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Wonderful to have Steff Fenton with us yesterday at Pitt Street Uniting Church- sharing a terrific Reflection (see here) - as we marked Transgender Awareness Week and also gave thanks for the great work of Uniting Network NSW over the years.
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 My favourite picture for this (trans awareness) week, is this portrait of Raquel Willis — a writer, activist, public speaker and media maven - by trans artist Selva Neblina, from the Trans Life & Liberation Art series...
 Giving thanks today both for the Trans & Gender Diverse (TGD) Affirming resolution yesterday at the triennial gathering of the Assembly of the Uniting Church in Australia, and, perhaps as or more important, for the overall spirit of discussion. This represents the first specific positive national affirmation of TGD folks in a mainstream Church in Australia and marks a step in the ever more necessary conversations and relationships between TGD & other queer people and communities of faith, not least those of diverse cultural backgrounds.
See official Uniting Church Assembly report here...  It was a great delight to talk with Will Small, from the creative Spiritual Misfits community, about trans-forming and expansive approaches to faith and spirituality, the ethos and work of Pitt St UC, and how we with others might work better together intersectionally for greater love, justice, and healing for all
- and looking forward to more conversations and networking going forward Do check out some of the other Spiritual Misfits podcasts too!  A Blessed Easter and Very Happy Transgender Day of Visibility to everyone!
- with a little scribble of my own, re-rendering the colours of the trans flag (with black - the womb of colour - at the centre), the (an alternate - and my own preferred - trans colour) of violet for the mystery (amid suffering), in which we are all caught up, and the gold of (resurrection) life beyond and underneath. #TransDayOfVisibility #Easter #resurrection #transformation This year, the #TransDayOfVisibility falls on the date of Easter (in the Western Church), which is a happy connection for some of us, in light of what trans folk can bring to understanding resurrection, not least as transformation. One of the powerful and deeply poignant creative projects to transform trans struggles and help strengthen trans life and resilience has been Project 42 - taking its name from what was calculated to be trans life expectancy in the USA. Resonating with aspects of the Holy Week story, and using dance and art (not least with clothing as so important to trans identities) it remembers those trans folk (typically black and female) who are murdered, but who, in our remembrance, live afresh in the transformed and transforming lives of others. I may touch on this as one element in my Easter Reflection, for resurrection is not just a past event, but always now and arriving in new forms, out of pain and crucified bodies which may yet be raised up in other glorious bodies. We may only see ‘folded grave clothes’ but their Spirit lives . #transvisibility #HolyWeek2024
It was a delight to share again in queer faith celebrations as part of Sydney Mardi Gras this year, including with Rainbow Christians Together on the Mardi Gras Parade.
 Many thanks to Kris Halliday and fellow trans woman Sharon Priestley for a recent podcast conversation - see here - and for their work with others in the Salvation Army.
Thanks to ABBI (in this Trans Awareness Week) for featuring the 25 minute documentary Faithfully Me - now available (after being on ABC licence) here online and for educational use etc. Among other things, it is wonderful to be reminded of the fabulous support I had in coming out from so many Anglicans in southern Queensland - not least my amazing colleagues at St Francis College and in Milton parish, the terrific Dean and community of St John’s Cathedral Brisbane, and our border collie! A brief synopsis: ‘Coming out as transgender in a Christian environment from two different sides of the pulpit has its challenges. Faithfully Me is a 25 minute documentary that follows the Revd Dr Josephine Inkpin, Australia’s first openly transgender ordained priest, and Rhett Pearson, a transgender man, as they embark on their own individual quests to reconcile their true identities and their faith. Meeting the significant people in their lives gives further richness to their stories.’  Thanks to everyone involved this evening in the Sydney launch of Transgender Australia: A History Since 1910 - not least Eloise Brook from the Gender Centre, Chantell Martin, former co-CEO of SWOP, and the one and only Norrie :-) It was a lovely evening, including being a delight to see Noah Riseman again. The first book to showcase over a century of Australia’s trans history, Noah's book draws on over 100 oral history interviews and extensive archival research, and explores the changing social, legal, medical and living histories of trans people across all walks of Australian life.  |
AuthorThe Revd Dr Jo Inkpin: Archives
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