Jump to content
  • Welcome to the TransPulse Forums!

    We offer a safe, inclusive community for transgender and gender non-conforming folks, as well as their loved ones, to find support and information.  Join today!

I went to Church today


Guest Addi

Recommended Posts

Guest Shari

Hi everyone,

About 20 years ago, I was a fairly active member of my church. After awhile, I had trouble with the exclusion being preached by so called Christian leaders, like focus on the family. Because of my hidden gender issues, I more or less concluded that I was not welcome in the Christian Church. I suppressed my gender and got on with my life, but, without the church.

Fast forward twenty years. Today I attended Church in slacks & heels (hair and makeup nicely done, thank you). The experience brought me to tears as I thought about how I was made to feel about myself so long ago. Today, my values were validated.

I think we can toss the ugly, separatist and bigoted interpretations of the bible into the trash heap.

The Church I attended was one of the Metropolitan Community Churches. MCC is a worldwide association and they are an LGBT inclusive Church.

Hugs,

Shari

Link to comment
Guest Elizabeth K

We hold our Louisiana Trans Advocacy meetings at the MCC.in Baton Rouge. We three ladies are members of the CCUU (Community Church Uniterian Universalist) in New Orleans area. We have two sister churches in the same area. We also have about five other mainstream churches (First Grace Methodist and St. Marks Christian come to mind) here in new Orleans that are LGBT friendly,

BUT when a Trans person shows up, it still is a rarity. I think we are a very small minority within a full size LGB minority, worldwide. Interesting - it gives us a chance to teach by example to just be good people and fit in with the world.

Lizzy

Link to comment
  • Admin

Very wonderful to hear, I have had relations with MCC a few years ago and still think highly of them, but for now, my own parish in another church who has watched me transition in their midst over the past 6 months has my attendance. We fully belong in all Christian denominations and have so much to offer to all of them. We have given up very close to what Jesus himself gave up, a life built on the demands and dreams of others in order to be the REAL true lives we were made to have, by a creator who did not make junk,who did make us as expressions of the Creators will and power, and leads us to THE CREATOR's own purpose.

Link to comment
Guest Shari

Hi Lizzy and Vicki,

I'm not 100% sure, but I may have been the only Transwoman in attendance. I don't have that trans-radar Thing-a-ma-jig that others seem to have, LOL.

After the service the Pastor hugged me, asked my name and invited me back.

Shari

Link to comment
  • Forum Moderator

Sharii, I am so glad you had this experience. My church has been the most affirming and wonderful group of people imaginable. They even use the right pronouns all the time. I know it's hard for some of them but they go out of their way to make sure I feel loved and accepted.

They even arranged a scholarship for my granddaughter to a residential camp AD put on a fundraiser dinner for what was not covered by the scholarship. All those people there cooking and working for us and being so kind at the same time.

They also never preach at people-they believe in living their religion. All of them up to and including the minister.

And they are a mainstream church. Methodist actually.

It is an amazing experience and validation and I am so happy for you that you have found it too.

Hugs

Johnny

Link to comment

Nice post Shari.

I happen to be in a time of life where I am becoming more and more authentic with old friends and new ones. It makes me want to simply be me as part of an accepting community, even though most of my spiritual needs are taken care of through another group, I happen to have a friend who attends MMU locally with his boyfriend. Hmm... Maybe its time to take another chance in life, lol! :)

Michelle

Link to comment
Guest Shari

Hi Johhny,

Thanks. It was a very moving experience for me after all these years.

I'm putting my new life together one piece at a time. I never would have admitted it before now, but for me anyway, A Church-life is an important part of making me whole.

I like that your church members don't preach and instead live their religion. It sounds like they've played an important role in your life.

Hugs,

Shari

Link to comment

It's nice to see we are being accepted more and more into church Shari. I attend a Reconciling United Methodist Church where they welcome LGBT members.

Jenny

Link to comment
Guest Shari

Hi Jenny, Hi Michelle.

