New church group

[Guest toniesangel]

Hello everyone. My church is going to be starting a support group for transpeople and I'd like some input from all of you. If you were going to attend a church based group, what would you want to see offered there? And any ideas for names?

This is still in the planning stages, and I haven't gotten much input from the others organizing the group. Right now we are getting set up for what I call an introductory workshop. I'm leading a study to show churches how to be welcoming to trans and those that consider themselves gender-queer. We're starting with our own church and others that are already open to LGBT in general and want to go further than just accepting trans,

[Guest Elizabeth K]

Offering?

(1) a good monthly support session open to the entire community. This would require a minimum of two hours

(2) Weekly meetings of the general membership for things OTHER than support

....... Movie presentations (transrelated)

....... Book discussions (transrelated)

....... Political discussions

....... Religious studies

....... Guest speakers

Names?

Our True Selves in Christ

Beyond Binary and Gender

Sons and Daughters of Gender Diversity

(name of church) Trans Advocacy

God's Children

stuff like that? Grin

Lizzy

[VickySGV]

I am an Episcopalian, and the GLBT organization in the Episcopal Church , http://www.integrityusa.org/ has some very good resources for making churches welcoming for GLBT people. Take a look and see what is there, it may work for your group too, My post on the Episcopal Church Is Getting A Message About Us, gives the web address for a U-Tube video that has just come out on TG people in the church,.

[Guest toniesangel]

Elizabeth, thats actually along the same lines we have been talking about. So far, weekly "meetings" are going to be pretty informal get togethers. I'm planning for some bigger events (sponsored by our church) for educating other people (including our own members) and raising awareness in local churches.

Vicky, I'll check out the site. I'm more than open to any and all ideas.

Thank you both. I'm good at gathering material, but it helps to get an idea of what people want and need.

[Guest toniesangel]

I'm smiling because the "Welcoming" study we are getting ready to start originally came from Integrity. I started watching the movie. I'm sending the link to my pastor tomorrow so she can watch it (and to my mother who still gets confused when someone calls me Tom).

[Bulldog1948]

I am an Episcopalian, and the GLBT organization in the Episcopal Church , http://www.integrityusa.org/ has some very good resources for making churches welcoming for GLBT people. Take a look and see what is there, it may work for your group too, My post on the Episcopal Church Is Getting A Message About Us, gives the web address for a U-Tube video that has just come out on TG people in the church,.

Vicky, I watched the integrity usa vid on utube and was very impressed. It was done in excellent taste. I feel that this video could and should be used as a training tool in churches around the country. Truly an awesome video and I highly reccomend it.

Mike

[VickySGV]

:thumbsup: Glad I could point in the right direction. I have met two of the bishops in the DVD, one of them confirmed two of my then teenagers.

[Guest Sarinah]

I would want to see a safe place/time for trans individuals to meet and feel comfortable, strong educational outreach, and Q & A sessions that involved application of scripture (Apologetics).

I really like the video Vicky posted on an emotional level but it didnt seem to have any scriptural arguments for including trans in it. If we are going to try to reach out to the skeptics we need to grab hold of something they already believe and pull them through the stepping stones so they can see the path to what we believe.

[VickySGV]

A major problem with scripture is simply that there is NONE that applies directly to Transgender people per se, likewise gay and lesbian folks as well. If you are looking for a handful of verses to shut the mouths of people who want to apply non existant scripture to us, then yes there are a few for that purpose. The group Soulforce http://www.soulforce.org/resources/what-the-bible-says-and-doesnt-say-about-homosexuality/ has this pamphlet that gives info on the verses to discard and why. Note though that it says there are no verses supporting LGBT directly.

[Guest Sarinah]

I was more thinking general scriptural concepts such as Grace that would support the inclusion of any who come seeking God.

Some talk about grace when it is convenient but when it gets down to it they want to enforce their interpretations of the scripture as a code of conduct. That's basically like saying salvation is a free gift, but you have to pay for it with good behavior. Paul spoke on this often, I am certain we could find a scripture or two on it.

Taking what God intended as a general illustration of the way people should treat each other and making a strict code of conduct out of it is the same sin that Jesus pointed out in the Pharisees.

Scripture is suppose to help guide us to live in a way that brings us closer to God and each other.

I think people need to be reminded of some of these points.

[gennee]

We started a ministry for LGBTQ people last month. I'm going to speak with the pastor about some ideas I have and the ministry's goals. The ideas mentioned are very good. Learn all you can yourself because it will come in handy some day.