How do you think this ally went?

Recently, I received an out-of-the-blue email from a Year 12 student. I might have legitimately said: "Get lost, I'm busy". But it seemed strangely urgent to answer their questions...er, straight.

Dear Minister of the SA Unitarians,

I am a year 12 student at Nazareth Catholic College, and I am currently undertaking my Religious Studies external task, in which I have decided to focus on the acceptance of transgenderism in the church. I believe your church would be a great source for me and was wondering if you would be able to answer a few questions in this area of focus to help with my research.

Below I have attached some questions in hopes to gather some feedback for my studies, by which I am hoping I can reference in my research.

1. Could you outline for me, your church teaching on transgender individuals?
2. Do you believe one’s gender, in particular, transgenderism, affects a person’s relationship with God?
3. From your experience, how accepted have transgender individuals been in their religious community?
4. What does the Bible allude to in terms of instructing transgender individuals, and how does this reflect on the dignity of the human person?

I hope to hear back from you soon. Thank you for your time.

Kind regards

XXXX

Obviously, I was going to need to 'speak their language' somewhat. So here's what I said:

Hi XXX,

Thanks for getting in touch. You've chosen a very interesting and important topic contemporary religions need to deal with. I'll try to deal with these succinctly here, but am open to further questions/discussion on them. Don't hesitate to get back in touch if anything needs clarifying or more info. Well done, you. And good luck!

Could you outline for me, your church teaching on transgender individuals? 

First, that transgender individuals, like all God's children, are evidence of the diversity of his creation and are individuals with inherent worth and dignity, just as anyone else is. Second, that transgender people are systemically socially and politically marginalised, demonised, and misunderstood, so we are called as people of faith to welcome, affirm, and support them. This is entirely consistent with the ministry of Jesus and the Christian tradition.

Do you believe one’s gender, in particular, transgenderism, affects a person’s relationship with God?

In the transcendent reality of God's eternal and unbounded love, gender is irrelevant. From a transgender person's point of view, they may FEEL as though they are less worthy (or sinful or whatever), and it is that socially-learned misperception that church community exists to challenge, confront, and dissolve.

From your experience, how accepted have transgender individuals been in their religious community? 

They are fully accepted in ours, and ours is the only community I can speak with any first-hand authority about. We have had two transgender individuals 'come out' in our worship services in the past couple years, and they have found a warm and welcoming home here.

What does the Bible allude to in terms of instructing transgender individuals, and how does this reflect on the dignity of the human person?

I'm not sure I understand this question, as I'm not sure the Bible addresses the issue explicitly. In general, we do not see the Bible as divine dictation, and therefore not the one single, infallible source of every answer for every question. We believe those who think of it as such are confusing the wine with the wine bottle. This may be hard for Christians to hear, but Unitarians are in fact a post-Christian faith tradition, interested in getting to the essence of faith beneath the dogma of text and tradition, and we use many sources of wisdom to do so.

Yours in faith and service,

Even as a hetero-normative cis white male, I like to think of myself as a good ally to the LGBTQi+ community, but seldom feel sufficiently 'woke' to address why in terms of religious faith. I wonder if any of you could suggest how I might have answered these questions better from our UU principles?

It's about time everybody watched this one again.

Fighting a full-on dose of Influenza, I managed to croak out the last ANZUUA worship service in October 2017. As the Ministry of our church enters a period of transition, it is time to revisit its main points again.

You can't see the screen in the video, but these are the questions referred to at a certain point:

1.Will small and struggling church be the new default?

2.What would churches that buck the trend look like?

3.Can online engagement replace/supplement physical co-presence?

4.To what degree will online engagement encourage consumerism, ‘iChurch’ of personal preferences? What of community-building?

5.What happens to U-vangelism, discipleship, pastoral care, RE, and  mission with decreasing attendance/affiliation?

6.What is the future of professional ministry and leadership?

(Readings by the excellent Barbara Willow.)