This morning I had a choice between having brunch with my friends or going to church. I have no idea why but I decided to go to church. I'm happy with the choice I made.

Hugs,

Shari

Link to comment
Guest Elizabeth K

We are working with the membership on a Relationship Covenant (internal - treatment of each other). I have talked with Rev Jim and we are going to use it to possibly work toward an open church. Right now by default (word of mouth and friendships) we have about 120 members, say 40 of us very very active. Of that Sally, Dee Jay, a transwoman named Charlotte (10 years post op) and I, plus a transgenderist Lyla (will not seek to transition) are attending. We have Charlotte's partner who identifies lesbian. I have no idea if we have any other LGBT and I really don't worry much about it.

But an open church would be an offering to the LGBT community, migratory Latino, Native American, and other people who are often disenfranchised. (All churches in N.O. tend to have African Americans and that is a non issue) We also have a few expatriates including those from Brazil, Honduras, Mexico and Ukraine. So we are pretty diverse already.

I LOVE this church!

Lizzy

Link to comment

a spiritual melting pot Lizzy...

Lots of ingredients for Gods' stew :)

Michelle

Link to comment

Shari, thank you for sharing this. I attend Fort Washington Collegiate Church here in New York. We are forming an LGBTQI ministry which will kick off in June. All the pastors and some of the congregant know that I'm trans. I haven't gone to the church dress because of my wife's feeling. that will change when pride kicks off next month.

:)

Link to comment
  • Forum Moderator

Very wonderful to hear, I have had relations with MCC a few years ago and still think highly of them, but for now, my own parish in another church who has watched me transition in their midst over the past 6 months has my attendance. We fully belong in all Christian denominations and have so much to offer to all of them. We have given up very close to what Jesus himself gave up, a life built on the demands and dreams of others in order to be the REAL true lives we were made to have, by a creator who did not make junk,who did make us as expressions of the Creators will and power, and leads us to THE CREATOR's own purpose.

Very well said

Mike

Link to comment

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Who's Online   2 Members, 0 Anonymous, 118 Guests (See full list)

    • Roach
    • MaryEllen
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      80.7k
    • Total Posts
      769.3k
  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      12,060
    • Most Online
      8,356

    Vivelacors
    Newest Member
    Vivelacors
    Joined
  • Today's Birthdays

    1. Aelia
      Aelia
      (22 years old)
    2. Just-Jenny-finally
      Just-Jenny-finally
      (65 years old)
    3. KelcieK
      KelcieK
      (50 years old)
    4. Krimson Kya
      Krimson Kya
      (35 years old)
    5. Robin
      Robin
      (56 years old)
  • Posts

