Interfaith Coalition for Transgender Equality

Celebrating Victory, Pursuing Truth

2012-01-23T16:40:00.000-05:00

http://blog.transepiscopal.com/2012/01/0-false-18-pt-18-pt-0-0-false-false.html

Speeches in the Senate Reading Room

By the Rev. Dr. Cameron Partridge
cross-posted atWalking with Integrity

On this bright January morning, as the hour of 11am neared, I emerged from Boston’s Park Street T stop, turned left and began walking up the hill toward the State House. Today (or rather, at this late hour, yesterday) marked the ceremonial signing of the Transgender Equality bill here in Massachusetts. This legislation, first filed in 2007, passed on November 15^th, and officially signed on November 23^rd, adds gender identity and expression to the state’s existing hate crimes law and the nondiscrimination statutes in the areas of housing, employment, education and credit. In a fitting twist, the week of its official passage was also Transgender Awareness Week, a time of educational and community events leading up to the eleventh annual observance of Trans Day of Remembrance on November 20th.

The Senate Reading Room, where today’s signing took place, was packed with observers, a joyful crowd savoring the celebration. Lawmakers were clearly also buoyed, as their inspiring comments demonstrated. “You have no idea how beautiful you are as you stand here beaming,” said state Auditor Suzanne Bump. “Remember that you are powerful,” offered Senator Brian Downing, followed by fellow Senator Sonia Chang Diaz: “it's days like this that remind us why we ran for office... Thank you for reminding us [legislators] of our own power, in addition to showing us your power.” Representative Byron Rushing, who joined Representative Carl Sciortino in co-sponsoring the bill from its very first days, declared, “this hasn't just been a discussion of gender identity but of the identity of Massachusetts, and hopefully it will become a discussion of our national identity.”

Representative Rushing, photo from masstpc.org

In his Episcopal Church context, as a longtime member of the Diocese of Massachusetts’ deputation to General Convention–Deputy Rushing inspires us to pose that question of church identity. Faith communities can ask, and indeed are asking, what do we stand for as people of our respective traditions? In the Episcopal Church we might well ask—and have asked at the 2009 General Convention and various diocesan conventions before it– what does it mean to declare in our baptismal covenant that we strive for justice and respect the dignity of every human being? In 2009 the Convention passed resolutions putting The Episcopal Church on record in support of transgender equality in the civic sphere (D012 and C048), and pledging within our ecclesial life to make administrative forms accessible to gender identities beyond male and female and to protect transgender lay employees from discrimination (D090 and D032, respectively). As our collective conversation continues, we might allow the varied lives of transgender as well as intersex people – communities and individuals whose lives are textured not simply by complex embodiments of gender but also by race, class, sexuality and ability-- to deepen our understanding of the human person. How do we interpret and live out the mystery of being created in the image and likeness of God?

At the signing this morning, I was reminded of a startling moment in the November 15 debate that I watched on my laptop. Representative Sciortino was speaking movingly in support of the legislation when he began to describe the Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) held at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul the year before. He made a point of detailing the apology that my bishop, the Right Rev. M. Thomas Shaw, had offered on behalf of Christians who had condemned trans people and in the process had “misrepresented God to” us. The apology had been stunning enough in its own right, but to hear it reported, in some sense repeated, on the floor of the House of Representatives, was positively astounding. As I sat there dumbfounded—actually, calling out to my partner to come see this!-- receiving these words afresh in an unimagined context, I was reminded of a strangely parallel moment at General Convention three years earlier. The Convention had managed to pass D012, the Trans Civil Rights Resolution, on the same day that the Massachusetts Judiciary Committee was holding a hearing on its own Trans Equality legislation—an earlier version of what has now finally passed. As a team of trans people and allies worked toward the resolution’s passage in Anaheim, a fellow Episcopalian in Massachusetts learned about it (on his laptop, while waiting to testify in the stultifying heat) and shared it in the course of his testimony three thousand miles away. The Episcopal Church supports this bill, he was proud to be able to say. It all came full circle.

Also on my mind today were the words (viewable here as blurry video), offered by Bishop Shaw at this year’s TDOR. Speaking at the end of the program, he welcomed us to the Cathedral and then offered a word of gratitude that felt almost like a meditation: “because of your honesty, because of your integrity, because of the way you so pursue the truth of your identity, you tell me about the nature of God, because that is how I think God is. And so I thank all of you not only for the way that you enlighten my understanding of God but how much you preach to the rest of the world about courage, and about bravery, and about truth and about perseverance of identity. We owe all of you a huge debt of gratitude. Thank you.”

I got the sense people were both honored and stunned by his words, working to digest and contemplate them— I know I was. His comments about perseverance in pursuit of the truth of identity—language I had not heard him use before— reminded me of words from the Gospel of John that I first really took in at a middle school summer Bible camp: “you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free” (Jn 8:32).

From this chair, at the end of this day, looking out at the striking vista of falling snow, it strikes me how the process of knowing the truth and being freed by it is both lifelong and communal—by turns grueling and wondrous, and inextricably relational, even as it is distinctive to each person.

Governor Deval Patrick signs the bill, photo from masstpc.org

An important truth about the MA trans equality law is that it is far from perfect: it does not include protections in public accommodations—access to public gender segregated spaces. Everyone was resolved to come back and get that done. And as I think about how far we have come, how much more free we are than we were just a few short months ago, I know that what we need more than anything else is the will, the support, the conviction to keep pursuing the truth.

CP

MLK / Trans Service at All Souls UU church (Greenfield MA) THIS SUNDAY

2012-01-11T09:21:00.000-05:00

All Souls, the Unitarian Universalist church of Greenfield, MA (http://www.uugreenfield.org/) is having their annual MLK Day service this Sunday, January 15th, and it is transgender themed -- focused on celebrating the passage of the Transgender Equal Rights Bill in November.

I'm giving the sermon, and lay leader Trystan Dean is Worship Host.

Here's Trystan's Facebook event -- "Celebrating the New Trans Civil Rights Law on MLK Day in Greenfield!" -- http://www.facebook.com/events/342704142425061/

And here is All Souls' publicity blurb:

"The Martin Luther King Day service at All Souls UU Church of Greenfield on Sunday, January 15, 2012 at 10:00 am will be led by Mycroft Masada Holmes, who will deliver the sermon, “In The Image Of God – Transgender Equality in Massachusetts” Mycroft will be speaking about the state of transgender equality in Massachusetts, particularly the Transgender Equal Rights Bill passed in November, 2011 and the faith community’s vital role in its campaign.

Our worship host will be Trystan Dean. Music will be performed and led by Tina Waldron.

Mycroft Masada Holmes is an interfaith transgender leader based in hir native Boston, Massachusetts. Mycroft is Chair of the Interfaith Coalition for Transgender Equality (ICTE), a Steering Committee member and Faith Liaison at the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition (MTPC), the Emeritus Founding Chair of Keshet’s Transgender Working Group (TWiG) and a board member of Congregation Am Tikva. Mycroft is also a thin ally in the fat / size acceptance and social justice movement, and a writer and artist."

I'll add the order of service / worship next week.

2012-01-10T13:06:00.003-05:00

The graphic version is misbehaving (as is a lot of other technology this week), so here is MTPC's website blog version (http://www.masstpc.org/thurs-jan-19th-gov-deval-patrick-to-hold-a-ceremonial-signing-of-the-transgender-equal-rights-bill/).

Also, the Facebook event is "Ceremonial Signing & Community CelebrationTransgender Equal Rights Bill" -- http://www.facebook.com/events/166557140116776/

Thurs. Jan 19th, Gov. Deval Patrick to hold a Ceremonial Signing of the Transgender Equal Rights Bill

January 6th, 2012

Thursday, January 19th – Signing with Gov. Deval Patrick in the Morning & Celebration in the Evening for the Transgender Equal Rights Bill

11:00 am – Join MTPC and the Transgender Equal Right Coalition for the Ceremonial Signing at the State House with Governor Deval Patrick.

Gov. Deval Patrick will hold a ceremonial signing and celebration of the passage of the Transgender Equal Rights Bill at 11am. Gov. Patrick will offer remarks about the bill as well as the work still left to be done to ensure that transgender residents of the Commonwealth are fully protected under our laws in the area of public accommodations.

This event is free and all members of our community, allies, family, and friends are encouraged to attend. Please arrive by 10:45 am at the State House which is located on Beacon St. in Boston near Park St. and Downtown Crossing T stations. Parking can be found at the garage under the Boston Commons. Exact location of the event in State House is still being determined, check MTPC website for latest information.

Also Thursday, January 19th

7:00 pm – Join MTPC for our Community Celebration & Thank You Event at Club Cafe.

Meet members of MTPC steering committee and the Transgender Equal Rights Coalition. There will be music, food, a short program, and ample time for socializing.

