It is Sunday morning, and as I am a committed christian I went to Church. I should say that yes I am a committed christian and as such I am writing this post from that point of view, because it is the only point of view I have. (I am not proselytising this is simply who I am, it is an important part of my whole life including my cross dressing, so every now and then it will come up). We are an evangelical Church of England, we like to think that we are inclusive and compassionate, but like most people at times we can be intolerant of others who are not like us. I think that I am known as one of the most liberal members of the Church, both in my politics and in my theology. This morning it was my turn to lead prayers.
I was nervous of mentioning that today is the International Transgender Day of Remembrance, but as the service went on I became convinced that it was the right thing to do, and more over that by doing so I would be praying into God's will. I was nervous because I feared that I could be outing myself at my wife's place of employment, and that many members of the Church may not be sympathetic.
Well I did it, praying for compassion, comfort and understanding, as I did I looked around the congregation and could see heads nodding in agreement, there were plenty of amens sounding out during the prayers as well. I am enormously encouraged that no one seemed to be opposed, and no one felt the need to approach me after the service to challenge my prayers. To all those who expect all Christians to be anti anything and everything trans, please accept that this is not the case, most of us will embrace compassion. As we sang this morning in our worship,
You are the defender of the weak
You comfort those in need.
2 comments:
Good on you, Paula! Sneaking in a bit of progressivism into the Sunday Sermon. While religion is no longer a part of my life, I have always subscribed to the Golden Rule -- do unto others as you would have them do unto you. I respect you even more for holding to your convictions while helping others to expand theirs a bit.
I am also a committed Christian and lead prayers at times in my local Church. Recently I have been considering including praying for people of different sexual orientation or gender identity but I am not sure how it would be received by the conservative congregation in my church. I also am afraid that I too might out myself.
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