    • KymmieL
      I have wondered how basic training is for transgender recruits?   Kymmie 
    • awkward-yet-sweet
      Some of them are us.  I view while logged out sometimes.  But I also know that so much of this forum is public.  I really wish more areas were "members only."  I'm aware that stuff I post here is publicly viewable, so I never post last names, first names of other people, pictures, or give my location.  I tend to think my husband and GF would be displeased at the few things I do post here.... and they may be right.   Our times are pretty uncertain, and it seems to be "fox hunting season" out there. 
    • VickySGV
      Welcome to the Forums Felix, enjoy yourself, but please get the homework done!!
    • VickySGV
      On May 4, the Trans Chorus Of Los Angeles did a whole 90 minutes of music that was all written by Trans composers and all of our singers and musicians were Trans / NB.  Several of the pieces were actually written by our chorus members.  (I was running a $3,500 set of video cameras on the show and am editing the the massive gigabytes they put out today. We had several guest artists either on stage or who contributed material.  One of the artists was Wrabel who wrote the song The Village which he has dedicated to the Trans Community and describes a young Trans child and the problems they had in their village.  The other MAJOR Trans Artist was Jennifer Leitham, a Bass Viol and Bass Guitar player who as a young man played with the Big Bands of the 60's and 70's in her male self into Transition, and wrote an autobiographical song entitled Manhood which tells of her love of the men she played with in the bands but her not really fitting as a man. Jennifer has played with the Chorus before and is always good music fun to have around.  Two of our members collaborated on a music and poetry piece simply entitled "I'll - - " which brought some tears with a promise to Trans Young People with the whole chorus shouting "I'll be there for you, I will be there for you" said for Trans Kids.  (We actually had a few Trans kids in the audience to hear it.)  My video editing program has about 40 minutes to go producing the main body of the edited video which has the actual song clips in the right order.  Next to put in the Title slides and the credits.  The stuff I get myself into.   The concert took place at the Renberg Theater which is part of the Los Angeles LGB Center in Hollywood.   
    • FelixThePickleMan
      Hi, I'm Felix a little trans guy from a small town. My pronouns are he/they and I enjoy music and all wildlife, I doodle on all my homework assignments. I really don't know what to say but, my favourite animal is a cow, my favourite musical genre is country, I play electric bass & acoustic guitar as well as the ukulele a little bit of piano and drums (hand drums and drum sets). I like things of all sorts and I like food, a lot. My favourite meal is French fries and a good steak. My Personal Record for dead-lifting is 310 lbs and I like to sprint and play basketball. My mum's a "bit" overbearing but what can you do. I love reading Manga, I'm currently reading Assassination Classroom, I also enjoy reading Stephen King. I plan on joining the Marines after high school and become a k-9 handler.  I think that's all. For now :) 
    • awkward-yet-sweet
      I didn't use makeup even in my girl form.  And certainly not now in my boy form.  I don't even like sunscreen...it just feels greasy.  I've always disliked putting stuff on myself.  Partly because of the physical feeling, and partly because I don't want to pretend to anybody.    My partners are mostly the same...makeup isn't really a thing for our faith.  But my GF and husband have one particular vanity - covering up gray hair.  IDK if I will feel differently when I start getting some of my own, eventually.
    • Jet McCartney
      I'm ftm but I still wear makeup on occasion to cover up my rosacea. Just primer and sunscreen usually. Sometimes I'll fill in my eyebrows too
    • DonkeySocks
      I think some of "them" are just us. If I log out, I might come in and putter around the forums for a minute before I commit to logging in and reading or participating. That probably shows as a guest visit.
    • DonkeySocks
      I have the Pierre by New York Toy Collective, I think I bought it from a different online store but it is that brand. The size recommendations will say that the four-inch shaft (the small Pierre) is for people 5' tall and under. I am 5'8" and it is fine for me. The larger (regular) Pierre shaft size is way too big to wear regularly, but it is a great packer to have around for gender affirming play at home. So even if you are taller than 5', if you aren't sure and you want something easy to wear, go with the small. It is a silicone packer.
    • awkward-yet-sweet
      Yes, resilient, for sure.  Ours were elementary/middle school age when their father died.  The girl took it really hard, losing her father.  My husband has been there as friend, counselor, and stepfather.  He was a dear friend of their father, and he has put in a lot of effort to raise them.  The eldest son is now his secretary, aide, and driver at work.   Since I'm young-ish and not their primary parent(s), I have the role of being an older friend to them.  They don't seem to have any issues with my gender.  I'm just Jen, and everybody knows that Jen is a little different.
    • awkward-yet-sweet