This event is free and all members of our community, allies, family, and friends are encouraged to attend. Doors open at 6:30 pm event ends at 9 pm. Club Cafe is located at 209 Columbus Ave, Boston.

Not ready to stop celebrating?

10:00 pm – Join MTPC at the First Event Conference for the Fabulous First Event Dance Party with DJ Greg at the Boston Marriott Peabody

There is a suggested $10 donation for the dance, but no one turned away for lack of funds. Boston Peabody Marriott is located at 8A Centennial Drive, Peabody, MA

We are excited to celebrate this milestone with our community and we hope to see you at any and all of these events on Thursday, January 19, 2012. Thank you for your support, energy, and dedication to transgender equality. Please RSVP to info@masstpc.org so we know how many people to expect.

Lowell Sun's anti-trans editorial -- faith community response

2011-12-23T15:40:00.000-05:00

The Lowell (MA) Sun published an anti-trans editorial this week -- focusing on Chaz Bono and the Transgender Equal Rights Bill -- authored by Dan Phelps and titled "Christmas Carols -- With A Twist":
http://www.lowellsun.com/portal/ci_19577635?IADID=Search-www.lowellsun.com-www.lowellsun.com&fb_source=message&_loopback=1#ixzz1h1UIAkMG

Here is the faith community's response, emailed to the Sun today. Special thanks to the Transgender Equal Rights Coalition media team for all their help!

It was disappointing to read Dan Phelps’ recent column mocking our transgender parents, siblings, children, neighbors, and friends. It was even more heartwrenching to read it during this time of year, which is typically marked with a spirit of goodwill toward all.

Transgender people bear the burden of misunderstanding and marginalization. That is why so many people of faith -- including the 2008 Diocesan Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts, the Right Reverend M. Thomas Shaw and more than 150 other faith leaders around the state -- supported passage of the Transgender Equal Rights Bill, which extends basic civil rights protections in housing, credit, schools, and employment to some of the Commonwealth’s most vulnerable residents.

It is up to all of us -- particularly during this holiday season -- to recognize the dignity and worth of all people, including transgender people. We should do this within our individual faith traditions as well as within the broader community. We are a stronger, more compassionate society when everyone is valued for who they are, and treated with dignity and respect.

Rev. Dr. Cameron Partridge
Interfaith Coalition for Transgender Equality, Episcopal Chaplain at Boston University

Marla Marcum and Rev. Leigh Dry
Co-Chairs, Reconciling Ministries Sub-Committee of the Committee on Church and Society of the United Methodist Church in New England

Idit Klein
Executive Director, Keshet

Mycroft Masada Holmes
Chair, Interfaith Coalition for Transgender Equality

LGBTQ Kabbalat Shabbat Service & Potluck - Cambridge MA - THIS FRIDAY

2011-12-05T05:30:00.000-05:00

THIS FRIDAY, December 9th, my shul Congregation Am Tikva is co-hosting a Celebrate LGBTQ Kabbalat Shabbat Service & Potluck with our friends Congregation Eitz Chayim of Cambridge, at their home in Central Square. I've had a good experience of Eitz Chayim -- I've done a transgender workshop there through Keshet, they've hosted Keshet's "Trew Tales" event (transgender Jewish, or 'Trewish', open mic), and they've supported the Boston Transgender Day of Remembrance, especially by providing food for its reception.

http://www.jewishboston.com/events/10561-glbtq-kabbalat-shabbat-and-potluck

FRI
DEC

7:00PM - 10:00PM

Celebrate LGBTQ Kabbalat Shabbat and Potluck

Cost: FREE - Registration not required.

December 09, 2011—07:00 PM to 10:00 PM

Congregation Eitz Chayim, 136 Magazine Street,
Cambridge, MA 02139

Congregation Eitz Chayim celebrates the LGBTQ community December 9, 2011. Join us for a joyful lay-lead participatory Kabbalat Shabbat service at 7pm, which will include readings from GLBTQ liturgy and writers. After the oneg at 8pm we will have a fabulous potluck tisch.* Bring food (veggie/dairy), a bottle of wine, a story, a song, a dvar, or a poem to share, or helping hands to arrange the tables. As we head into winter, help us create a really warm spot in Cambridge!

Our special guests for the evening include members of GLBT shul Congregation Am Tikva in Brookline http://www.amtikva.org/. Our tisch will be led by guest facilitator Yaakov Reefhttp://yreef.com/ from TBS.

We will do a short text study during the service, pondering what it was like for Dina to go out into the land, into an unfamiliar and hostile territory. There will be ample time at the tisch to dig deeper into Dina’s story or any part of Parashat Vayishlach (Genesis 32:4 - 36:43), and to hear the stories you bring to the table.

RSVPs are greatly appreciated, in order for us to plan the food, but are not required. If you can bring food, savory rather than dessert would be best. Contact Penina Weinberg at president@eitz.org to RSVP or for more information.

Eitz Chayim is an egalitarian, inclusive, non-denominational synagogue whose members are of all ages and family configurations, and who come from a wide range of religious, ethnic, class, family, and cultural backgrounds. We welcome YOU to celebrate Shabbat with us.

A parking consideration is in effect on Friday nights. Park within a couple blocks of Eitz Chayim and put a note on your dashboard that you are attending services.

"The violets in the mountains have broken the rocks." --Tennessee Williams, Camino Real

*A tisch is literally a table – but in the Hasidic world it’s much more than that! Come prepared to eat, sing, bang on the table, tell stories, teach, and learn a little, maybe drink!

11th annual Philadelphia Trans-Health Conference (May/June 2012)

2011-11-30T09:41:00.003-05:00

The 11th annual Philadelphia Trans-Health Conference is next May 31st – June 2nd; there will probably be additional programming on the 30th and 3rd. I’m a member of the PTHC Spirituality Advisory Group, and I’m co-chairing the Jewish Working Group (J-WoG? J-WorG?) with Shelley Kapnek Rosenberg (in Philly); we organize the Jewish programming for the con. Here’s the Spirituality Call for Proposals (and the other Calls), also available at http://www.trans-health.org/2012specificcallforproposals#spirituality and as a Word document.

*******

11th Annual Philadelphia Trans-Health Conference

May 31st-June 2nd 2012 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center

(Philadelphia, PA)

a program of the Mazzoni Center

Please forward/spread the word to friends and colleagues!

*Call For Workshop Proposals in the area of Spirituality*

The *11th Annual Philadelphia Trans-Health Conference* (PTHC) will be held*

**May 31st-June 2nd 2012* at the *Pennsylvania** Convention Center

(Philadelphia, PA)*.

The Philadelphia Trans-Health Conference hosts over 175 workshops each year. In this fourth year of extended *spirituality programming* at the Philadelphia Trans-Health Conference, we continue to embrace the power of spiritual practice, reflection, and community as tools that can support personal health and wholeness.

Our programming includes a wide range of spiritual perspectives, reflecting a diverse range of spiritual and religious paths. Through multiple programming approaches, we will nurture personal strength, explore transgender experiences of the sacred, build community, and create

opportunities to (re)claim religious traditions in a transgender-friendly environment. We will also work to support spiritual and religious leaders in making the world a more supportive place for transgender people, our family, and friends.

*Leadership*

If you have never presented at PTHC in the spirituality track, then we would love to hear from you! PTHC emphasizes grassroots empowerment and we put together a variety of non-sectarian and multi-faith offerings in addition to religiously specific workshops. We are particularly eager to hear from transgender people who are willing and able to talk about their experiences in faith traditions or spiritual practices outside of Christianity, including spiritual practices that may not even be considered "religious." We would love to hear from you, if you have a perspective to

share. Please contact chris@trans-health.org or 267-507-5507 to explore possible opportunities for leadership and representation -- OR if you can help to put us in touch with other relevant people.

Meanwhile, please help us expand the circle by sharing this call for proposals with others you know who may want to participate or have gifts to share.

*Spiritual Opportunities*

We need your ideas for creative affirmations, spiritual practices, and religious observances that facilitate exploration and/or rediscovery of spiritual vitality beyond the workshop schedule. Traditional examples of spiritual opportunities at PTHC have included meditation practice (e.g.

guided or Buddhist), yoga practice, Pagan ritual opportunities, Jewish prayer service, and Christian worship and/or prayer. In past years, we have also offered non-sectarian opportunities like 12 step meetings, naming ceremonies, a celebration/gratitude table, and an artful meditation room.

