people in Africa and will lobby on their behalf.  Some might wonder—is Integrity is now finished with its mission.  Are we done?  Are you kidding me? 

·         Transgender people are being slaughtered on our streets weekly; suicide kills even more.

·         Gender-queer and Trans Christians often find our churches less than welcoming.  We must change this together.

·         Over 40% of all homeless youth are LGBTQ; most of them rejected by “Christian Homes”.

·         Over 70% of lesbians and gays tell the people they love about their orientation; bisexuals 28%.  This must improve if we are ever going to live in Integrity.  As a church and a movement we can no longer ignore the “B” in LGBTQ.  

·         All Dioceses must be held to the Gospel of Inclusion proclaimed by this Church.  We can no longer allow LGBTQ people, or children raised by LGBTQ couples, to be excluded from Holy Baptism!  Access to Holy Eucharist, Confirmation, Unction, Penance, must be available to all the baptized.  All who feel called to vocations in Holy Orders and/or Marriage must be taken seriously and be given the opportunity to live those vocations out.

·         We must still lead the Anglican Communion and offer special help to LGBTQ people in the many provinces where our people face prison or execution!

·         Racism and sexism still plague our nation, church, and our movement.  Together we need to engage in understanding how male privilege and institutional racism work against true equality.

We are now ready to begin to work even harder, with God’s help and yours!  The Supreme Court has recognized our right to marry and the Episcopal Church recognizes our marriages as sacramental.  Rights are nothing if not exercised and sacraments are meant to empower us to serve this broken world in Christ’s name. 

Are we in the Promised Land after 40 years in the desert?  Maybe—some of us are.  If you find yourself there, rejoice and start building up Zion for those still on the way.  If you are still in the desert, look for one another and keep an eye out for Jesus.  Jesus knows the way!  We have been given so much, thus we are required to give even more back in return.  Please join in our efforts to live into this gospel call.

Thank you Bruce Jenner

On Friday, April 24, 2015, Bruce Jenner ended long standing conjecture and confirmed that he* is transgender. Jenner is known to some (me) from his remarkable performance in the 1976 Olympic decathlon, and others from his Kardashian connection. In an interview with Diane Sawyer he talked about his life, his knowledge of his true identity, and the pressures of society and family which caused him to keep his true identity a secret.

Awareness of transgender people has grown in recent years – much of the publicity about young people, and all too much of that tragic. Jenner told the world (16.9 million viewers) about the issues and struggles facing those who transitioned later in life.

Many of us in Jenner’s generation (which includes me) lived much of our lives hiding who we really are, sometimes from ourselves, and Jenner’s willingness to share his story with so many is an act of great courage.

Integrity USA has long supported equality for transgender people. In 2012, in preparation for the General Convention, Integrity USA produced and distributed “Voices of Witness: Out of the Box”, a documentary about the lives of a number of transgender persons in the Episcopal Church – both laity and clergy. At General Convention, we supported two resolutions which added gender identity and expression to the non-discrimination canons. We made our support known through conversations with deputies and with testimony at committee hearings. The Rev. Carla Robinson, a deputy, spoke on the convention floor in the House of Deputies. (Both resolutions passed.)

I can speak for the Integrity USA Board of Directors when I say, “Thank you, Bruce Jenner” and may God bless and support you as you continue your journey.


*Jenner used the name Bruce and male pronouns in the interview, so I have done the same for this article.



The Rev. Carolyn Woodall
Chair, Stakeholder Council and Board Member
Integrity USA

A Rose By Any Other Name

Vicky Mitchell

This past weekend I was a parish delegate to the Diocese of Los Angeles annual convention where one of the matters taken up was a Resolution on the subject of Same Sex Marriage. The resolution which was passed by an overwhelming majority of the convention voters, instructs our Diocesan delegates to the Episcopal Church’s national General Convention next summer to take a "hard line" and putting into immediate action the National Church’s long-talked about and debated programs to enable full inclusion of same sex partners in the Sacramental Rites of the National Church and all of its provinces and dioceses. For LGBT folks this is a huge issue of validation, and one I supported with my vote, and which I truly believe is the Will of God as I have prayerfully discerned it to be.

While happy for my LGB friends, I did not meet any other Trans* people there at the Convention, and I am pretty sure that I was the only Trans* delegate / attendee there. I was openly and happily wearing a Trans* Pride button, which was acknowledged by some folks I knew in the LGBT ministry program whom I had met the year before, and whom I had been with in the West Hollywood "TGLB" Pride Parade and Festival last June. I saw no other person there with any symbol of Trans* alliance.

