Posts by pwsbuilder
United Methodist Queer Clergy Release Easter Letter to Church
Nearly 150 United Methodist LGBTQI Clergy and Candidates Release Letter Week Before Key Judicial Council Decisions April 17, 2017—This morning, 147 LGBTQI clergy and clergy candidates in The United Methodist Church (UMC) released an Easter pastoral letter, inviting the Church to deeper love, inclusiveness, and justice. The letter, organized by the emerging United Methodist Queer…
Read MoreEaster Through The Years: My Trans Resurrection Story
Growing up in an evangelical Christian home, my family was invested in maintaining certain Judeo-Christian holiday traditions. Easter Sunday was no exception; it was a day rooted in chocolate pastels, family dinner, and most notably for me: new accessories. Regardless of my gender assigned at birth, I’ve always loved accessories. I went through a time…
Read MoreWaiting For Good News
Holy Week always brings about a mix of emotions for me. Over the course of a few short days, Christians go from shouting hosanna to eating with friends to remembering the state sanctioned murder of our Savior to seeing that death and hatred defeated in the resurrection. It’s a roller coaster for sure, one that…
Read MorePainting Grief: Remembering My Fallen Ally
Trigger warning: description of addiction and substance abuse I’ll never forget telling my younger brother that I’m gay. He asked if I was dating anyone. Since he’d recently met the person I was dating, I simply told him who she was. He responded, “Damn, I was planning to ask her out. Well done, Ang.” From…
Read More4 Ways To Be A Better Ally
The Trump administration has been in power for just over two months. Many people are fearful that the social advantages won in recent times will be rolled back. Recently, the administration took gender identity and sexual orientation off of the 2020 census. The cause for concern for many people in our country and the future…
Read MoreRaising A Banner For Title IX: Our Message to the NCAA
Though I had my mom with me on our crew of activists, Soulforce’s action at the women’s Final Four basketball game this weekend was one of the more daunting in my dozen years of direct action organizing. From the moment we entered the arena, police crowded us, grilled us with questions, monitored us from above,…
Read MoreGrowing Up Trans—Without Male Privilege
Trigger warning: discussion of suicide Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s comments about her understanding of what “transness” is set off a firestorm last month. In an interview, she said trans women live in the world with “privileges that the world accords to men” prior to transition. I’m not sure if Ms. Adichie made these statements based on…
Read MoreHow You Can Strengthen Intergenerational Organizing In North Carolina
Please complete the survey and share it with other North Carolina advocates, activists, community organizers and service providers by Friday, April 7th. I have lived in Charlotte, North Carolina, for less than a year and have about six months of experience working as a community organizer in the city. Nevertheless, the Freedom Center for Social…
Read MoreInternalized Resilience—Embracing Thrivingness
I am not oppressed, I am not a victim—I thrive, I rise, I am. A few months ago, I participated at an organization’s Board of Directors meeting. It was an intense gathering where we were all challenged to stretch beyond our comfort zones and look at how each of us participates in anti-oppression work and in…
Read MoreHow Do We “Love Those Who Persecute Us?”
As my boyfriend Chris and I were walking down the stairs to the subway train platform to head to Sunday morning service at Riverside Church, I spotted it. That unmistakable fire engine red, poorly designed, ill-fitting cap that has become an emblem for all things sexist, racist, xenophobic, and anti-Muslim. We were still a ways…
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