With your help, we can expand our offerings to even better represent the breadth of religious experience -- as well as opening further to the amazing spiritual strength of our communities. Join in the existing conversations about Eastern traditions, Indigenous traditions, Judaism,

Black Church contexts, Islam, and Catholicism -- or help us to better represent additional traditions like atheism, ancestor worship, African traditions, Hinduism, New Thought, and more! We embrace and affirm the incredible diversity of spiritual paths and practices among transgender folks, our families, friends, and allies. We need creative conversation partners as we look at new ways to facilitate the sharing of wisdom and strength in our communities in ways that transcend religious institutions. Please contact chris@trans-health.org or 267-507-5507 to share your ideas.

*Workshops*

In the area of spirituality programming, we are seeking workshop proposals and faculty that nurture spiritual strength and expression in and around transgender communities, including:

§ Spirituality and our bodies (e.g. ritual and spiritual practice, sacred significance of body modification, how spirituality supports personal health, etc)

§ Uniquely transgender experiences of the sacred (e.g. gender-giftedness, insights from beyond the binary, etc)

§ Safe spirituality (e.g. finding your spiritual path, new transgender-friendly spiritual practices, finding/building alternative spiritual communities, etc)

§ Transgender-friendly perspectives on religious traditions (e.g. exploring Christian Scripture or Jewish texts, gender-giftedness in pagan traditions, gender diversity in Buddhism, etc)

§ Strategies for making change (e.g. how spiritual practice supports activism, how to connect with adversarial religious types, the role of moral authority in trans-activism, equipping transgender leaders to impact local religious communities, etc)

§ Innovative efforts to address transgender spiritual and religious issues (e.g. Black Church town hall meeting, seminarian caucus, transgender clergy networking, etc)

§ Your other creative ideas, nurturing spiritual strength and expression in transgender communities

We are also seeking proposals that will equip religious and spiritual leaders to better serve transgender people, our family, and friends. Examples of workshop topics include:

§ Pastoral counseling with the transgender community

§ Experiences of family and friends of transgender people in religious communities

§ How to make your religious community more trans-inclusive

§ How religious communities can make a difference for transgender people, our family, and friends

§ Your other creative ideas, nurturing cultural competency and trans-advocacy among religious leaders

*Special Events*

We are also looking for organizations that are interested in partnering with us to provide additional opportunities and impact. If your organization would like to explore opportunities for partnership or invite PTHC participants to attend a special event hosted by your religious/spiritual community during or around the conference, please contact chris@trans-health.org.

Also, please check back for more details on a pre-events being planned for Wednesday, May 30, 2012. Opportunities are also in development for Sunday, June 3, 2012.

*How To Submit Your Proposal*

At www.trans-health.org/propose-a-workshop, you can propose your own workshops as well as review a list of topics and past workshop descriptions. We are eager to hear your creative ideas!

*The workshop proposal deadline is January 15, 2012.* However, earlier submission is strongly encouraged!

There is no registration fee to participate in the Philadelphia Trans-Health Conference, but if travel expenses would prevent you from offering your workshop idea, please be in touch with the planning committee about your needs. A limited amount of funds may be available to provide travel and lodging assistance for presenters with pressing need. Go ahead and submit your workshop proposal in the online system and also contact jacsen@trans-health.org with information on what kind of support you would need to be able to attend.

*General Call for Proposals*

In addition to this specific call for proposals, we are seeking proposals in many other areas of programming. Please see the website www.trans-health.org/2012generalcallforproposals for more details about this.

*For More Information*

Please watch http://www.trans-health.org for more conference developments as plans are finalized, including details about sponsorship, advertising, and vending opportunities, as well as housing options, pre-registration, and more program details. Jacsen is the logistical coordinator on staff at the Mazzoni Center and can be reached at jacsen@trans-health.org or on the phone at 215-563-0652. Jacsen is available to answer questions as well as help people submit workshops who do not have regular access to or the ability to use computers. For questions specific to *spirituality programming* *or to volunteer with spirituality programming* please contact

Chris Paige at chris (at) transfaithonline (dot) org (chris@transfaithonline.org).

Governor signs MA Transgender Equal Rights Bill

2011-11-23T05:30:00.000-05:00

Governor Deval Patrick Signs Transgender Equal Rights Bill Today, Public Signing To Be Held in Near Future

November 23rd, 2011

Today, Governor Deval Patrick is expected to sign the Transgender Equal Rights Bill privately, as he has just a 10-day window in which to sign bills into law. The bill was passed by the legislature last week. A public signing ceremony will be scheduled for a future date. The law will take effect on July 1, 2012.

“Governor Patrick has been a vocal supporter of the Transgender Equal Rights Bill since the bill was first filed in 2007” said Gunner Scott, executive director of the Mass. Transgender Political Coalition. “We applaud the Governor because he has been a staunch advocate in recognizing the transgender community and leader in getting this bill passed.”

Gov. Patrick was a vocal proponent of the Transgender Equal Rights Bill, advocating, he has submitted written testimony in support of the bill at all three public hearings. Last February, he signed an executive order prohibiting discrimination against transgender people in state employment, which reaches 43,500 executive branch employees and 13,500 state contractors.

In 2008, Gov. Patrick appointed the first transgender person, Diego Sanchez, to a Democratic National Committee standing committee. Diego Sanchez is a former co-chair of MTPC and has since gone on to work as the first out transgender legislative staffer for Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.).

MTPC thanks the members of the Transgender Equal Rights Coalition for all of their efforts in passing “An Act Relative to Transgender Equal Rights.” Some of the 104 members of the coalition include MassEquality, MassNOW; ACLU of Massachusetts; Jane Doe, Inc., The Massachusetts Coalition Against Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence; National Association of Social Workers, MA; Mass AFL-CIO; Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders; Mass Gay and Lesbian Political Caucus; Jobs with Justice; the Interfaith Coalition for Transgender Equality; and Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition.

The House voted 95-58, and the House vote tally is here:http://aclum.org/sites/all/files/legislative/2011/trans/mass_trans_house_vote.pdf. The Senate passed the bill on a voice vote (see MTPC Senate co-sponsor list).

MTPC encourages all community members to thank the Representatives and Senators that voted for the bill and most especially, the lead sponsors, Representative Carl Sciortino & Byron Rushing, and Senators Ben Downing, and Sonia Chang-Diaz; the legislature’s leadership House Speaker Robert Deleo and Senate President Therese Murray; and especially, Governor Deval Patrick.

MTPC will alert community members to the date and location of the public signing ceremony so community members may attend and MTPC plans to hold an additional community event on or about the same day to share in this historic moment.

THE MASSACHUSETTS TRANSGENDER EQUAL RIGHTS BILL PASSED TODAY!

2011-11-16T21:52:00.002-05:00

Contact: Gunner Scott

617-778-0519

gscott@masstpc.org

For Immediate Release

Transgender Equal Rights Now a Reality in Massachusetts

BOSTON, MA [11/16/11] – The Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition (MTPC) is proud to announce the passing of the Transgender Equal Rights Bill in the House and the Senate extending civil rights and hate crimes protections to the state’s transgender residents.

Last night, just before 9:00 PM, the Massachusetts House of Representatives passed the Transgender Equal Rights bill without any amendments. This morning by 10:30 AM, the bill passed in the Massachusetts Senate. The bill must still be approved once more in Senate the Governor can sign it. As we wait for Governor Deval Patrick to officially sign this bill into law, we can celebrate the impact this will have on our transgender youth, adults, and families across the Commonwealth.

MTPC thanks our legislative lead sponsors Representative Carl Sciortino, Representative Byron Rushing, Senator Ben Downing, and Senator Sonia Chang-Diaz; all of the House and Senate co-sponsors, and the leadership of House Speaker Robert DeLeo and Senate President Therese Murray for providing vital protections for approximately 33,000 transgender residents here in Massachusetts.

This bill will give transgender people equal protections when seeking employment, housing, credit, and education. The bill also expands the state's hate crimes protections to now include transgender people; a community that experiences alarmingly disproportionate levels of harassment and violence.

The final version of the Transgender Equal Rights Bill passed by the legislature unfortunately does not include protections within public accommodations. MTPC and our coalition partners fought hard to try to get public accommodations restored in the Senate version of the bill, and were unsuccessful in doing so. Although this bill does not include public accommodations, this is a historic and important victory in the fight for achieving transgender equality in Massachusetts.

“This is not the end of our fight, and MTPC is committed to getting public accommodations protections for our transgender youth, adults, and families. MTPC plans on introducing a bill for the 2013 legislative session for those public accommodations protections,” said Gunner Scott, Executive Director of MTPC. “For now, let’s be proud of the difference this bill will make in the daily lives of thousands of people across the state who need jobs, a safe place to live and access to education.”

MTPC expresses our deepest gratitude to our community members, who have spent countless hours educating their legislators and the general public about the issues transgender people face. "It is because of the courage of our community members to come forward and tell their personal stories about themselves, their family members, and their friends that we have accomplished this milestone," said Nancy Nangeroni, Steering Committee Chair of MTPC.