The night before the vote on the resolution took place, I had gone to a reception for the LGBT ministry people off the convention site, and felt right at home with a wonderful group of people, of which, perhaps half were wearing clerical collars. With the exception of one single person there, me, it was about 25% each, Lesbian clergy couples, Lesbian lay couples, Gay clergy couples, and lay Gay couples, there were a few there whose partners were not at the party, but partnered they were. Strong loving relations were obviously a quality that was valued as part of their Christian lives in private and public.

Marriage is and will continue to be a strong symbol of validation for the LGB members of the Church, and will equip them in ministries that will benefit the whole of Christianity be the couple clergy or laity.
Marriage has been the key point in full acceptance of the GLB members and its time is coming close if other Diocese’s follow the lead of Los Angeles. Transgender people though have another item that will stand for full inclusion in its own way, and that is the recognition of our names.

It is hard for non-Trans* people to understand the full significance of a name as Transgender people feel it. As a Trans* activist, I am part of several groups dealing with Transgender issues, and can point to one single event in a Transgender person’s life that is more significant than surgeries or even Hormone Therapy, and that is changing our “trial names” which are of the gender we do not feel part of to our more True names. On the internet forums I am part of as a contributor, anyone who posts a notice that they have legally changed their names are met with an outpouring of posts of congratulation and well wishing. On a website where I am a moderator and senior member, the most persistent question in one form or another is how to pick a name, and then approach local authorities to make that the person’s new legal name. Changes to Birth Certificates that also reflect the preferred gender and name are also a major issue for a Gender Dysphoria subject.
The why of this phenomena is pretty easy for a Trans* person to understand, but is a problem for the non-Trans* folk. Gender Dysphoria was previously known as Gender Identity Dysphoria and even before that as Gender Identity Disorder. The outdated term does give the clue to the name issue. A name is an integral part of a person’s identity and thus a name that reflects the person’s inner identity is the beginning of a transformed life with an identity that feels TRUE to the person.

My legal name change took place in July 2012 and while the court appearance was anticlimactic, it was nice to let my priest know that it had happened, and since I held a parish office that needed to be on a diocesan record officially, I know it was changed that way. It was not a big deal supposedly, especially since the General Convention had voted full acceptance of Gender Variant people in all offices of the church a few weeks before, I am OK with that, but there is something missing from the matter of fact flow of paperwork. This name change thing is huge for Trans* people, and there needs to be a way to celebrate it as fully as our initial Baptism is celebrated, and as our Confirmation is celebrated.

I am looking at two documents from 41 years ago, one is my Baptismal Certificate attested by my now deceased rector in another parish than the one I am now at, and a certificate of Confirmation, signed by a bishop now also dead. Both took place when I was 25 years old, a few months apart, and both have what I call my “Trial Name” on them. I have given away that name to become the person who now lives and serves in the church I attend, and in the wider Church as well.

There seems to be a solution to that wish to celebrate my name change and I am now working with my priest on requesting a renewal of my Confirmation and Baptismal Covenants and vows when my Bishop comes for a parish visit in January 2015. I am going to be asking for a tiny change in reciting that I was first Baptized and Confirmed as but renew and continue in my current lay ministry and membership in my True name and identity before the Bishop who represents the Whole Church and not just my tiny part of a parish. This will truly be a sign of acceptance of me as a Trans*woman.

My desire to be part of the Church is not limited to my being a Trans* person, and my future involvement will be the normal cares and joys of our experience in following the steps of Jesus, and seeking to be “Instruments Of His Peace”. I know I was not allowed to end my own life 7 years ago, and have felt the presence and caring of God and Christ at all parts of my acceptance and transition. A friend has suggested that we Trans*people have been placed in our congregations as a challenge for others to explore the diversity of God’s Creation, and to give others a taste of what it means to “do it to the least (in numbers) of My children”.


Vicky Mitchell, a member of the Church of the Transfiguration, in Arcadia, California
Reprinted with permission from Facebook

The Episcopal Church and My Transition

Raised as Roman Catholic, I converted to the Episcopal Church as an adult because the Episcopal Church is based upon three foundations:  Scripture, Tradition, and Reason... and let me not under-emphasize the importance of the last item listed... Reason. God gave us a brain, and we are meant to use it.

Not all Episcopal Parishes, nor all Episcopal Dioceses, however, are equal – but I am so completely and totally blessed to be a member of the Diocese of Southern Virginia, and of the parish of Eastern Shore Chapel (a “chapel of ease” established on the Eastern Shore of the Lynnhaven River, in Virginia Beach, VA).

