wfn.org | UCC delegates call for end of violence toward transgender

[powellb@ucc.org]

United Church of Christ
General Synod Newsroom
Tuesday, July 15, 2003
newsroom@ucc.org
http://www.ucc.org

By Tim Kershner

MINNEAPOLIS?The General Synod of the United Church of Christ gave its
support to transgender persons, calling for an end to violence and
affirming their role in church and society.

In two actions, Synod reaffirmed its commitment as a church that welcomes
all. The resolutions denounced violence against transgender persons and
supported transgender Christians who are members of the church.

"Until all of us are at the table, no one can be served," said Louis Knox,
a pastor of City of Refuge Church in San Francisco. During committee
meetings that prepared the resolutions for the full body, he said the
members of his congregation, mostly minorities and others whom society
avoids, "know what it feels like to be on the edge." He added, "if you are
a person of God, you must call for a place at the table for all children of
Christ."

Committee Chair Lisa Alston, from Fayetteville, Ga., echoed that opinion in
her report to the Synod. "Transgender people know God loves them; it is
time for the UCC to say we love them, too."

In often stirring testimony, transgender members of the church spoke out in
favor of the two resolutions, asking delegates to recognize their
"humanness" and celebrate the gifts of ministry they bring to the church in
all of its settings. "We need your churches to say this is a safe place,"
said Pat Conover, who serves on the staff of the church's Justice and
Witness Ministries.

"I felt changed by the committee process," said Edgar Roosa, Center Valley,
Pa., who then offered a warning. On returning home to their congregations,
he cautioned delegates that "there will be forces and pressures to deny the
civil rights of these people." Remember the passage from the Gospel of
John, Rossa advised: "Just as I have loved you...."

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