Since 1998, communities worldwide have marked November 20th as International Transgender Day of Remembrance, a time to honor and mourn the deaths of our trans siblings. St. Barnabas has hosted this service for several years in conjunction with South Georgia Pride and with the support of the local Unitarian Universalist Church. This year was one of the largest attendance we have seen, an indication of how much our community needed some time together after an election season that saw specific anti-trans targeting in campaign ads.
The lives remembered at our service, based on a list from the Human Rights Campaign, represented people of different ages, races, and ethnicities. They were entrepeneurs, beloved family members, some of the favorite people in their respective communities. As we announced each name, and extinguished each candle, we could see that the loss of these lives takes away another light from our world.
Our parish continues to hold the door open for those who are seeking a place to meet God and experience the love of Jesus that is for everyone. We encourage everyone to live their true selves fully, faithfully, and authentically. And we will keep preaching the message that the savior who knows suffering and died on a cross is the one who rose again because Love doesn’t die and fear and hatred will not get the last word.