For as long as I can remember, I knew that I was “different.”  It took years, however, to learn exactly what my difference was, to accept that difference, to embrace that difference, and then to live as that different person. My faith has always been of great importance to me, even during those dark nights of the soul when I was quite angry with God for making me as I am. It was only after years of study, searching, and counseling, that I came to not only accept who I am, but to actually realize that by being transgender God enhanced my life far, far above what it would have been as a hetero-normative individual.

As I came to both embrace my being, and move towards transitioning to my current gender, however, it became ever so readily apparent that not all denominations, or even congregations within a denomination were able to both talk/preach the word of Christ, but also to live and love as Christ directs and demands.

As I began to conclude that I would need to transition to survive, I had to ensure that my church would accept me. I had just read a couple of books by the liberal theologian, Bishop John Shelby Spong. Shortly thereafter I learned that Eastern Shore Chapel was bringing him to the church as part of their Chapel Speaker Series! I attended his presentations on Friday night and Saturday morning, then the regular service on Sunday morning – and my church home was set.

It was important to me that, moving forward in my life, my church knew who I was, so I immediately made appointments and met with the clergy telling all of them about my situation. Over the course of the next several years, I became more and more involved in my parish life. The parish sponsored an Integrity Chapter, and I served as its first Convenor, then on the Board of Directors. I commenced the four-year Education for Ministry (EFM) course. That first year, giving my spiritual autobiography included one of the most challenging decisions I would ever make as, to this point in time, only my wife, the clergy, and my counselors were aware that I was transgender. I vacillated back-and-forth for days uncertain how to proceed. At the last minute I made the decision to make the disclosure – fearful of the consequences – and ecstatic with the compassion of my classmates.

By the second year of EFM I was attending as the person that I truly am, as Donna. By the third year I knew that I would be making the public transition and slowly began expanding the circle of parishioners who knew both of my situation and of my impending transition.

On August 7, 2014 I underwent Facial Feminization Surgery, with Sunday, August 24th to be my first time attending church as Donna. As I dressed that morning for church – the first time that I would publicly attend a church service as a woman – I was a little apprehensive. Not exactly nervous, and definitely not scared, yet – still – this was a big step. I arrived at church about 10 minutes before the service, as is my habit. I think we all know how people tend to always sit in the same general area of the church each Sunday. Almost like we all have assigned seats/pews. Well, that morning, within mere minutes I WAS SURROUNDED by people, packed in near me almost like sardines in a can. It was mostly women, but a few men as well. It was a visible sign of support to me; and it was a visible sign – to the rest of the congregation – of the parish’s support for me. Several ladies told me that they had not intended on attending church that Sunday, but they knew that it was to be my first service as Donna, and they wanted to be there for me! Another lady welcomed me to “the women’s team!” Over the past three months my full and complete acceptance as a woman member of our parish has been total and complete.

Not every aspect of my transition has gone so smoothly. While I am truly blessed at how well it has gone, the family impact has been significant. But – I simply do not know where I would be today without my faith and my parish.

I have attended more churches than the average person. I left the Catholic Church as a teenager and, during college, “deliberately wandered” checking out every mainline Christian denomination I could:  Baptist, Presbyterian, Methodist, you name it, I tried it. The beauty of diversity is that there is a church for anyone who searches. None is better nor worse than any other, but we all/each have our own comfort levels. During my wandering I was continually drawn to St. Paul’s Episcopal in my college town. When I commenced active duty in the Navy the basic options were Roman Catholic or “generic” Protestant. Well into my 25 years of active duty Naval service I converted to the Episcopal Church – which I by then recognized as being on the leading edge of mainline Christianity with regards to the full acceptance (no * - meaning no exception) ordination, and consecration – as Priests and Bishops – of women, gay, lesbian, and most recently, transgender individuals.

For me, for many years now, my time at church – and not just for Sunday services – are among the most fulfilling and happiest days of my life.

How nice to have a church that not just preaches, but actually practices, Christianity!

Donna Price

HEROs of Houston

S. Wayne Mathis and John Christian Bullit
LaRue, who both testified before the
Houston City Council in favor of the
HERO non-discrimination ordinance

This week the Houston City Council passed the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance. That simple sentence cannot possibly express the emotions that are going through the hearts of so many of us. I was born in Houston and I expect that I will die here as well. In my day to day life, I am never more than an hour away from downtown Houston. The city is in my blood and this week I have never been more PROUD to say that I am from HOUSTON, TEXAS.

