In this week’s newsletter (read the full issue here), Rev. Jen Crow writes:

I’m reeling again this week, as many of us are every week these days. In particular, I am feeling disheartened and angry as the current administration moves to eliminate protections for transgender individuals by attempting to erase their very existence. I am angry, and my heart is with my transgender friends and family and community.

And I remember.

I remember that according to the government, on paper, so many of us didn’t use to exist at all. I remember when the indigenous peoples of this land were massacred – their killings justified by the fact that they were seen as animals, less than human, here only for the benefit of Europeans. I remember that there was a time when Black people did not count as citizens of this country and when they did count as people at all, it was as three-fifths of a human being. I remember that once upon a time, women were the property of men and not allowed to speak in public, with no voice and no vote. I remember in my own lifetime, the times when on paper, my family had no legal connection to one another. And I remember, that through it all, it never was the government or the paper that told the truth about who we were and who we are. We existed because of the dignity we demanded. We existed because of the relationships we built, piece by piece and day by day, sharing our humanity and vulnerability and strength with one another. Even when so many of us never existed in our full humanity according to our government, we were still here, fully human, whole and holy, and we will be here for one another now.

Our faith tells us that no one is outside of the circle of God’s love and the wide embrace of this universe. May we continue to bring our voices to bear, creating this world of welcome where we reflect our worthiness and wholeness to one another in every interaction. May we build this place strong enough to endure the winds of change, even when those winds push against the core of our faith, that we might be a place of refuge and resistance, now and for the generations to come.

In faith,
Rev. Jen