      If you're looking for a millennial female who might be interested, maybe contact Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez? Y'all might have some things in common, and I think she and her partner are doing the "childless" thing.      Interesting that your wife did concrete work.  My GF spent some time laying concrete for her own projects....while 6 months pregnant.   She's a very stubborn girl.  Probably the exact opposite of the millennial female you're looking for, since she's a mother of 5 (and wished she could have more.)  Interesting how folks can have similar origins, but come to opposite conclusions.  My GF grew up in dire poverty, stealing to eat and take care of her little sister.  As a young adult, she spent several years living in a commune, and was a member of an armed communist political movement.  Now she's probably the most fervent anti-leftist, anti-government person you could ever find.  Experiences really shape who we are.    The lesson I draw from this is that globalism is not the right solution, and even the USA is too large a nation for everybody to agree.  Time to downsize voluntarily, before a civil war does it for us.  Some folks suggest that the USA could become between 4 and 7 different nations.  The way the world is going, I suspect you'll get your "depopulation" wish....but it will come about through war, plagues, and famine. 
    • awkward-yet-sweet
      I made apple pies, since we have apple trees here.  A classic, simple recipe, everything made from scratch.  We can make just about any kind of pie here - pecan, apple, pear, peach, blackberry....    I think the 6-burner stove came from an old diner.  So, technically a restaurant stove, just a small one.  It probably came from an auction, as my partner usually has an eye for deals.    This stove has 8 burners:   https://www.lowes.com/pd/FORNO-48-in-4-32-cu-ft-2-26-cu-ft-Steam-cleaning-Double-Oven-Convection-Gas-Range-Stainless-steel/1003096398?cm_mmc=shp-_-c-_-prd-_-app-_-ggl-_-PLA_APP_186_Cooking-_-1003096398-_-online-_-0-_-0&ds_rl=1286890&gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIj86BiPj3hQMVeTbUAR2m5wexEAQYASABEgI9tvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds   This one is the one I would love to have...it has 10:   https://www.lowes.com/pd/FORNO-Galiano-Gold-Professional-60-inch-Freestanding-Gas-Range/5013821825?cm_mmc=shp-_-c-_-prd-_-app-_-ggl-_-PLA_APP_186_Cooking-_-5013821825-_-online-_-0-_-0&ds_rl=1286890&gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIj86BiPj3hQMVeTbUAR2m5wexEAQYDSABEgIt__D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
    • missyjo
      69 years young dear  winks it's just a number..   transcend it n be fabulous  hugs
    • Lydia_R
    • Lydia_R
      Not to bump this up or anything, but I just want to put one more note on the end of this...   Thank you for allowing me to post this here and thank you for all who have responded.  This step has been a huge help to me on my political journey.  I've made several key decisions in the last few days that allow me to run a better campaign for the next 4 years.  I worked my way off of the streets 20 years ago by writing math and computer programming on paper.  10 years later I was able to buy a house with the software engineering work that I was doing.  Now 20 years after getting off of the streets and having two failed bids for US Representative and likely another failed bid in the next couple weeks, I've come to the point of selling my house to run a very frugal campaign for vice-president (it's a thing even though it is an appointed position) for the next 4 years, all on the money I have earned from that work I did on the streets.   My policy going forward is that I'm not going to ask for money and I'm not going to ask for people's votes.  The vice-presidency is an appointed position.  I'm also not going to run for legislative offices anymore.  I'm simply going to tour the country on my own dime looking for good people and a strong millennial female who sees my logic and would like to be president.   I have reached out to tens of thousands of people on my own dime in the last 7 years.  Famous people, ultra-famous people, business leaders, civil engineers, random people, news people, educators, unions, politicians.  I certainly got less than 5 emails from those efforts.  Actually, I only really remember one person.  He is an educator and we had a good Zoom meeting.   I'm not bitter.  I'm not complaining.  Those of you who have followed me on this site know I like to keep things positive and talk about cooking and living healthy.  I hope that this post doesn't get buried.  I think the title is strong and my message is clear.  I don't want to bog this site down with the details of the whole thing.  I simply want people to know that there is a transwoman working to be vice-president.  Notice that I didn't title this a-transwoman-as-us-respresentative.  My politics are executive level.  I'm a whistleblower, not a complainer.  I aim to educate and inspire.
  • Upcoming Events

Contact TransPulse

TransPulse can be contacted in the following ways:

Email: Click Here.

To report an error on this page.

Legal

Your use of this site is subject to the following rules and policies, whether you have read them or not.

Terms of Use
Privacy Policy
DMCA Policy
Community Rules

Hosting

Upstream hosting for TransPulse provided by QnEZ.

Sponsorship

Special consideration for TransPulse is kindly provided by The Breast Form Store.
×
×
  • Create New...