The victory over injustice was hard-fought and very emotional. The testimony before the City Council was both heart-rending and frightening. The LGBTQ community and our allies spoke over and over again about the discrimination and hate that occurs on a daily basis. Our folks were willing to bare their souls and risk everything for a chance at equality. Most notably, the transgender community bore the brunt of the opposition’s anger and fear. Most disturbing of the opposition testimony was the number of "Christians" (often ministers) who openly testified that discrimination is justified. They vilified our community with false accusations and lies and could not back up their arguments with facts. They simply preyed on public fear. Attempts were made to make this all about bathrooms and yet, at the end of the last day of testimony, eleven members of council voted YES to equality. The six council members who voted against equality seemed to be voting purely out of reelection fears.

With trembling hands and an unsteady voice, I took my one-minute turn standing up for what I feel is right. Unable to read my notes, I simply spoke from the heart and spoke about (1) God’s Love for ALL, (2)our duty to respect the dignity of every person and (3) Integrity’s mission to take God’s love out into the streets and community.

At the close of my minute, Mayor Anise Parker acknowledged and commended the work of Integrity and stated that Integrity is one of the oldest organizations fighting for the rights of the LGBTQ community. Councilmember Mike Laster then acknowledged and thanked me for my work within the Diocese of Texas. This brought home the fact that none of this work has been done in isolation. My own testimony would not have been possible without the Grace of God and the Love and support that I have received from Integrity. My spiritual peace was found at the altar rail during a Houston Integrity Eucharist. My grand sense of community was formed at the Integrity Eucharist during General Convention and my sense of FAMILY was anchored by the love and acceptance of the TransEpiscopal Eucharist. My activism has been spurred on by my chapter's willingness to allow me the opportunity to lead and the space to take a public stand for justice and equality.

It is important to note that I was not the only Episcopalian testifying. Fellow Episcopalians (both clergy and laity) were in the trenches and were a visible reminder to everyone that we as a church body stand with the oppressed and will do the right thing.

In Texas, we have watched the progress around the country (especially Oregon) and we banked your victories as OUR victories. I know from a Facebook posting of Oregon's Diocesan Organizer Charlene McCreight that you were watching us as well. When she mentioned that she had watched me live, it made me smile and realize that I too was part of the bigger picture. The postings from around the country from my Integrity friends and associates let me know that despite our geographical differences the work of Integrity is universal.

I learned late in the day that some of our local Integrity folks were down on the street carrying signs of support. In light of the angry protesters, this was an act of courage and witness.

I would also like to pause and give thanks to the countless folks who made this moment possible but are no longer here to witness it. Without our trailblazing predecessors, we would not have EQUALITY.

Even with this tremendous VICTORY, we must keep our eyes on the dangers waiting on the horizon. In Houston, it is the threat of a referendum to overturn this hard earned victory. With this threat in mind, we MUST do two things, educate and mobilize.

There is a tremendous opportunity to educate those around us about what it is like to be a member of the LGBTQ community. We must show that LOVE can conquer FEAR. We must show the value of living authentically and we must SHOW the world that gender-neutral restrooms will not signal the end of everything.

We MUST MOBILIZE our efforts and show the LGBTQ community that God loves them and that the Christian faith can rise above bigotry and hate. Our brothers and sisters have been wounded by "the Church" and it is up to us to repair this damage.

Thank you for welcoming me into the fold and showing me that not only do I have a place in God’s kingdom, but that I have a place in the Episcopal Church. Please join me this Pride Season and let folks know that GOD LOVES EACH OF US!!!!!

S. Wayne Mathis is Integrity's Province VII Coordinator and Convener of the Houston chapter.

Prayers for the Rev. Gwen Fry, Transgender Priest in Arkansas

Integrity USA and TransEpiscopal are sad to report that the Rev. Gwen Fry, who came out last weekend as a transgender woman, is no longer the Priest in Charge of Grace Episcopal Church in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. We stand behind her leadership, courage, and integrity during this time. We also recognize and applaud the support offered to her and to Grace Church by the Right Rev. Larry Benfield, Bishop of Arkansas.  

For those seeking background information on this situation, we commend you to read the statements both Bishop Benfield and Gwen have shared, which are on the Diocese of Arkansas web site.

