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Significant Christian step in trans affirmation
Last weekend the Anglican Church in England (in which I was born and raised) voted overwhelmingly to welcome and affirm transgender people and to begin to put in place liturgical materials to affirm name changes and transitions. Together with it also urging government to proscribe so-called ‘conversion therapy’, this is a major step in the slow but now developing process of Christian welcome of transgender people (and LGBTI+ as whole). Th ramifications will be felt in Australia in Anglican and wider Christian quarters I think, though no doubt creating a bit mote backlash from the likes of Anglican leadership in Sydney and Margaret Court. Hopefully however this will be another significant step in changing awareness and subverting the religious right
For a bit more on this and reflection by one of the first Anglican transgender priests (whom I had the delight of meeting with in London recently, check out the following story:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jul/11/church-of-england-trans-gay-clergy-parishioners -
5 Replies
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Hi Josephine
I’ve stated before that I really couldn’t care less about TG “rights” or any of that sort of stuff but your post, and accompanying article, piqued my interest. I grew up as a typical youngster in a rusted-on Catholic household. Actually that is probably too strong a description…Dad was an ex-serviceman who had (pre-war) attended a Catholic boys college but his experiences in conflict made him question his beliefs, which is an understandable position to have taken for many a serviceman. His view was that his children could make their own minds up. Mum hung on to the old ways primarily, I suspect, to please her mum. I come from a large household (there were 10 of us) and we all had to attend Sunday School with its constant tales of storms and pestilence if you didn’t do this or that. Good theatre, but not really relevant or engaging in the dawning Space Age of the 1960’s where a child’s imagination was captivated by the possibility of trips to the stars rather than remote seas being parted by escaping pilgrims thousands of years previously.
As a kiddie in these classes I wrestled with the two versions of God that were, and often still are, presented. On one hand we had a deity that wrecked storms and pestilence across the world killing almost everything and on the other hand He loved us all. On one hand He sent his son to earth who gathered up the weak, the lame, the poor, the diseased, and probably people like us, and was then allowed to be Martyred. There were always two extremes to everything and not much middle ground to be seen. I liked the nice stories and I was completely turned off by the nasty ones. I know now that they were meant to be allegories but they left lasting impressions on me that persist to this day. There is also, it must be said, nothing more boring than an atheist and a christian arguing about whether or not there is a God. Neither can prove their case and these often heated discussions descend rapidly until someone says “ah yes but that’s how the Nazi Party started” or “then how come a child gets cancer if your God is so good?”. Pointless.
With dwindling congregations in most western denominations it isn’t really that surprising that some will reach out to disaffected individuals who want to pursue their faith yet live a lifestyle that is at odds with doctrines that have been in place for hundreds of years. I personally have no problem with anyone who seeks to enjoy their faith with other like-minded people and so to the Anglicans I say good on you for putting your hand out and I hope those from our little community that this impacts on will have solace in what appears to be a genuine and sincere move by them. It is not all that long ago that the thought of a woman conducting a religious service in a mainstream religion was met with derisive laughter so this is just another step forward for those with faith to embrace. -
Thanks Emma. That is a good reflection, including on the stale and unproductive conflict between atheists and the religious/sprituall of various kinds. My sense is that, to slightly adapt Shakespeare, there are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamed of in anyone’s philosophy. Gender variant people have of course always been around (including in the Bible and Christian tradition) and as we and others continue to become more acceptable, hopefully it will help everyone to let go of ‘boxed’ thinking, finding meaning and expression in the particular diverse ways which give health and joy to each of us.
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Interesting subject. If it means the changes to recognition will someday allow the Anglican Church to marry Transgender couples then its a step in the Iright direction.. From a general view.. If we took religion seriously, any denomination are supposed to provide assurance and peace to all of us.. If that isn’t the case, then I would say Religion is not practicing what it preaches!
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Fundamentalists and fanatics regardless of their beliefs actually never really follow the the intent of their beliefs anyway. They desperately look for bleak passages and seek justifications among the lines of their testaments to hang their wacky interpretations on. A bit like when they used to say you could hear John saying “Paul is dead” when you played a Beatles track backwards – the name of which escapes me for the moment. I could never hear it, it just sounded like jibberish to me.
I love the Muslim “peace be with you” as a greeting and a parting. It just says it all really
Peace be with you, my sisters xx
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As it happens, in England at least, since 2004 (Gender Recognition Act) Transgender people have a legal right to be married in their parish church – though not to someone of the same gender (though that will have now changed in Scotland).
