Take Courage
Photo credit: “Trans-Figured” by Rev. Alex da Silva Souto, Connecticut, USA.
Take courage, dear friends. Listen for the guidance of the Spirit.
Are you called to stay and resist, committed to equally escalating resistance as harm escalates?
Are you called to creative new endeavors that lead away from this destruction and into healing and restoration?
Are you called to rest, shaking the dust from your feet as you go?
Are you called to rise up or step back?
These days are not easy, or clear, or simple. The answers are not the same for everyone, nor should they be. The only "wrong" answer is turning away from the harm, washing y/our hands from the impacts of white supremacy and queer/transphobia, particularly in whatever ways your privilege encourages.
I too, continue to listen, to pay attention, to find meaningful connection with others who long for liberation within and beyond the church. Taking it only day by day, as so many of us have been having to do for years under the policies that already are.
Whatever else, in the face of these destructive realities, we cannot say enough: queer love is divine, trans bodies and beings are sacred manifestations of a God always in transition, and no church is worth the loss of one more life. I don't know what disruption will look like in the days ahead, but I know it must be creative, it must be bold, it must be deeply relational, and driven by a radical love for all those prone to violence at the hands of the church or world. If you're not already, I hope you'll consider supporting the UM-Forward gathering on May 17-18, where we'll be talking about these things, centering the lives, experiences, and wisdom of POC + Queer + Trans voices. Learn more at https://um-forward.org/.