The Episcopal Church is committed to the full incorporation and equality of transgender and gender nonconforming people. As Bishop Benfield noted in a local news article, at its 2012 General Convention the Episcopal Church passed resolution D019, which stated "that no one shall be denied rights, status or access to an equal place in the life, worship, and governance of the Episcopal Church" on the basis of gender identity and expression. It also passed resolution D002 which barred discrimination on the basis of gender identity and expression in access to the ordination process. As a church we have declared, as our former Presiding Bishop the Most Rev. Edmund Browning once said, that "there will be no outcasts."

In her initial announcement, Gwen  described "an amazing opportunity to learn, to grow, to seek out and find the risen Christ in one another in ways we might never have expected." We hope that the whole church will seize this chance to learn, to be vulnerable, to know one another more authentically, to deepen their membership in Christ’s body.

As our Church continues in the ongoing process of learning and exploring what it means to have transgender people in community and in leadership, Integrity is proud to offer a wide range of educational resources, including the short film Voices of Witness: Out of the Box.

Gwen's commitment to living honestly, to letting her light shine, to growing into her full stature as a member of Christ’s body stands as a beacon of inspiration to all of us as we seek and serve Christ in all people, loving our neighbors as ourselves.


This weekend, Transfiguration Sunday will be observed across The Episcopal Church. We will hear the story of how Jesus walked up a mountain and was gloriously transformed beside Moses and Elijah as three bewildered disciples looked on in amazement.  Only in Matthew’s gospel does Jesus bend down, touch them, and say, "get up, and do not be afraid."

This message could not be more timely today.  As we stand together on God’s holy mountain, may we be strengthened to walk together through the challenges that lie before us, confident that in the process we will be changed into Christ’s likeness "from glory to glory."

____

A Statement from the Rev. Gwen Fry

I would like to express my sincere and deepest thanks to all of my family, colleagues, and friends who have reached out in support of me, of my family, and of our respective parishes. Not all of life’s journeys are ones we expect to take. They can be both challenging and filled with wonder. On Sunday I began a journey of conversation and education, of vulnerability, of transition. Because gender transition is something with which many are unfamiliar, it is only natural that there are questions. There may be anxiety, and at times we may stumble. But we also have an amazing opportunity to learn, to grow, to seek out and find the risen Christ in one another in ways we might never have expected. To do this well, I would like to engage with a spirit of respect, patience, peace, and prayer. Everyone needs space and time to talk and listen, to make adjustments, to make mistakes and ask forgiveness, to trust in the communal power of our membership in the body of Christ. My prayer is that we actively cultivate trust, patience, and respect, that we might rediscover the peace of Christ. I invite us all to continue prayerfully walking together in faith.

Faithfully,
The Rev. Gwen Fry

Transfaith and Trusting in God

Professor H. Ackley served for 15 years as Professor of Theology and Chair of the Diversity Council, a council of the Faculty Senate, at Azusa Pacific University (APU). He inspired students in a faith that wasn't just esoteric and distant, but tangible, with real world actions and practices. At this evangelical Christian university located in the suburbs of Los Angeles, he recently helped clarify and affirm the inclusion of LGBTQ students in the school's anti-hate policies.

Prof H Adam Ackley during at All Saints Pasadena (Nov 24, 2013)
The video of this talk can be found on YouTube

Unfortunately, in October, Dr. Ackley informed the administration that he was going to formally change his name to H. Adam Ackley, revealing a long-due transition that the university was not expecting. The students and colleagues were incensed when they discovered that Dr. Ackley was being asked to resign. Social media lit up and soon traditional media was camped out in front of Dr. Ackley's home, a concern given his two minor children living at home.

I spoke with Dr. Ackley about the events and found much that informs our own journeys in the Episcopal Church. Rather than stoke the flames of outrage and possible violence, Dr. Ackley - an ordained minister and serving on the Spiritual Life and Nurture Commission at the La Verne Church of the Brethren - tempered student and faculty anger and focused it into channels of reconciliation, mediation, and peace. Coming from an Anabaptist/Mennonite tradition of peace, his desire for mutual respect and dialogue seems a far cry from the media storm raging around the campus.

Although Dr. Ackley is no longer at APU, his impact, driven by deeply rooted spiritual practices and faith-guided words, continues to resonate on campus. Several students and allies, including a star athlete LGBTQ ally, quit school because they found the school's actions inconsistent with truth and the fair treatment of all. Lessons of tolerance gained in the Diversity Council are questioned in their authenticity and use. And yet, every Friday night, Dr. Ackley leads a peaceful, candle-lit dinner and prayer at his home; this "shabbat" is open to all, and many former students come to heal.