MTPC thanks the members of the Transgender Equal Rights Coalition including MassEquality, Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD), National Association of Social Workers (NASW), ACLU of Massachusetts, MassNOW, Massachusetts Gay and Lesbian Political Caucus, Massachusetts LGBTQ Bar Association, Jobs with Justice, and Interfaith Coalition for Transgender Equality for their tireless work on behalf of transgender equal rights.

###

Founded in 2001, the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition (MTPC) is a 501(c) 3 that works to end discrimination on the basis of gender identity and gender expression. MTPC educates the public, advocates with state, local, and federal government, engages in political activism, and encourages empowerment of community members through collective action.

New national survey - majority of Americans support transgender equal rights

2011-11-07T22:11:00.002-05:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

November 3, 2011

Contact: Shannon Craig Straw

sstraw@publicreligion.org

p. 202.238.9424 c. 202.674.5921

New Survey: Strong Majorities Favor Rights and Legal Protections for Transgender People

Americans have Solid Understanding of Transgender Identity

Washington, D.C. – Overwhelming majorities of Americans, across the political and religious spectrum, believe that transgender people should have the same general rights and legal protections as other people, a new survey finds.

The August and September Religion and Politics Tracking Surveys were conducted by Public Religion Research Institute and released amid the increased attention towards transgender issues following Chaz Bono’s appearance on ABC’s Dancing with the Stars. The combined surveys constitute one of the first independent studies of attitudes on transgender issues and Americans’ knowledge of transgender identity.

"Three out of four Americans say Congress should pass employment nondiscrimination laws that protect transgender people," said Dr. Robert P. Jones, CEO of Public Religion Research Institute. "This strong support is also broad, persisting across party lines and the religious spectrum."

Approximately three-quarters (74%) of Americans also favor Congress’ recent expansion of hate crimes legislation to protect transgender people. Additionally, the survey found that roughly two-thirds of Americans both report being well informed about transgender people and issues, and generally understand what the term "transgender" means.

"To explore whether Americans know what the term ‘transgender’ means, we allowed them to define ‘transgender’ in their own words," said Daniel Cox, PRRI Research Director. "More than two-thirds of Americans were able to give an essentially accurate definition of the term ‘transgender’ without any assistance."

Among the Findings:

Overwhelming majorities of Americans agree that transgender people should have the same general rights and legal protections as others.

Approximately 9-in-10 (89%) Americans—including strong majorities of all religious and partisan groups—agree that transgender people deserve the same rights and protections as other Americans.

Approximately three-quarters of Americans both say Congress should pass employment nondiscrimination laws to protect transgender people, and favor Congress’s recent expansion of hate crimes legislation to protect transgender people.

Three-quarters (75%) of Americans agree that Congress should pass laws to protect transgender people from job discrimination. This support persists across the political and religious spectrum.
Approximately three-quarters (74%) of Americans also favor Congress’ recent expansion of federal hate crime laws to include crimes committed on the basis of the victim’s gender, sexual orientation or gender identity, compared to only 22% who oppose.

Approximately two-thirds of Americans both report being well informed about transgender people and issues, and generally understand what the term "transgender" means.

Two-thirds of Americans agree that they feel well informed about transgender persons and issues, while 3-in-10 disagree.
In order to determine whether Americans understood the term "transgender," PRRI conducted a follow-up survey in September 2011 that asked respondents to report what the term "transgender" meant to them in their own words. Among the 91% of Americans who report that they have heard of the term transgender, 76% give an essentially accurate definition. Thus, overall, more than two-thirds (69%) of Americans are able to identify what the term "transgender" means without any assistance.

To read the topline questionnaire and survey methodology, click here:http://publicreligion.org/research/american-attitudes-towards-transgender-people

Both the August and the September Religion and Politics Tracking Surveys were designed and conducted by Public Religion Research Institute. Results of the August survey were based on random digit dial telephone survey of 1,006 adults conducted between August 11, 2011 and August 14, 2011. Results of the September survey were based on random digit dial telephone survey of 1,013 adults (301 were reached by cell phone) conducted between September 14, 2011 and September 18, 2011. The margin of error for both surveys is +/- 3.0 percentage points.

Public Religion Research Institute is a non-profit, nonpartisan research and education organization dedicated to work at the intersection of religion, values and public life.

###

Boston Transgender Day of Remembrance - press release

2011-10-27T11:03:00.001-04:00

For Immediate Release

PLEASE CIRCULATE

Contact: Nancy Nangeroni, 978-969-2346, nancy@gendertalk.com

www.masstpc.org/dor

BOSTON TO HONOR TRANSGENDER DAY OF REMEMBRANCE

Community Speak-Out, Vigil on Sunday, Nov 20 in Boston

Each November 20, the worldwide transgender community turns its attention to its family, friends and loved ones lost to violence and prejudice. A tradition inspired by the Allston, MA vigil for slain transsexual Rita Hester in 1998, this day has become the worldwide rallying point for a community long under siege.

In Boston, folks will gather in St Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral downtown for a program of speakers, community speak out, and a candlelight vigil on the Common. This free program begins at 4 pm and concludes with a reception featuring hot drinks and food. For more details, please visit www.masstpc.org/dor.

Boston’s Transgender and LGB community extends a warm welcome to all who would like to attend this important event to memorialize our dead and underscore the serious suffering in our communities. No persons should be subjected to violence simply because of their gender identity or expression. No persons should be denied the basic rights that enable their safety and security. No one should consider taking their own life to escape harassment and bullying. Please join with us on this day to remember those who are gone, whatever the cause of their departure.

This event will benefit the Transgender Emergency Fund, which provides assistance to low-income transgender people across Massachusetts. Sponsors include the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition, TransCEND Boston and AIDS Action Committee, Boston Health Care for the Homeless, The Crossing, Human Rights Campaign, Boston Alliance of GLBT Youth and more.

Event Background:

Twelve years ago at this time, Boston’s LGBT community recoiled in horror at the discovery of the latest victim of transphobic violence. Rita Hester, a popular figure in the local rock ‘n roll scene, who also happened to be a transsexual, had been found brutally stabbed to death in her Brighton apartment. Like so many killings of gay and transgender persons, the victim was subjected to enough brutality to kill her many times over.

A local community of queer activists, rockers, family, friends and allies – over 250 of them – came together and held a speak-out and candlelight vigil in Rita’s honor, forming a human stream of light winding its way through Rita’s old Allston stomping grounds.

One year later, a memorial vigil was held in San Francisco; the following year Boston and a few other cities joined in, and this year hundreds of observances will be held in dozens of countries.

Boston’s transgender community remembers local victims Chanelle Pickett, Debra Forte, Monique Thomas, Georgette Hart, Denise Pugliesi, Monique Rogers, Lisa Daniels, CJ Garber, and Rita Hester. There have been many more, mostly uncounted and unnoticed by all but their friends and family.

Organized by the all-volunteer Boston Transgender Day of Remembrance Organizing Committee.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BostonTransDOR/

THIS THURSDAY - PFLAG transgender event w/ Joanne Herman - Wayland MA

2011-10-24T17:44:00.002-04:00

Fall 2011

Greater Boston PFLAG
Announces
Joanne Herman Author
Transgender Explained Thursday,
Oct. 27 at 7pm
Temple Shir Tikva
Wayland

Dear Friends,

Greater Boston PFLAG invites you to join us on

Thursday, October 27

7 to 9 pm at Temple Shir Tikva

141 Boston Post Road, Wayland, MA 01778

Free and open to all! Light refreshments available.

We are thrilled to introduce our Featured Speaker:

Joanne Herman, Author, Transgender Explained

Since her transition to live as a female in 2002, Joanne Herman has been active as a spokeswoman for transgender awareness and understanding. Joanne is the first transgender person ever elected the Boards of Directors of Fenway Health, Point Foundation, and GLAD, the first transgender member of historic Old South Church in Boston, and one of the first openly transgender alumnae of Dartmouth College as a graduate of Dartmouth's last all-male class.

Joanne Herman has received praise for her non-complicated explanations of transgender for almost a decade. Now she has written down her explanations for all to read in Transgender Explained For Those Who Are Not. Organized by topic into short, easy-to-read chapters, Transgender Explained is perfect for parents, relatives, colleagues, friends, allies, and even journalists who want to quickly get up to speed on what it means to be transgender.

You will also have the opportunity to hear from parents with transgender children who will share their personal experiences and talk about Greater Boston PFLAG's support group for parents with transgender children.

Finally, you will have the opportunity to take action and support the transgender rights bill.

We look forward to seeing you!

Please feel free to contact me with any questions.

