In God’s Image: Transgender Day of Remembrance

Glaad.org shares, “Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) is an annual observance on November 20 that honors the memory of the transgender people whose lives were lost in acts of anti-transgender violence.” You can read more about the history of the day here, explore resources from Reconciling Works here, and enjoy a poem by our former Associate to the Bishop and friend of the synod, Pastor Asher O’Callaghan.

A picture of a sunset at the beach.

Imago Dei
By Pastor Asher O’Callaghan

In the beginning God created land and sea.
But have you ever seen a beach?!?!
Well trans and non-binary people are kind of like that.
Beautiful. A balanced oasis that’s not quite like the ocean, nor quite like the land.

In the beginning God created birds of the air and fish of the sea.
But have you ever seen a flying fish,
or a duck or a puffin that swims and flies,
spending lots of time in the water and on the land!?!?
Well trans and non-binary people are kind of like that.
Full of life. A creative combination of characteristics that blows people’s minds.

In the beginning God also created male and female,
in God’s own image, God created them.
So in the same way that God created realities in between,
outside of, and beyond night and day,
land and sea, or fish and birds,
so God also created people with genders beyond male and female.
Trans and non-binary and agender and intersex, God created us.
All different sorts of people for all different sorts of relationships.
Created from love to love and be loved. In God’s image we live.

God is still creating you.
You are no less beautiful and wild than a sunset or a beach or a puffin.
You are loved.
You have a place here.