I asked Dr. Ackley if his story would be of interest to the Episcopal Church. As it turns out, the Rev. Cameron Partridge, Episcopal Chaplain at Boston University, was one of the first to reach out to Dr. Ackley when the news broke. Rev Partridge, along with Soulforce and GLAAD, stepped in to advise Dr. Ackley on how to take self-care and protect his family from the media intrusion. According to Rev. Partridge, "My heart just immediately went out to him. I reached out to him in solidarity-- so that he might know he's not alone-- and have really appreciated not only his witness but also his friendship. My students also heard about him (separately from me) and wanted him to know they stood with him too. We happened to do a unit on the Genesis creation stories, and looked at just the passages and interpretations that helped give Adam his name. It was moving to come across that aspect of his story after having explored similar connections around our table here in Massachusetts."

I compared the almost forty years of Integrity work with the Episcopal Church to the developments at places like APU and other evangelical universities. Dr. Ackley pointed out how the groundwork for change and acceptance may take some time, but truth, honesty, and the overpowering love of Christ bends and turns the body, mind, and heart. "Think of it like yoga. Yoga doesn't suddenly allow the human body to magically bend in ways it never has before. With practice and patience, though, you surprise yourself with what you one day are able to achieve

As I drove away from my coffee with Dr. Ackley, I was struck by the similarity of Dr. Ackley's yoga metaphor and the journey of the Episcopal Church in issues of LGBTQ inclusion, marriage equality, and respect for our Trans* brothers and sisters. It has taken some time, but change eventually comes and can catch many off guard. In this Advent season of watching and waiting, we all must be ready for the Joy that is to be. Dr Ackley may face the challenges of job hunting, relocation, and sudden fame all at once, but with a profound faith and trust in God's plans, he seems ready for the journey before him.

Mel Soriano

Integrity Board of Directors (Director of Communications, Secretary)

Vestry/Coventry Choir/Taizé/Labyrinth All Saints Pasadena

facebook.com/melsoriano

twitter.com/melsoriano

letallwhoarethirstycome.blogspot.com

City of Philadelphia Passes Sweeping LGBTQ Rights Extensions

-Jon Richardson,  Integrity VP of National Affairs

I was delighted to learn this week that the City of Philadelphia has passed new legislation extending rights and encouraging businesses to participate in extending equal rights to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Trans* people. Some of the most significant aspects of the legislation relate to providing greater equality for trans* people in Philadelphia. Particularly, the city is providing tax benefits for businesses that provide trans*-friendly health insurance options for employees, and the city has committed to provide gender neutral restrooms in all new or newly remodeled city-owned buildings.

Philadelphia’s Mayor Michael Nutter said, “My goal is for Philadelphia to be one of, if not the most, LGBT-friendly cities in the world and a leader on equality issues.”

As a priest in Philadelphia and as a passionate advocate for LGBT equality, I am deeply grateful to Mayor Nutter and the other leaders of the City of Philadelphia who have worked to craft and have supported this legislation.

This Sunday, Episcopalians across the church will be celebrating All Saints’ Sunday, and many of us, as we are in my own parish, will be celebrating with baptisms in church. Many more churches will recite the Baptismal Covenant, even if there are no baptisms, as this is one of the Sundays that is set apart as particularly appropriate for remembering the covenant we share as Christians. In the Baptismal Covenant we will ask and answer those now-celebrated five questions about how we will live as baptized Christians in the church and in the world.

The last question (and I might argue, the culmination of the covenant) is, “Will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being?”

Of course the answer is always that we will with God’s help.

I rejoice that this Sunday, as we say these words at the Memorial Church of the Good Shepherd, we will be saying them in a city that is one step closer to living in a world that is defined by justice and peace among all people and respect for the dignity of every human being.

Pennsylvania is a state that has a long way to go on the struggle for true equality, but it is inspiring to live in one of the cities that is helping to lead the way. And, I am heartened to be serving as a priest in a church that supports this progress in the words of our liturgies and in our actions in the world.



The Rev. Jon M. Richardson is Integrity's Vice President for National Affairs and the Rector of Memorial Church of the Good Shepherd in Philadelphia, PA.  His blog (at www.JonMRichardson.com) features his sermons and theater reviews.

