Last week I had the pleasure of meeting the UCC conference minister for Western New York. At one point during the meeting our discussion turned to how women’s groups can be strong advocates for transgender civil rights. Suddenly, this minister looked up from her tea and said: “I’m going to tell you a story. A transgender woman belongs to our statewide UCC women’s board. Now, our women’s group consists mostly of little old ladies and I was so nervous about how they would react to her joining. The first day that she came to a meeting she was wearing this beautiful sun dress, while everyone else was in sweaters and pants. By the end of the day I discovered that no one cared that she was transgender, all they talked about was the dress!” The Reverend took a sip of her tea and then looked me in the eye. “They all love her and I think that they’d be willing to advocate for her rights. I just have to think about the best way to approach it.”Sometimes support can come from unexpected people, but it is out there to be found. Every personal interaction a person has with a lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender person opens their hearts and minds to the LGBT community. Let us now ask these new allies to join us as advocates.
In Peace,
Kate McDonough
Lead Organizer
To get involved with the Pride in the Pulpit program, please contact Kate, kmcdonough AT prideagenda DOT org.
To learn more about our upcoming events, please visit our Program Calendar.
No comments:
Post a Comment