All the best,

Pam Garramone, Executive Director

Greater Boston PFLAG

pam@gbpflag.org

781 891 5966

TOMORROW - interfaith Transgender Education Panel at Tufts University

2011-10-19T13:31:00.004-04:00

Our very own Rev. Cameron Partridge will be a panelist at Tufts University tomorrow evening, and I'll be joining him -- here's the Facebook event (http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=303824859632064):

ISA* Transgender Education Panel

(*Tufts University's Interfaith Social Action)

TOMORROW -- Thursday, October 20th

7:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Tufts University (near Davis Sq. in Medford MA)

Rabb Room, Lincoln Filene (next to Braker Hall)

Did you know...

-In a 2003 survey, 55% of transgender youth reported having been physically attacked

-In a 2006 report, 33.2% of transgender youth reported having attempted suicide

-currently, it is legal in 34 states to hire someone because of their gender identity

Inspired to learn more and take action?

Interfaith Social Action is holding a panel, co-sponsored by the LGBT center, to decrease transgender discrimination through education and awareness. This will be an excellent opportunity to learn more about what it means to be transgender within a cultural and faith context.

Speakers include:

Mycroft Masada Holmes, a Jewish transgender activist who works with the Interfaith Coalition for Transgender Equality, the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition and Keshet.

Rev. Cameron Partridge, a transgender Episcopal priest, currently serving as the Episcopal Chaplain at BU

Michelle Figueiredo, a speaker from SpeakOUT, an organization that sends speakers out to college communities to educate students on various topics pertaining to diversity, who will be speaking about her experiences as a transgender woman and her spiritual journey

Joan Saniuk and Sharilyn Steketee -- Joan is a Reverend associated with the Metropolitan Community Church of Boston and Sharilyn is Joan’s partner, as well as her partner in ministry.

There will be time for Q&A after the speakers. Refreshments will be provided!

Contact tuftsinterfaith@gmail.com with any questions!

ICTE's latest message to our supporters

2011-10-14T18:52:00.002-04:00

ICTE's latest message to our supporters, published today:

Transgender Equal Rights Bill faith campaign

Happy Jewish New Year, Sukkot, Fall and all other seasons’ greetings!

The Massachusetts legislature has returned from vacation, and the next part of the campaign for the Transgender Equal Rights Bill has begun -- and we want to let you know how you can be part of it.

Here’s how we’re asking the faith community to take action:

1) Phone bank for the bill at MassEquality. Tuesdays from 6:00 – 9:00 p.m. Calling voters and transferring them to their legislators' voicemail boxes in support of the Transgender Equal Rights Bill. Contact Justin Lemley at 617.878.2344 orjustinlemley@massequality.org to sign up. Groups are more than welcome, and we would be happy to publicize your community’s participation.

2) Call, email, and write your legislators. They hear from the opposition every day – they need to hear from us more.

3) Participate in the 3^rd annual Transgender Awareness Week. Saturday November 12^th through Sunday November 20^th (international Trangender Day of Remembrance, http://www.masstpc.org/events/tdor/) --http://www.masstpc.org/events/taw/. Participate in an existing event (many more will be added between now and then) and/or create your own. One great resource for this is the “I AM: Trans People Speak” public education campaign --http://transpeoplespeak.org/. We can help you figure out the best way to participate in the Week, loan you a DVD of some of the faith-based “I AM” stories, and publicize your community’s participation. You can also choose to sponsor the Week, and be recognized for that.

4) Sign our Declaration of Interfaith Support for the bill. Read the current signed version as a PDF -- http://tinyurl.com/3dnkbkv -- then add your signature by emailing us at InterfaithCoalition@gmail.org.

5) Spread the word about the bill to everyone you can! We think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the response. One of the most common responses we receive – including from people of faith – is a variation of “I thought transgender people were already protected by the law! We need to correct this right away!”

With your partnership, we can amend the law so that it does protect transgender people. We look forward to working with you this fall. And we encourage you to connect with us through our online homes:

ICTE blog:

http://www.interfaithcoalition.blogspot.com

ICTE FB group:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=7923372429

Faith campaign FB event:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=188135257891766

Yours in great excitement and hope,

Interfaith Coalition for Transgender Equality (ICTE)

TOMORROW - LGBTQ Community Meeting on Trans Equal Rights Bill

2011-10-12T11:40:00.003-04:00

LGBTQ Community Meeting on Trans Equal Rights Bill

October 11th, 2011

Thursday, October 13, 2011
LGBTQ Community Meeting

7:00PM at The Non-Profit Center Community Room, 89 South St. Boston, MA 02111

All LGBTQ people and allies are invited. The fight for equality in
Massachusetts is not over. You can’t spell community without the T. We will be discussing the Transgender Equal Rights Bill, specifically where it is at right now and what we can do as a community to help pass this legislation. Bring you ideas and suggestions to the table. For more information about the legislation visit www.masstpc.org

Sponsored by Mass Transgender Political Coalition (MTPC), Transgender Equal Rights Coalition, MassEquality, MGLPC, The Boston Bisexual Women’s Network, The Cambridge GLBT Commission

Meeting space donated by Boston Pride Committee

Happy belated National Coming Out Day!

2011-10-12T11:06:00.000-04:00

Happy belated National Coming Out Day!

The Religious Institute has just created new worship resources in support of National Coming Out Day (October 11). They include a responsive reading, prayers, a prayer litany and more, available at www.religiousinstitute.org/lgbtqworship. They've done this as part of a call to the nation's clergy to speak out this month in support of LGBT teens and young adults in recognition of National Coming Out Day. All initial resources were written by their Scholar in Residence, Marie Alford-Harkey.

TUESDAY - National Coming Out Day at the MA Statehouse

2011-10-07T13:20:00.002-04:00

Tuesday is National Coming Out Day, and the Massachusetts Statehouse is having programming -- and it's transgender-focused.

The pretty version of the invitation is here:

http://xa.yimg.com/kq/groups/14243040/1110643762/name/National%20Coming%20Out%20Day%20Invite.pdf

And here's the plain text version:

Celebrate National Coming Out Day!
Tuesday October 11th
Video-Exhibition 9:00 am to 5:00 pm
Speaking Event 11:30 am Nurses Hall

Please join Representative Carl Sciortino, Senator Stan Rosenberg,
Representative Denise Andrews, Representative Liz Malia and
Representative Sarah Peake to observe "National Coming Out Day" at the
State House at 11:30 am on October 11th!

Legislators, staff, and community members are welcome to "come out"
and share what it means to be out as LGBT or as straight allies.

National Coming Out Day is an internationally observed celebration
held annually on October 11th to recognize lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender people and to promote tolerance and respect. Special
emphasis this year will be place on being allies of the transgender
community.

A video-story exhibition by the “I AM: Transgender People Speak
Project” will be shown throughout the day in Nurses Hall, sharing the
everyday experiences of ten transgender Massachusetts residents and
two parents of a transgender person.

For more information, please contact: Raffi Freedman-Gurspan in Rep.
Sciortino's Office 617-772-2013 Raffi.Freedman-Gurspan@mahouse.gov.

Transgender Religious Leaders Summit - Nov. 3rd - 5th - Berkeley CA

2011-09-16T12:25:00.003-04:00

The 5th annual Transgender Religious Leaders Summit is November 3rd through 5th, in Berkeley California!

UPCOMING EVENT

Fifth Annual Transgender Religious Leaders Summit 2011

Hosted by CLGS, The Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies in Religion and Ministry

Pacific School of Religion, 1798 Scenic Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94709

November 3rd to November 5th, 2011

The 2011 Transgender Religious Leaders Summit is an ecumenical meeting of faith leaders who identify as transgender, gender-queer and inter-sexed, and their allies. It is an opportunity to connect with leaders of all faith communities and, through sharing, to celebrate our common heritage while learning to appreciate and respect our differences. This year’s Summit is a retreat-style meeting of transgender faith leaders from across the United States and Canada.

For Information and to Register with EventBrite, log onto the www.CLGS.org Site:

http://trans-religious-summit.eventbrite.com/

Complete Information at CLGS:

http://www.clgs.org/events/transgender-religious-leaders-summit-2011

The 2010 Summit was an very fulfilling and enlightening time. This year should be even better yet! If you missed last year, don't miss this year's event!

Hope to see you there!

Randall Klein Bernie Schlager
Light in the Closet Ministry CLGS

FOR INFORMATION CALL: 925-586-4651

Email: rklein@lightinthecloset.org

Light in the Closet Ministry, PO BOX 1208, Oakley CA 94561

www.lightinthecloset.org

MTPC - 10th anniversary event - October 6th

2011-09-09T10:08:00.003-04:00

MTPC's 10th anniversary event "eXtatic (Growing On 10 Years)" is Thursday, October 6th!

Website page:

http://www.masstpc.org/events/10year/

Facebook event:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=210033755711887

Today's e-newsletter:

http://community.icontact.com/p/masstpc/newsletters/mtpc/posts/its-mtpcs-10-year-anniversary-party-youre-invited

Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition

Did you know...