Into the Cloud: Transfiguration Liberation

A homily preached in the Episcopal/Anglican Fellowship at Harvard Divinity School 

Readings for Transfiguration Sunday, Year C

Monday, February 11, 2013

Transfiguration greetings from inside the cloud.  I say this not simply because of the fog that envelopes us here in Cambridge as rain melts our record snowfall, not only because of the in-between place the Diocese of Massachusetts diocese has entered in the wake of our bishop’s retirement announcement, or even in honor of the strange possibility that, as the Anglican News Service explains, "a new Archbishop of Canterbury and a new Pope may be enthroned in the same month."  I say this inspired by Luke’s unique observation that all of those present on the Transfiguration mount were not only “overshadowed” by a cloud but actually, terrifyingly, “entered into it” (Lk 9:34).  In some way, Luke seems to do more with the Transfiguration, to link the very paschal mystery to it, and to make that mystery accessible to his readers—to all of us.  In the hands of Luke, all of us are delivered into the mysterious liberation that is transfiguration.

This cloud-envelopment is not the only unique gift brought to us by the Year C in our liturgical/lectionary rotation.  Only Luke, among the synoptic witnesses, gives us a window onto the summit conversation between Jesus, Moses and Elijah.  All three accounts tell us that Peter, John and James see these towering figures of the Law and the Prophets.  But Luke alone explains that “they appeared in glory” and, most importantly, that “they were speaking of [Jesus’] departure which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.”  The term for departure is ἔξοδον, a word that evokes the Exodus of the Israelites from their Egyptian captivity.  Already the gospel story draws upon Moses’ shining encounter, as our first reading reminds us.  But Luke’s window onto Jesus’ mountaintop discourse gives us more on which to chew.  Jesus was about to embody Exodus.  Think about what that might mean.  Think of what we know about the journey that lay before him:  the downward slope into Jerusalem, the crucifixion, the resurrection and ascension.  The shorthand Luke uses for this, the frame through which he wants us to read it is ἔξοδον.  It is liberation from oppression. It is the transformation of an individual body—suffering and death followed by resurrection life—as the transformation of a collective body.   Does this relationship of collective to individual embodiment not shift how you might read Jesus’ words of agency? Do you not hear the notion of “accomplishing” this paschal mystery in a different way?  It is not simply a matter of deciding to suffer and to die (which, of course, is not simple in and of itself).  This “accomplishment” is about the exodus of a people, or as Paul puts it in our reading from 2 Corinthians, freedom, which flows out from “the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Cor 3:18).

Both in written reflection and in iconic depiction, the Christian East has long honored the Metamorphosis (as it is often called, after the term with which Matthew and Mark describe Jesus’ transformation), and has seen in it a deep connection to the mystery of Easter itself. Transfiguration is not only something that happened to Jesus on Mount Tabor, as our unnamed peak is often called.  It is also the effect of resurrection power in our lives here and now, as well as at the end of all things, when that power will lift us up from the grave.  Transfiguration is the transformation “from glory into glory” to which Paul speaks in this breathtaking vision: “all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another” (2 Cor 3:18).  This is not an effect reserved for the end.  It is with us now.  It is why, “we do not lose heart” as we carry forward in our ministries (2 Cor 4:1).  The present, pervasive reality of transfiguration allows us to discern the holy in this cloud in which we stand.

The idea that to be transfigured is to be changed, to be transformed, to be metamorphosed first drew me to the theology of transfiguration-- as someone who has transitioned, it spoke powerfully to me.  The complexity of my gender identity also gave me a particular appreciation for its liminal placement in the liturgical year.  But surely I am not alone in my love of the uniquely clear way in which the transfiguration (and more specifically Transfiguration Sunday, placed here, at the threshold of Epiphany and Lent) makes the heart of the gospel-- the good news of God’s transforming, healing, reconciling work -- available to us, a prism through which to see our own lives as in some way part of this larger collection, these stories of salvation history.  This combination of liminality and transformation should prompt us to see not only the obviously-set-apart places, the mountaintop locales, but also the more mundane interstices, the in-between spaces of our lives, even the painful ones, as places of transfiguration. 

These thresholds can be temporal, spatial or both.  What if we considered the context of divinity schools and seminaries, of universities and of higher education  more broadly through this lens?  Such contexts are crucibles—as you surely don’t need me to tell you—spaces of intensive formation,  carrying the anxiety of next-steps, for students as well as for faculty and staff.   And so from that crucible, from this cloud, I want to invite us all to consider here and now:  What is the ἔξοδον you are about to accomplish, or rather, that God is about to accomplish in you?  How are you being called to embody the paschal mystery in all its incorporation of death and new life?  Stand on this verge today and know that by virtue of your membership in the body of Christ, you too are being transfigured.  You, dear friends, are caught up in the mystery of metamorphosis, you are poised to leap up from the sacramental waters of your baptism. In the least likely spaces of your life, you are being “changed from glory into glory,” invited to grow like the engrafted olive shoot you are into the very heart of the living God.  The death Christ died and the resurrection life through which creation itself was recast—these fundamental tenets of our faith our not simply mental exercises, but spiritual realities with deeply concrete implications.  As we move toward the dust-filled return of Ash Wednesday and the wilderness territory of Lent, think on this mystery.

