Trans Day of Visibility is an annual international celebration of trans pride and awareness, recognising trans and gender diverse experiences and achievements. Trans Day of Visibility (TDOV) is held each year on 31 March, which in 2024 also falls on Easter Sunday.
On 31 March celebrate with trans and gender diverse people by sharing stories, starting conversations, and attending events. All are loved by God
Resources including prayers, songs, podcasts and articles here: https://uniting.church/trans-day-of-visibility/
A prayer
For all who struggle to find their identity
in a world that tries, often without success,
to find a suitable box in which to fit them,
grant them courage to become
the people you want them to be,
not constrained by this world’s wisdom,
but allowed to grow and become themselves
in your Spirit’s power. Amen.
(Source: John Birch, faithandworship.com)
Holy One,
I pray on behalf of those who can’t pray today…
who can’t find the words
who can’t risk feeling the feelings
who can’t lift up their hopes because
because they are accustomed to disappointment.
I pray on behalf of those who can’t pray today…
although their breath is prayer
and their bodies are prayer
and the Spirit prays in and through them
and somedays just living is a prayer.
I pray on behalf of those who can’t pray today…
and I’m unsure what to sayor how to say it
but I hope this prayer finds you
holds you
loves you
until you can pray again
and again pray for me.
Amen.
(Source: Rev Ellie Elia)
Circle Me (a song by Rev David MacGregor, inspired by a Denise Savage reflection & image)
For those feeling and knowing exclusion, bewilderment, loss, grief, poverty, distance, discrimination, fear, absence of love, affirmation or purpose …
Praying it as poem or song may offer comfort, hope and a sense of God’s enfolding.
Circle me in your love
Circle me in your holding
Wrap me around in love
Wrap me complete in your keeping
Circle me in your love
Circle me in your holding
Circle me
Circle me
Hold me in your love
And when my heart’s being torn within
All too much
Torn so thin
Carry me, O Holy One
Whisper in my soul
Circle me in your love …
It’s knowing someone’s close beside
There to listen,
care, confide
Holy One, your presence real
now whispers in my soul
Circle me in your love …
(©️2021 Willow Publishing)
Spirit of life and love that resides within and among us, we enter this moment with all that we are, with an open heart, and with a love for justice.
We hold in love and prayer all transgender people, so many of whom live under the weight of violence, fear, and intolerance. We hold in love and prayer all the ways that transgender people have survived and thrived in a hostile world. We hold in love and prayer all who recognize the significance of gender justice for all people.
We who believe in freedom will not rest until it comes. We pray for the dawn of a new day when the very humanity of trans people is no longer called into question or ignored. We pray that physical, emotional, and spiritual violence will come to an end. We pray that a spirit of compassion and care will fill us to overflowing, that we may have the capacity to listen, learn, and grow not only in our awareness but also in our willingness to act. We pray for teachers, spiritual leaders, social workers, lawyers, and all people who heed the call to support Trans liberation, Trans leadership, and Trans visibility. May they ultimately lean into the Light of truth and justice, offering hope to Trans and gender nonconforming youth and adults.
On this day, we commit and recommit to creating a world where people of all genders know peace, love, and justice. We commit and recommit to living lives of compassion and care for all of humanity. We commit and recommit to the healing work of relationship-building that will help every person know, no matter their gender or sexuality, that they are loved and valued.
(Source: Transforming Hearts Collective, found on this website)
The Lord’s Prayer for Transgender Awareness
As we turn our attention to understanding the experiences and needs of the transgender community, we need to educate ourselves, as people of faith, on how we can be advocates for trans communities. And, we also need to hold sacred space—to pray, to hope, to grieve. Often people have asked me where to start, or how to hold a vigil, or what to say.
I am reminded of how it is that Jesus taught his disciples to pray when they asked him for guidance. It’s a simple way, and it is a way that many have re-visited and re-worded for various people and occasions. I have written this version of the Lord’s Prayer for those who might want to follow this simple way of praying for their transgender brothers, sisters, and siblings. Perhaps you can use it in your own individual prayer time this week as you think through how it is that you can be an ally to transgender people.
And so, friends, I invite you to pray with me, in the manner that Christ taught us…
The Lord’s Prayer For Transgender Awareness
Our mother and Father, our beloved parent, in whom we move and breathe and have our being,
The hallowing of your name shines forth in the diversity of your children.
