 Prior to Bishop Budde’s excellent sermon calling in on President Trump to practice the cardinal Christian virtue of mercy to the vulnerable, much work has been being done in Episcopalian circles to build solidarity for trans, immigrant and other groups now under attack in the USA. Here is a good recent article outlining some of these developments and wonderful key trans leaders - the kinds of work which could be done here and elsewhere before attacks come and to enable true flourishing. Among other things, I commend my fellow trans priest the Revd Carla Robinson’s work and words:
"it takes me back to my spiritual roots in the Black church (in the 1960s and 1970s). In those days, it was not unusual for someone to ask you in church, ‘How goes the struggle?’ It was asked in church because the church was actively engaged in the fight for civil rights and justice." As Episcopalians,,“We’ve been called to something much different than ‘Nice.’ [A fighting church] acknowledges that there is a real struggle. …It acknowledges the reality of who is being hurt – how they are being hurt – and it calls upon the church to not be shy about facing those realities. … A fighting church acts and speaks from its place as followers of Jesus.” May all those seeking to practise and nurture mercy gain strength at this time.
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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.  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! 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.
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.’ Last year had some amazing highs, but I had some trying health and other struggles at times, and it is always hard to write in a vital congregational placement (especially with the demands of my pioneering ministry) so I'm very grateful for the encouragement and patience of Elenie Poulos and Kate Gleeson (co-editors) in enabling me to contribute an article to a small collection of essays on 'Religion and Politics after marriage equality: contemporary challenges in religious freedom'. My essay (which can be accessed here), built out of the tough experience of some of us, focuses on the marginalisation of transgender people and queer people of faith in queer activism and mainstream Australian churches during and after the Australian marriage-equality plebiscite. I entitled it: 'Climbing out from being thrown under the bus: queer faith futures in a transphobic political world'...
Many thanks to Dr Meredith Lake and Rohan Salmond for inviting Penny Jones and I to share in this episode of ABC's Soul Search, exploring queer theology and its expression in World Pride. It was a great joy, including sharing with such delightful co-interlocutors and friends as Dr Peter Kline and Benjamin Oh. Link here  Recently I was part of SBS Insight's program on what is happening to faith in Australia (link here). It was moving, and sometimes challenging, to hear of the pain and disillusionment so many now feel - and with which I also identify. When will faith bodies wake up as a whole and share the human dignity others offer? It was lovely to share some good news, and sit next to a beautiful friend from Muslim Collective who puts it so well..   One of the major challenges for both Faith bodies, like Churches, and for the wider society is taking marginalised people seriously in their/our own right. 'Inclusion' is for example a frequently used term among those who express some interest and support of transgender people. Yet perhaps, as Marcella Althaus-Reid outlined, it is recognising the voices and bodies and socio-economic realities of 'indecency' in people's lives that is the real faith gift and challenge. Too much 'inclusion' keeps the frameworks in place, coopting a few individuals or making a few, sometimes quite superficial, changes. As with meeting the challenges of race, 'cheap grace' is all too easy. Theologically however, was Jesus however about 'inclusion', or constantly speaking, acting, and embodying 'indecency'?
 At the Actors Centre today in Sydney for the Australian Directors Guild awards, with the wonderful Rachel Lane, celebrating her awards nomination for our short Equal Voices trans faith documentary with Rhett Pearson - ‘Faithfully Me’.
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AuthorThe Revd Dr Jo Inkpin: Archives
November 2024
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