Luke’s vision of the Transfiguration frames our entry into Lent and Easter like no other gospel.  To be sure, the placement of this day at the end of the season of Epiphany, as the bookend to Jesus’ baptism (another iconic favorite in Eastern Christianity) works similarly in all three years of our lectionary.  Transfiguration stands as the mandorla, the holy hinge on which the cycles of Incarnation and Pascha swing into one another. But Luke’s version alone gives us a prism through which to read the paschal mystery itself.  Luke alone truly uses Transfiguration as the key for interpreting the cross and the empty tomb.  Luke alone refracts our very body/ies through the lens of Exodus (for an Easter preview, see Luke 24:1-12).  And so again I ask you, what is the ἔξοδον that God is seeking to accomplish in you?  How are you being called to embody the liberation that is the Paschal Mystery?  Amen.

Rev. Dr. Cameron Partridge is the Episcopal Chaplain at Boston University and a Lecturer and Episcopal/Anglican Denominational Counselor at Harvard Divinity School.   

Truth to the Table

From Historic Trans ENDA Testimony to the "Stalling" of a 2006 Antibullying Guide in MA  

Today has been a historic day for transgender people in the U.S.  Kylar Broadus, founder of the Trans People of Color Coalition, became the first openly transgender person to testify before the U.S. Senate.  The subject of his testimony was the Federal Employment Nondiscrimination Act – ENDA—that has been stalled in Congress for several years now.  At our last General Convention in 2009, The Episcopal Church passed resolutions D012 and C048, putting us on record in support of an ENDA inclusive of gender identity and expression as well as of sexual orientation.

In his testimony, video of which can be viewed here, and a transcript of which can be found here, Broadus spoke of his transition (from female to male) as well as his work history.  Transition was for him “a matter of living the truth, and sharing the truth with the world, rather than living a lie and pretending to be somebody every day that I was not…. [I decided to] bring my full self to the table and to the world.”  

He explained that as he came into a fuller sense of himself in the late 1980s-early 1990s, his work attire gradually shifted from women’s to men’s business attire, and his haircut significantly shortened.  His colleagues treated him well, but within six months of telling management of his decision to transition, he “was ‘constructively discharged’…. While my supervisors could tolerate a somewhat masculine-appearing black woman, they were not prepared to deal with my transition to being a black man.”  He concluded stating, “it’s devastating, demoralizing, and dehumanizing to be put in th[e] position” of being denied work because of being trans.

As it also emerged today, the same thing can be said for an anti-bullying guide produced under the Romney administration here in Massachusetts in 2006.  The Boston Globe reported this morning:  “Former governor Mitt Romney’s administration in 2006 blocked publication of a state antibullying guide for Massachusetts public schools because officials objected to use of the terms ‘bisexual’ and ‘transgender’ in passages about protecting certain students from harassment, according to state records and interviews with current and former state officials.”  While at the time aids to the governor publicly attributed the delay to a standard review process, in fact an email from May, 2006 revealed otherwise:  “Because this is using the terms ‘bisexual’ and ‘transgendered,’ DPH’s name may not be used in this publication,’’ wrote an official in the Department of Public Health.

In other words, the governor did not want to be associated with a guide for protecting youth who might grow up to be like Kylar Broadus, or any of the participants in Integrity’s new video Voices of Witness: Out of the Box. Gay and lesbian youth might be one thing, but bisexual and transgender youth were something else entirely.  

A year and a half removed from the devastating landslide of LGBT suicides last fall, that covert distancing and delay looks even more unconscionable.  This afternoon Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley commented, “For the Romney administration to block a discussion on the impact of bullying on LGBT students was to fail to protect some of our most vulnerable children.’’

As General Convention draws near, one of the major priorities of both TransEpiscopal and IntegrityUSA is for The Episcopal Church to pass a resolution on the problem of LGBT bullying.  As Harry Knox recently reported, Integrity will be showing the film "Bullied" on July 8th.  Today's Senate testimony and Globe stories underscore the urgency of this work, particularly for bi and trans people, that, as Broadus put it,  all of us might be empowered to "liv[e] the truth and share [that] truth with the world."