MTPC is turning 10 year's old and we are having a partyto celebrate!

Join us on

Thursday, October 6, 2011

7-11 pm at Club Oberon 2 Arrow St, Cambridge (Harvard Sq)

Refreshments will be served; Cash bar

Featuring performances from:

Lorelei Erisis - is not just Miss Trans New England 2009 but is a Professional TransWoman, Second City Trained Improviser, Performer and Filmmaker.

Maggie Cee - is the artistic director of the Femme Show and is an artist, activist, and teacher committed to community, social change, and sequins.

Johnny Blazes - was named “one of Boston’s rising stars” by Stuff Magazine, Johnny Blazes is known for hir genre-bending, gender-blending, tongue-in-cheek performances. Ze regularly performs at TraniWreck.

Lakia Mondale - is one of Boston's Legendary Performers, she is the 2010 Boston Pride Queen, regularly performs at Jaques Caberat and for many community events and fundraisers.

There will also be a special showing of I AM: Trans People Speak videos and dancing to follow with DJ Tre'Andre of Two Trans Guys and an iPod!

Ticket Pricing:
$15 Student/Activist
$35 Individual
$50 Pair

Buy your tickets in advance at www.masstpc.org/10. Tickets will also be available at the door. No one turned away for lack of funds.

Thank you to our sponsors:

Angel:

Patron:

Marcia Garber

Promoter:

Joan M. Fund, Esq.

Kathleen Henry

If you are interested in becoming an event sponsor, please contact theadora@masstpc.org or visit our webpage.

DONATE NOW

Our Mission

MTPC is dedicated to ending discrimination on the basis gender identity and gender expression

We envision a world where persons of all genders are treated with respect and fully participate in all areas of society, free from fear of prohibition, harassment or violence based on their gender identity and/or expression.

To that end we educate the public, advocate with state, local, and federal government, engage in political activism, and encourage empowerment of community members through collective action.

LEARN MORE »

Come Join Us

Become A Donor

Be a part of MTPC and our work in making Massachusetts a state that has equal rights for all transgender youth and adults.

Join us today by donating what you can to keep us going in fighting for your friends, your family, your neighbors, and for yourself. You can make a one-time donation, become a monthly donor, or join our new Movement Builder Circle. Which every way you give, you will be helping us to change how transgender youth, adults, and their families are treated in Massachusetts.

LEARN MORE »

MTPC | PO Box 301897, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130 | (617) 778-0519 info@masstpc.org

United Methodists and GLBT equality press release

2011-09-02T09:55:00.002-04:00

http://www.religionnews.com/index.php?/pressreleases/united_methodists_organize_for_lgbt_moral_equality_at_the_intersection_of_i/

The organizations and/or individuals who submit materials for distribution by Religion Press Release Services are solely responsible for the facts in and accuracy of their materials. Religion Press Release Services will correct any errors brought to its attention.

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

For Immediate Release

Media Contact: Ann Craig, director of media, 917-280-2968

United Methodists Organize for LGBT Moral Equality at the Intersection of Issues

Almost 700 United Methodists met in Ohio, July 25–28, under the banner of "Sing A New Song" to kick off the "Love Your Neighbor" campaign that calls for the loving treatment of all God's children including the full inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Christians. The campaign leads up to the global General Conference, April 24–May 4, 2012, where legislation is voted which will guide the denomination for the next four years.

Issues facing the denomination include immigration, bullying, gay and transgender concerns, poverty and much more. United Methodists have a long history of recommending public and church policies based on their Christian values that support those who are hungry, homeless or excluded. Despite these values, the denomination still bans gay people from ordination and in recent years gave clergy the option to block gay people from membership.

Keynote speaker, Michael Adee from More Light Presbyterians, said to the full house, "United Methodists are next! Lutheran, Presbyterian, Episcopal and United Church of Christ denominations have dropped all prohibitions against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Christians. Evangelical Presbyterians from Mississippi, North Carolina Pennsylvania and all states moved from fear to faith as they opened the doors to all who love Jesus. Now is the time for United Methodists to step out in faith."

At the convocation were representatives of the more than one thousand United Methodist clergy who signed statements of their willingness to perform same gender weddings and blessings. The Rev. Amy DeLong shared the story of being convicted in a church trial for performing a marriage ceremony for a loving gay couple. Amy said, "Critics will tell you that you are breaking the clergy covenant for officiating at weddings for couples who are gay or lesbian, but there is no covenant that should compel us to forego our conscience."

In Bible study led by the Rev. Dr. Althea Spencer-Miller, participants were urged to claim those biblical texts which defined Christians who show love, peace, patience and joy, rather than those texts which have been used to judge and exclude. Dr Nelson said, "Some faithful gay folks who have worked for inclusion for forty years are paragons of patience and continue to love despite hostility and rejection."

Bishop Joseph Sprague, one of the thirty-eight retired bishops who signed a statement urging the church to drop the prohibitions said, "If we people of faith spent as much time advocating for jobs, schools and peace, as we do to keep people out of the church, we would be living in a much better world."

With 8 million members in the US and 4 million around the world, many United Methodists are working hard to move the denomination toward accepting the moral equality of all members, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.

The three national organizations collaborating on this effort are:

Reconciling Ministries Network
Methodist Federation for Social Action
Affirmation: United Methodist

###

"Trans Forming Faith" service - First Parish Milton (UU) - this Sunday

2011-07-12T08:46:00.009-04:00

As seen in The List: Boston's Queer Agenda (http://www.queeragenda.org/). I met Jamez in April, when we were two of the panelists at Harvard Hillel's event "Transforming Faith: Experiencing Religion and Gender Identity" (http://interfaithcoalition.blogspot.com/2011/04/interfaith-transgender-panel-harvard.html). I've seen Johnny perform, and I know Melsen through his social justice and custom t-shirts (http://melsenink.com/).

Trans Forming Faith

[Sunday, July 17th, 2011]

10:30 am

First Parish Milton (Unitarian Universalist)

535 Canton Ave

Milton, MA

First Parish in Milton will host a special worship service that explores the intersections of transgender identity and religious faith. Worship will be led by Jamez Terry, founder and organizer of the nationally touring Tranny Roadshow, as well as a student at Harvard Divinity School. Guest musicians include Johnny Blazes and Melsen Carlsen.

The service begins at 10:30 am, and all are welcome.

TransFaith Peer Support Networks -- for seminarians & clergy

2011-07-07T05:30:00.000-04:00

TransFaith

On-line

Chris Paige at TransFaith Online (http://www.transfaithonline.org/) is working on creating TransFaith Peer Support Networks for seminarians and clergy. Please fill out the needs assessments (anonymously if needed) and/or spread the word. Here's Chris' message:

Hello all,

In the last few weeks (esp at HRC Clergy Call and at the Philly Trans-Health Conference), we have launched initial conversations about starting a couple of TransFaith Support Networks. Specifically a TransFaith Seminarian Support Network and a TransFaith Clergy Support Network.

Could you spread the following two surveys around your networks so we can draw in input from a variety of perspectives?

Needs Assessment: TransFaith Seminarian Support Network
http://network.transfaithonline.org/more/surveys/seminarian_needs/

Needs Assessment: TransFaith Clergy Support Network
http://network.transfaithonline.org/more/surveys/clergy_needs/

The needs assessment surveys can be filled out anonymously, if desired. They are hosted on the TransFaith Network, but a log-in is not required.

Please spread the word among transgender folks in your network, as well as allies who might know people...

Thank you!

Chris Paige

Muslims for Progressive Values Retreat ~ July 1st - 3rd ~ Berkeley, CA

2011-06-20T10:01:00.002-04:00

Join Us For Our 5th Annual Retreat

Join Muslims for Progressive Values for a spiritually uplifting and intellectually rejuvenating weekend of community building! This year we are specifically focusing on spiritual growth and development with a focus on social justice. Our retreats are casual and intimate... and we always share many good laughs. Folks will be coming in from across North America and overseas... don't miss out on this life-changing and inspiring weekend!

Sincerely,

Sara Farooqi

Vice-Chair

Muslims for Progressive Values

"Cultivating Spirituality and an Ethos of Justice in Everyday Life"

Friday, July 1^st- Sunday, July 3^rd 2011

Berkeley, CA

Pacific School of Religion

...

Join Muslims for Progressive Values for an interactive weekend dedicated to self-reflection, personal growthand community building.

Presentations & workshops by:

Amina Wadud,

Ghazala Anwar,

Yarehk Hernandez,

Faisal Alam

and more!

Registration

Before June 20th: $115

After June 20th: $140

One Day (Sat or Sun): $75

Per Workshop: $35 ($50 for Progressive Muslim Education, includes lunch)

Click here to complete your registration form today.

