National Queer Presbyterian Gathering observes Transgender Day of Remembrance

LOUISVILLE — Transgender woman Rosa Ross of Ewing, New Jersey, helped those attending the National Queer Presbyterian Gathering on the Transgender Day of Remembrance to remember and mourn trans people murdered over the past year, and to think about transformation and safety for all God’s people moving forward.

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The three-day gathering drew to a close Thursday afternoon. Worship and a TDOR observance highlighted the start of the closing day. About 80 people registered for the first-ever gathering, held at the Presbyterian Center in Louisville, Kentucky.

Ross, who anticipates being ordained soon to the ministry to further her service in campus ministry, noted that a few months ago, conservative political commentator Matt Walsh pronounced transgenderism “over,” saying “we have effectively killed it.”

“Who is going to tell him we are still here, still transitioning, still becoming the same beautiful people God has created us to be,” Ross said, and those gathered snapped their fingers with approval.

Then there’s the Florida politician who warned followers not to refer to Jesus with pronouns. But the day’s gospel lesson for those attending the gathering, Luke 21:5-19, is rife with “he” pronouns referring to Jesus, Ross pointed out.

In this passage, Jesus warns his followers they will hear of wars and insurrections. Don’t be terrified, he tells them — but not because the threat isn’t real, Ross said. “As structures collapse, we may be betrayed by family and we might be showing up in places of betrayal,” Ross said. “In the midst of this, Jesus promises us not a hair on our head will perish,” which is curious, she said, because the Lord also warns of earthquakes, famines and plagues, as well as “dreadful portents and great signs from heaven.”

Ross speculated that when Jesus promises the hairs on our head won’t perish, the bodies he’s referring to aren’t our current bodies. “I like to think he’s talking about a body that’s coming as we become the people we’re supposed to be,” she said. “My favorite gender theorist is John Calvin,” Ross said with a smile, “and Calvin said the Transfiguration is a foretaste of the resurrection. Jesus is dazzling, and I think trans people can relate to this. I think trans people have a foretaste of the resurrection.”

“As a trans woman, I have seen how my body has changed,” she said. “I have the privilege now to look back and say, ‘This transformation was worth it.’”

Years ago Ross decided to give her old gender “one last shot.” She shaved her head, “but it didn’t make me a man. As the hair grew back, I believe that in the midst of it all, I had been gifted a preview of what my body will look like in the kingdom of God, when not a hair on my head will be harmed.”

This Transgender Day of Remembrance, “we remember trans people who continue to face such a high rate of homicide,” Ross said. “We remember you and no matter what, you will not be forgotten.”

Too many churches, she said, “weaponize theology in order to expel people rather than embrace them.”

“We remember those who are not here with us,” she said after photographs of murdered trans people had been displayed earlier on a screen in the Chapel. “I like to think that in a way I will never understand on this Earth, on the day of resurrection there will be opportunity for trans people to celebrate that not a hair on their head will be harmed. It’s a wisdom born of suffering and solidarity.”

God’s Spirit “gives us words that the world cannot silence,” she said. “In every transition and in every memorial service, the kingdom of God is breaking in to a weary world. Amen.”

At the close of the service, Ross offered this benediction: “Friends, go in peace, knowing you are fearfully and wonderfully made.”