Together during lent, we are taking a closer look at the various ways that Jesus extended radical welcome to various groups of people and how we can follow His example. He was constantly crossing over all kinds of human-made lines and boundaries! Each week we will explore a new demographic, learning both from Jesus’ example as well as hearing personal stories from members of the Saint Luke community. Together, we have taken a look at the ways that Jesus crosses over socioeconomic lines, family structures, age, and even physical and intellectual abilities.

Today we wrap up our series with the help of friends, Karen and Jen Lehman. The Lehmans will be joining Saint Luke for a special event on this important topic over the summer. We are so grateful that they are willing to get us thinking ahead of time.

Members of Saint Luke, it is wonderful that your congregation is reaching out to the LGBTQIA community and we look forward to sharing our story of identity and gender diversity with you during your upcoming event on identity this summer. In this blog post, we would like to share with you our experience of what happened when we shared our story a few years ago…

A TYPICAL STORYBOOK FAMILY

Before we get to our story, we’d like to give you a little background on who we are. We are Jen and Karen and have been married for 35 years. We are college sweethearts, have lived in King of Prussia for 34 years and have a daughter who recently became engaged and a son who has been married for six years and has a 3-year old daughter. Oh, and Jen is a transgender woman and for the first 52 years of her life presented as a male. Other than that, we are pretty much a typical storybook family.

Jen transitioned to living as a woman almost 7 years ago. To say the least, this transition was rather disruptive to our family and world as we knew it - and one that we did not enter into lightly. In 2015, about 2 years after Jen socially transitioned, she was asked by the Reconciling Works for Lutheran organization to write about how her transition affected her faith. In the piece she wrote, she described the despair and anguish that she felt prior to transitioning and the joyous feelings that she had after transitioning and being able to live an authentic life.

We plan to share this story with you when we are together. However, this blog is about when we told our story at the Market Square Presbyterian Church in Harrisburg, PA as part of our advocacy and work for the transgender community. In November 2015, we shared our transition story to members of the congregation during the education hour. A young woman, Rebekah, was in the audience. Unbeknownst to us, she apparently was moved by what we said and in the following months wrote a poem entitled “Beloved” and created a painting depicting a “Contemporary Crucifixion of Christ”, which was a tribute to ending violence to transgender people.

In March 2016, during Lent, we took a small group of attendees from the Keystone Transgender Conference in Harrisburg to the Sunday Service at Market Square Presbyterian Church. For some of the attendees, this was the first church service that they had attended as their authentic self. Rebekah presented her painting as a tribute for the attendees during the welcoming session. We know of no better way to end this blog than in Rebekah’s words that day:

“Beloved. We are all beloved. Through Christ.

We are. Known. Claimed. Loved.”

“…As we move through the season of Lent towards the cross we focus on Jesus and Christ’s presence in all people. As humans we have a need to define and label and distinguish ourselves. As a world, a nation, a community, a church, we are too often driven to divide and separate, oppress and silence, exclude and drive out people that are not like us. However, in the image of Christ, the whole of humanity is reflected. In Christ there is no “other,” only us, beloved children of God. When we fail to invite and welcome people, we fail to invite and welcome Christ. When we fail to feed and clothe people, we fail to feed and clothe Christ. When we build up walls to keep people out, we build up walls to keep out Christ. When we fail to stand up for the people of the Transgender community who face violence every day, we fail to stand up for Christ. When we fail to acknowledge the beloved worth of every person in the Transgender community, we fail to acknowledge Christ.

The only way to put an end to the violence Transgender people face every day is to call it out, bring it into the light, name it, and to acknowledge and uphold the names of the beloved Transgender people in our world. As part of an art installation that will be used for our Good Friday service, “Contemporary Crucifixions of Christ,” you are invited to contribute names of Transgender people you know and love, to be added to the installation so we as a church community can collectively claim the belovedness of all people.”

It was a powerful experience for the Keystone attendees, Rebekah, Market Square and us.

TAKE A STEP

There are many ways to explore Jesus’ radical welcome to all regardless of gender and sexuality. Specifically, as you explore how to radically welcome those that are transgender, consider taking one or more of the following steps.

Uphold the names of Transgender people you know and love- You can add the names in the comments below and we as a larger church community can collectively claim the belovedness of all people, keeping them in our prayers. Another option is to perhaps place their name in a significant place this lenten season as a reminder to continue to uphold them in prayer.
Explore the resources provided by Reconciling Works, an organization of Lutherans for full participation. As we continue to learn, both our minds and hearts expand.
Join us this summer for the Love a Little Louder event focused on identity. The Lehmans along with other speakers will help us explore this topic even more.

Male, female, intersex. Lesbian, gay, straight, bisexual, transgender, transsexual, queer, questioning, asexual, ally, and pansexual. All are precious in your sight. You love us all and call us beloved. We celebrate that we are known, claimed, and loved by you. Amen.

Karen and Jen Lehman are active in their local Lutheran ELCA church. They have presented workshops on gender transition at various conferences, local churches and high schools. We look forward to having them join us this summer at Saint Luke!