A Too Easy Target: Transgender People...and the Church is Silent
I was a theater geek in junior high and high school...and probably elementary school as well. To say I was drawn to the theater is an understatement. While my parents vetoed any chance of being a theater major in college, I outsmarted them and became a Presbyterian pastor. Every week I write a new script, aka, sermon, and perform it on a stage usually (pre- and post-COVID), otherwise known as the pulpit, which is usually raised above where the congregation is seated in most churches.
Part of being a theater geek is playing various roles in plays. Some times a playwright has women playing a man's part, and vice versa. And we know that Shakespeare's company of actors were all men, and played women's parts.
And when "us theater geeks" aka, student thespians, went out to one of Portland's Dennys diner after a play's performance, I was known for doing a wonderful rendition of imitating Doris Day singing, "Que Sera, Sera!" swirling around the booths with my friends as we sang in our best falsetto voices at 12 midnight.
Had we sprung into this rendition of Doris Day singing "Que Sera Sera!" in a North Carolina high school these days, we probably would've been assaulted by the proposed NC state Senate Bill 514, "The Youth Health Protection Act." Reporter Trudy Ring of advocate.com reports that this Act, "requires employees of 'any governmental entity,' including school districts, to notify a minor's parents or guardians if the minor 'has exhibited symptoms of gender dysphoria, gender non-conformity, or otherwise demonstrates a desire to be treated in a manner incongruent with the minor's sex.' This would mean teachers and counselors, among others, would be required to out trans young people to their families, at a time with the NC Department of Public Instruction announced that it would update its policies to better respect transgender students' privacy." (https://www.advocate.com/transgender/2021/4/07/north-carolina-bill-would-force-school-staffers-out-trans-kids).
Such anti-transgender bills are now popping up in a lot of Republican-led state legislatures, including Arkansas and Mississippi, to name a few more. Why are transgender people the target for so many anti-transgender bills? To begin, a) the number of out transgender people is relatively small; b) because it is a small percentage of the population, it is easy to make people who are transgender the new "Other"; c) few people understand the complex nature of being transgender; d) we are still learning about the complex nature of being transgender. But in order to understand the complex nature of being a transgender person we shouldn't be almost outlawing people for being transgender, or curtailing research or medical and psychological assistance of people who are transgender. We should be broadening this web of support and relationships, welcoming and affirming those who are transgender in their pilgrimage of life.
My question as I read about these arcane, hate-filled, God-fearing, unnecessary and frivolous laws being passed by Republican state legislatures and signed by Governors is simple: where is the outcry of anger of such oppression by the Church? I've not heard or seen any note of concern or warning from any leaders from the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA), Episcopal Church, United Church of Christ (UCC), Presbyterian Church (USA), let alone The United Methodist Church, to name a few.
The silence is audible.
And important to note.
When churches wonder why LGBTQIA+ people don't come and worship with them and join in fellowship and service, this is why: When LGBTQIA+ most needed the support of the Church, the Church was silent.
Duly noted.
Sadly noted.
In the end, perhaps the lyrics to "Que Sera Sera" may be the best way to end this blog:
I asked my mother, what will I be
Will I be pretty
Will I be rich
Here's what she said to me
Whatever will be, will be
The future's not ours to see
Que sera, sera
What will be, will be."
Comments
Post a Comment