The Art of Gathering

Last Monday evening, First Universalist hosted a celebratory potluck open to trans and gender-expansive folks of all ages and their families in honor of Trans Day of Visibility. Trans pride stickers covered the tables and slides from the State Capitol Rally earlier that day were playing in the background, as a symbol of a larger community that is showing up with and for their trans neighbors. As plates of food were cleared and restlessness grew, the energy of kids playing with each other in the social hall and hallway mirrored any family gathering at church. The difference was that everyone in the room is, or was accompanied by, a trans and gender-expansive person. 

A few weeks earlier, in response to a request of a congregant, we held a “vigil table” adorned with a black tablecloth and a tray of unlit candles in the back corner of the social hall following services. The vigil was in recognition of the horrendous attack that broke the ceasefire in Palestine. Over 35 people, including children, stopped by the table that morning. They lit candles, shared their anger and grief, and swapped information about pro-Palestinian protests demanding the end of the genocide. 

In her introduction to the book, The Art of Gathering, Priya Parker says, “The way we gather matters… Gathering—the conscious bringing together of people for a reason—shapes the way we think, feel, and make sense of the world.” Here at First Universalist Church, there are many gatherings, from Sunday Worship to Habitat for Humanity builds, to Saturday Sprouts for families with young children. In this extraordinary time when fascism is on the rise and beloveds who are marginalized and targeted are directly experiencing fear, pain, and threats, we are called to find ways to gather with care and support in mind, and love at the center. 

We will continue to create joyful gatherings for trans and gender expansive folx so they can simply be together without an agenda or with politics as a purpose. We will also look for more ways to support specific groups of people who need extra spiritual and emotional support at this time. If you have a pastoral care need that you want to bring to our attention, please do. You can contact me at pastoralcare [at] firstuniv.org.