Trans Day of Visibility: Prayer + Perspective
A prayer from a Disciples of Christ pastor and the perspective of a Disciples nonbinary transgender minister
Transgender Day of Visibility was March 31. The International TDoV is an annual holiday celebrated around the world. The day is dedicated to celebrating the accomplishments and victories of transgender + gender non-conforming people while raising awareness of the work that is still needed to save trans lives. AllianceQ members and friends are invited to engage this work and this welcome every day.
Among other resources on our site, this documentary gives voice to the witness of transgender people of faith.
Rev. Bob Howard, Pastor at Community Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Tempe, AZ, shared this prayer to honor the courage and the gifts of transgender persons:
O Infinite Love, bathe us with Your beams of compassion for all persons, made in Your image. Give us eyes to see the sides of You revealed in transgender persons, that they may see themselves as unique lights of Your light, that we may see ourselves as lights of Your light. Give us hearts to nourish their tender shoots of courage into wild daring for all to celebrate, as transgender persons become who You created them to be. Give us joy to learn from them the unfathomable depths of Your creativity, dancing into this starving world through their lives.
O Infinite Love, O Eternal Joy, O Secret Wisdom that guides us into Your future, be their enduring strength when oppositions rise; be their hope in times when despair threatens to swallow their spirit; be their joy, as they discover with delight on another day, another way You have created them anew, and once again declared it good, so good. Amen.
Rev. Rev. RJ Robles (they/them/ellé) is a Puerto Rican queer and transgender community organizer, healer, and Christian minister. RJ describes wrestling with their faith growing up because they knew they were different: “By the time I went to college and came out as trans, I had outgrown the message of hate and fear that many churches were then preaching. Even though I did not quite have the language, what kept me believing in God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit was my fervor and rootedness in a theology of love, first and foremost love for myself and love for my neighbor.”
In an engaging Q&A, RJ shares their perspective on ministry and the mission of AllianceQ. The interview, “We must love!” can be found here.
