 Lovely to hear this week about heartwarming responses from trans people and family members to our Equal Voices TDoV resources, and of prayers and plans across the country tomorrow - and Monday. Meanwhile, it is very good to hear of active measures happening in the USA, not least among Episcopalians. Standing up with those on the margins, speaking out for love and truth, and calling us all back to honour the Whole Body - yep, that’s core to my understanding of a bishop. See further here and here for some of the other Episcopal and TransEpiscopal-led activities at this time. In thanksgiving, and solidarity with my siblings in the USA and elsewhere
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Further to worship resources (see links below) for churches and schools for Sunday 30 March and the upcoming Trans Day of Visibility (Mon 31 March), Equal Voices is delighted to share two short videos encouraging active participation. Produced respectively by trans & gender diverse ecumenical Christians and Christian allies in Sydney, these were filmed at Pancake Pride this year, as an expression of Rainbow Christians Together commitment and a call to all to celebrate TGD lives and gifts. These can be used in the run up to the Trans Day of Visibility, in worship or other gatherings, and provide an opportunity to support transgender people, particularly in the light of current backlash. Please feel free to share these widely with others. With thanks to everyone involved, especially Orange Kao, Pitt Street and St Stephen’s Uniting Churches. Celebrating Transgender Visibility liturgical resources An invitation from Trans & Gender Diverse Christians to celebrate the Trans Day of Visibility A message from Christian allies for the Trans Day of Visibility  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. It has been wonderful to have distinguished trans playwright and performer Jo Clifford in Sydney with us this month. Among other things, Jo performed as Jesus, Queen of Heaven in St Stephen's Uniting Church, Macquarie Street in Sydney, and also joined us for worship and speaking at Pitt Street Uniting Church. Jo also visited Melbourne on this trip, including with a new play. We hope to see her again in Australia before long.
‘The Gospel According to Jesus, Queen of Heaven is a unique, emotive, one-woman show that “leaves everyone feeling blessed” as it seeks to end trans discrimination. Jesus has returned to earth as a trans woman and this is your chance to come and meet her – even if you don’t normally go to church. The show is written and performed by Jo, one of Scotland’s most renowned playwrights with over 100 plays to her name, Stonewall role model and recently elected an Elder of the United Reformed Church. 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. 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
 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.
 Firstly I acknowledge the Wurundjeri people as the traditional owners of this place, their elders past and present, and all First Nations peoples here today. I also particularly give thanks for this gathering to Garry Deverell, who, like my fellow speakers, so ‘gets’ where trans people are coming from and the urgent need for stronger intersectionality for love and justice.
The great Black feminist lesbian writer and activist Audre Lorde, put it well: ‘there is no such thing as a single-issue struggle, because we do not live single-issue lives.’[1] Therefore, ‘we share a common interest… you do not have to be me in order for us to fight alongside one another. I do not have to be you to recognise that our wars are the same. What we must do is commit ourselves to some future that can include each other and to work toward that future with the particular strengths of our individual identities.’ In the run up to Sydney WorldPride, SBS On Demand 'The Feed' were kind enough to produce a short feature on my wife Penny Jones and I,, which we hope may help and encourage others.
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'...
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