May your peace and love, justice and equality, inclusion and belonging reign here on earth as in heaven.
Grant that our transgender loved ones might have their daily needs met – that they might find gainful employment without discrimination; that they might have access to medical care without fear; that they might have their rights and lives protected, and that they might find a loving community to belong to and call their own.
Forgive us for the ways that we have fallen short and failed your transgender children. Forgive us of the times we turned away, or did not care; for the times we laughed or judged their unique expression of your image; for the times we have misspoken, asked too much, or failed to hear
As we forgive those who might have failed us.
Lead us away from the temptation to be complacent in the face of injustice. But instead give us courage to stand up and stand with your beloved children. For your love and justice is to be made manifest now and forever.
Amen.
(This prayer was originally written by Rev Kim Sorrells for Central Congregational UCC (Atlanta, GA) Pride Sunday worship Services on October 9, 2016, and published on the Believe Out Loud website)
God full of mercy, bless the souls of all who are in our hearts on this Transgender Day of Remembrance. We call to mind today young and old, of every race, faith, and gender experience, who have died by violence. We remember those who have died because they would not hide, or did not pass, or did pass, or stood too proud. Today we name them: the reluctant activist; the fiery hurler of heels; the warrior for quiet truth; the one whom no one really knew.
As many as we can name, there are thousands more whom we cannot. We mourn their senseless deaths, and give thanks for their lives, for their teaching, and for the brief glow of each holy flame. We pray for the strength to carry on their legacy of vision, bravery, and love.
And as we remember them, we remember with them the thousands more who have taken their own lives. We pray for resolve to root out the injustice, ignorance, and cruelty that grow despair. And we pray, God, that all those who perpetrate hate and violence will speedily come to understand that Your creation has many faces, many genders, many holy expressions.
Blessed are they, who have allowed their divine image to shine in the world. Blessed is God, in Whom no light is extinguished.
(Source: Reuben Zellman posted on this website)
We remember those who have been murdered for being who they are, those who face violence on a daily basis, those who have lost loved ones, and those who worry for loved ones. May we come to a time when we cease to shame children around gender roles and expression, where we allow for freedom and exploration of identity and expression, and to a world that operates from love especially when things are difficult and confusing. May all of us who live with the threat of violence find support, strength, community, hope, and safety from violence.
(Source: Rev. Sunshine Jeremiah Wolfe)
Statement of Purpose and Intent (for a gathering)
We come to clarify our Yes and No.
We come to be clear about our Yeses and our Nos.
We come to say NO to acts of violence and hate that murders bodies and shatters lives.
We come to say YES to love and kindness
and deep respect for one another and human decency.
We come to say NO to the politics of extremism and privilege
that favours some while disenfranchising others.
We come to say YES to justice done and to communities of fairness and equality,
and the flourishing of life for all people, all creatures, for our earth home.
We come to say NO to the fear of the other…
NO to the fear of difference…
NO to the lack of human understanding and empathy,
and NO to bigotry in all its forms.
YES to the sacred, inherent worth of all people
whether gay, straight, bisexual, transgender, queer, sexual or intersex,
of all genders, of all ethnicities, of all religions,
of all languages and cultures, of all abilities or disabilities.
NO to bloodshed.
YES to grief, to anger, to lament for every precious life lost and hurt.
NO to LGBTQI hate, racial hate, national hate, ethnic hate and religious hate.
NO to hate period. Any kind of hate. NO!
YES to beauty and goodness and strength and kindness and hospitality.
YES to the love of neighbour and to a shared humanity.
NO to violence that invades sanctuaries of all shapes and sizes and types.
YES to every rainbow raised in solidarity and every hand held in love.
NO to shrinking back in fear and hiding in isolation,
terrified of being attacked or rejected.
YES to openness and honesty and a truth telling that sets us free.
YES to places of belonging and community.
YES to the wide embrace of the gift of difference and to unity in our diversity.
YES to dancing and laughter and making love.
YES to faith in God that is grounded in love.
YES to love that is brave and political and seeks justice and liberation for all.
YES to waging peace.
YES to being queer.
YES to straight allies.
YES to being fully alive every moment, every day..
YES to nurturing life whenever possible, however possible.
YES to being together, to now.
(adapted from opening remarks at a community vigil in Dayton Ohio written by Rev Michael D Castle, United Church of Christ and Rev Keith Menhinick, Alliance of Baptists Clergy)