Click here to pay via PayPal:http://mpvusa.org/2011_retreat_program.html

Selected Activities and Presentations:

Progressive Muslim Education: The Difference in Action

by Yarehk Hernandez, M.S

LGBT101 for Muslim Allies

by Sara Farooqi & Faisal Alam

Khadija: A Model Worthy of Emulation

by Dr. Ghazala Anwar

Tawhid & Spiritual Development for Social Action

by Dr. Amina Wadud

Become an Event Sponsor...

Contact Sara Farooqi for information on becoming an event sponsor/advertising opportunities at

sara.farooqi@gmail.com.

Retreat Site: Pacific School of Religion

Berkeley, CA

Accommodations

Hyatt Summerfield Suites

5800 Shellmound St.,

Emeryville, CA 94608

Reservation:

888-433-9042

MPV has arranged for a special rate of $99/night at the Hyatt Summerfield Suites (previously Woodfin) in Emeryville, CA. We will coordinate transportation to and from Hyatt and the retreat site at Pacific School of Religion.

Make sure to book your room before June 1, 2011 and mention Muslims for Progressive Values for the discounted rate. Let us know if you would like us to try and match you up with a room-mate on the registration form.

http://emeryville.summerfieldsuites.hyatt.com/hyatt/hotels/summerfield/index.jsp

We Welcome All...

We welcome all who are willing to respect, listen and learn from one another with anopen, non-discriminating heart. MPV strives to create safe spaces for everyone including LGBTQ individuals, mixed faith couples, and people of various religiousand sectarian affiliations.

Donate Today!

Muslims for Progressive Values relies on donations from community members to implement our annual retreat and many other initiatives. Click here to support our organization with a tax-deductible donation today.

Muslims for Progressive Values is a registered 501(c)3 organization.

Thanks To Our Retreat Sponsor

Follow-up Links

Muslims for Progressive Values Website

Retreat Information

Retreat Registration

Transgender Equal Rights Bill UPDATE

2011-06-17T09:58:00.001-04:00

Good morning!

Thank you for your support of the Transgender Equal Rights Bill’s hearing last Wednesday, June 8th! Though shorter and sweeter than the bill's previous hearings, it was still a very challenging 8 ½ hours (1:00 – 9:30 p.m.!); but our community did an excellent job before, during and after hearing day -- especially in presenting a dozen or so themed panels of speakers.

As ICTE, we particularly want to appreciate the panel of clergy we helped organize – Rabbi Joseph Berman, Rev. Stephanie Spellers (Episcopal Church), and Rev. Sue Phillips (Unitarian Universalist Association). The faith community was also significantly represented in the 150 letters of supportive written testimony submitted to the Judiciary Committee, including Bishop M. Thomas Shaw (the diocesan bishop of the Episcopal Church). ICTE's Declaration of Religious and Faith-Based Support for the bill, with its hundreds of signatures, was also presented.

Here's MTPC’s post-hearing debrief – http://www.masstpc.org/?p=1390
And here’s the Statehouse’s video of the hearing (in two parts):
http://www.malegislature.gov/Events/EventDetail?eventId=779&eventDataSource=VideoService&videoSource=jnt
http://www.malegislature.gov/Events/EventDetail?eventId=780&eventDataSource=VideoService&videoSource=jnt

The next step is the bill’s lobby day – a week from yesterday!

Transgender Equal Rights Lobby Day

NEXT THURSDAY, June 23rd
1:00 to 3:00 p.m.
MA Statehouse ~ Grand Staircase

MTPC page:
http://www.masstpc.org/?page_id=1303
Facebook event:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=199424550095489

RSVP to Rachel@masstpc.org or 617.778.0519 -- include your name and mailing address and/or legislators’ names so we can check you in faster on Lobby Day. A limited number of transportation stipends (for no/low income) and ride shares are available – include this in your RSVP. Make appointments with your legislators for any time on June 23rd. Gather at the Grand Staircase at 1:00 for a short program of legislative supporters, policy makers, and community members – possibly including a clergy speaker. And check in to receive your Lobby Day packet.

Please attend and invite others! We need the Statehouse to see as many supporters as possible. We particularly need visible clergy, lay leaders and other people of faith – please come vested and/or otherwise “faith flared”. If you can’t RSVP, or meet with a legislator, your presence is still very helpful and much appreciated.

If you can’t attend, MassEquality has a summary of how you can help:
http://eepurl.com/eiHWA

Best wishes for your Summer,

Interfaith Coalition for Transgender Equality (ICTE)
http://www.interfaithcoalition.blogspot.com
ICTE FB group:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=7923372429
Faith campaign FB event:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=188135257891766

Keshet has created Jewish LGBT Heroes Posters

2011-06-16T14:10:00.002-04:00

Keshet has created Jewish LGBT Heroes Posters -- and one is of Kate Bornstein, the transgender leader. I'm one of the posters in one of Keshet's previous collections; I'll post about that at some point.

This Sunday, May 22, is Harvey Milk's birthday. And in his honor, we are celebrating!

We've created a series of posters - starting with Harvey - celebrating LGBT Jews who have given us hope, given us courage, and transformed our world in countless ways.

Our series also honors the amazing Kate Bornstein, a writer, performer, and an unwavering voice for those who feel like they don't fit in, as well as Lesléa Newman, the wonderfully prolific author who brought us the groundbreaking book "Heather Has Two Mommies."

Supporting LGBT youth means celebrating queer heroes. June is LGBT Pride and a perfect time for you to ask your synagogue, JCC, Hillel, youth group, camp, and any Jewish institution that works with young people to display these posters.

Remember, as Harvey famously implored all of us, "And you, and you, and you... have got to give them hope."

Learn more & order posters:

http://lgbtjewishheroes.org/

Who else belongs on a poster?

http://lgbtjewishheroes.org/share-your-heroes/

Read the press release and download web images:

http://ge.tt/7up6qng?c

Mazel Tov Rachel Isaacs!

Today also marks another historic occasion - Rachel Isaacs will become the first openly gay rabbinical student to be ordained by the Jewish Theological Seminary. Our list of LGBT Jewish Heroes continues!!

BOSTON | DENVER | SAN FRANCISCO

www.keshetonline.org | info@keshetonline.org

The MA Transgender Equal Rights Bill's hearing is TODAY!

2011-06-08T08:36:00.006-04:00

The MA Transgender Equal Rights Bill's hearing is TODAY, at 1:00 p.m. in the Statehouse’s Gardner Auditorium. This is the public hearing before the Joint Committee on the Judiciary, which we need to vote the bill onwards to be voted on by the full legislature.

Everyone is welcome to attend, and allowed to sign up to testify. However, please be aware that:

Attendance is much more needed for Transgender Equal Rights Lobby Day on Thursday June 23rd.
We ask that you not bring signs, or engage with anyone who antagonizes you.
Although the hearing should be much shorter and simpler than our previous ones (which were quite complex and several hours), we can't know how long it will be, the order or timing of speakers, etc.; there will be many other bills being heard today, though far fewer than our previous hearing days.
To make our presentation as short and sweet as possible, we need to focus on our pre-planned themed panels of speakers.
We will present all written testimony to the Committee (the letters we have been asking supporters for all year).
Although the opposition will have to follow the rules, their speakers may (as during the last hearing) say upsetting things about transgender people, (non-trans) women, etc. This can be particularly painful for allies, and for those who weren't around back when such things were much more commonly said about GLB people, women, etc.

If you can't attend, here's how you can help (yesterday's MassEquality email): http://eepurl.com/d_mA5

I will be attending, and ICTE will be presenting a faith-themed panel of three clergy. And here is my written testimony:

June 8, 2011

Senator Cynthia S. Creem and Representative Eugene L. O’Flaherty

Joint Committee on the Judiciary

Rooms 405 and 136

State House

Boston, MA 02133

Dear Senator Creem and Representative O’Flaherty,

My name is Mycroft Holmes, and I am a transgender person and leader who lives and works in greater Boston, where I was born and have always lived. I love Boston and the rest of Massachusetts; this has always been my home and I hope it always will be.

I’m an interfaith transgender leader -- Chair of the Interfaith Coalition for Transgender Equality (ICTE), member of the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition’s (MTPC) Steering Committee, and Emeritus Founding Chair of the Keshet’s Transgender Working Group (TWiG); I’m also a board member of Congregation Am Tikva (Brookline).

Founded in 2007, ICTE is a gathering of clergy, lay leaders and organizations that organizes the Massachusetts faith community in support of transgender social justice. As the interfaith partner of MTPC, ICTE focuses on faith-based work in support of the Transgender Equal Rights Bill (An Act Relative To Transgender Equal Rights, House Bill 502 / Senate Bill 764).

ICTE created and has submitted to you several updates of our Declaration Of Religious And Faith-Based Support for the bill – you received the latest version today, signed by hundreds of Massachusetts faith communities, clergy, lay leaders and other individuals. We organized Transgender Faith Action Week in April – more than 100 faith communities participated. The Week included a clergy press conference at the Statehouse where four faith leaders -- the Episcopal Church’s diocesan bishop, an Episcopal priest, a United Methodist pastor, and a rabbi – spoke in support of the bill. You will hear testimony from some of our other supportive clergy at today’s hearing, and at Transgender Equal Rights Lobby Day on the 23rd. The Massachusetts faith community wants to see this vital legislation passed this session.

Ever since I was a small child, I wanted to work in criminal justice. After public school in Brookline and Newton, I attended Northeastern University as a Criminal Justice major. The university was supportive, but classes, campus life and housing were very challenging. After my sophomore year, I tried to participate in the cooperative education program -- students are placed in jobs in their majors during their next three years, helping them pay tuition and living expenses and find employment in their field after graduation. The co-op department was supportive, but the employers wouldn’t even communicate with me, never mind interview me.

Because I was transgender, I was the only one of the 200 criminal justice students who wasn’t placed in a job. Without the financial support and experience of co-op, I had to leave Northeastern.

It was devastating to learn that I couldn’t pursue my dream because I was transgender, and that I had no legal recourse. The day my co-op advisor called to tell me I couldn’t be placed, and the details of the discrimination, I understood what it meant to be a member of a group of citizens that don’t have civil rights.

And I realized that my calling was to be a transgender leader. I’ve had a wonderful career, and have a bright future. But very little of my career work has been or is funded – I’ve always needed other full-time paid work, and I’ve continued to experience employment discrimination because of my gender identity and expression, leading to underemployment and unemployment.

My life partner is a Maryland native and lifelong resident who graduated from George Washington University (Washington, DC) last month. We want her to move to Boston this year so that we can find our first home and begin the next part of our life together. We have much to offer my great state. But we are both challenged by employment discrimination, and we fear discrimination in credit, housing, public accommodations and public education. We need the Transgender Equal Rights Bill to pass into law.

I urge you to vote the Transgender Equal Rights Bill out and on so that it can be voted on by the full legislature and pass during this legislative session. This bill would finally give transgender people our civil rights. This is so vital, so long overdue, and we are so close.

Thank you,

Mycroft Holmes

{address}

27th Annual Erev Pride WEEK Liberation Seder -- THIS FRIDAY!!

2011-05-31T20:03:00.005-04:00

CAT is Boston's GLBT synagogue and my synagogue, and invented the Pride seder here in Boston 27 years ago. I've been on the Seder planning committee for several years. All are welcome!!! You don't have to be GLBTQ (et al) or Jewish.

~ 27th Annual ~

Erev Pride WEEK* Liberation Seder

*the night before Boston GLBT Pride WEEK

THIS FRIDAY, June 3rd, 2011

7:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.

Temple Sinai ~ Weintraub Auditorium

50 Sewall Ave. in Brookline, MA

(Green Line - C train - Coolidge Corner stop; #66 bus)

In the tradition of the Passover seder, we will retell the story of

the GLBT community’s liberation. This year, we celebrate marriage

equality as well as recognize the continuing violence and

discrimination committed against transgender and all people because of

their gender identity and expression. We will take this opportunity to

taste the bitterness of this oppression and to take action against it.

Participants will have the opportunity to take action to support the

Transgender Equal Rights Bill.

Kosher desserts will be served. Suggested donation is $5.

Facebook event page:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=201727453205027

617.232.5543 | info@AmTikva.org

Co-sponsored by Congregation Am Tikva, Keshet and the Interfaith Coalition for

Transgender Equality.

NEVADA - transgender anti-employment-discrimination law passed

2011-05-25T19:55:00.000-04:00

http://www.masstpc.org/?p=1374 :

Transgender Equal Rights Coalition Congratulates Nevada On New Law Protecting Transgender Workers From Discrimination

May 25th, 2011
14 states, District of Columbia, and 100s of businesses now prohibit discrimination against transgender people
BOSTON—Nevada Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval signed into law yesterday a measure banning employment discrimination based on gender identity and expression. Nevada is the 14th state to prohibit workplace discrimination against transgender people.
“We applaud Nevada for protecting all residents,” said Gunner Scott, executive director of the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition. “Everyone should have the same opportunities to work, and this bill will help Nevada residents who are transgender support themselves and their families.”
“We know that employment discrimination against transgender people is costing the state of Massachusetts at least $5 million a year in lost income tax revenues and increased expenditures on public health insurance coverage,” said MassEquality Executive Director Kara Suffredini. “Nearly 100 businesses in Massachusetts, our Executive Branch, and 14 other states, including three of our New England neighbors and the District of Columbia, have put protections in place for transgender people. We applaud Nevada lawmakers for working in bipartisan fashion to take this important step and urge lawmakers on Beacon Hill to join the chorus calling for passage this bill.”
On Wednesday, June 8, the Joint Committee on the Judiciary will hold a hearing on the Transgender Equal Rights Bill at 1 pm in Gardner Auditorium at the State House. The bill would update Massachusetts’ nondiscrimination and hate crimes laws to include transgender people. The 13 other states, in addition to Nevada and the District of Columbia, that have enacted laws banning discrimination against transgender people are: California, Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Vermont, Iowa, Oregon, and Washington.
###
About the Transgender Equal Rights Coalition:
The Transgender Equal Rights Coalition is working to pass “An Act Relative to Transgender Equal Rights.” (House Bill 502 and Senate Docket Number 536). This law would add gender identity and expression to existing Massachusetts civil rights laws, which currently prohibit discrimination on the basis of age, race, creed, color, national origin, sexual orientation, sex, and marital status in the areas of employment, housing, public accommodations, education, and credit. The bill would also add offenses regarding gender identity or expression to the list of offenses that are subject to treatment as hate crimes. The bill defines gender identity and expression as “a gender-related identity, appearance, expression, or behavior of an individual, regardless of the individual’s assigned sex at birth.” This is consistent with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination’s past decisions, as well as Boston’s 2002 transgender anti-discrimination ordinance. Members of the coalition include MassNOW; ACLU of Massachusetts; Jane Doe, Inc., The Massachusetts Coalition Against Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence; National Association of Social Workers, MA; Mass AFL-CIO; Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders; Mass Gay and Lesbian Political Caucus; Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition; and MassEquality.

CONNECTICUT - transgender rights Bill passed House; Senate vote between now & June 8th!

2011-05-24T18:23:00.003-04:00

Dear Mycroft,

Last week, we heard great news as the Connecticut House voted 77-62 to pass HB 6599: An Act Against Discrimination, a bill that would add gender identity and expression to Connecticut's anti-discrimination law.

The House majority understood, as we do, that no one should live in fear of losing their job, or face discrimination in housing, public accommodations or credit simply because they are transgender.

Now the bill is moving on to the Senate, where it must pass in order to become law. We expect that vote to come as soon as this week (the legislative session ends on June 8).

Please contact your senators today and urge them to support the bill with no amendments.

With your continued support, we can make sure Connecticut affirms its commitment to providing equality and fairness by becoming the fourteenth state to add gender identity and gender expression to its non-discrimination statutes.

Thank you for supporting equality,

Jennifer Levi

Transgender Rights Project Director

P.S. I was elated to be there as the Connecticut House took a huge step toward achieving basic fairness and equality for all residents. You can read my reflections on the GLAD blog.

Jennifer Levi with
Representative
Gary Holder-Winfield

after the House vote

CONNECT WITH GLAD

TransFaith Caucus - Washington DC - this Sunday

2011-05-19T18:48:00.001-04:00

Transgender Caucus on Sunday, May 22, 2011

MCC's People of African Descent Conference (May 19-21, 2011) and HRC's Clergy Call(May 22-24, 2011) have coordinated their programming for 2011, as they both gather in Washington D.C.

More on MCC PAD 2011: http://padconference.mccchurch.org/

More on HRC Clergy Call 2011: http://www.hrc.org/clergycall2011/

There will be a TransFaith Caucus on Sunday, May 22, 2011 (Noon to 3pm). Local transgender people and transgender participants from both events are invited to gather for lunch and conversation between these to larger events. We will...

Meet, greet, network, and get to know one another
Discuss the needs of transgender clergy and brainstorm about future organizing for mutual support
Consider strategies to address barriers to transgender service and professional development

HRC is providing the gathering space and funding for a simple lunch. Please plan your travel to arrive in time to participate.

Where: HRC offices, 1640 Rhode Island Avenue NW # 1, Washington D.C.
When: Sunday, May 22, 2011, noon to 3pm
RSVP: Please contact chris@transfaithonline.org so we can be sure to have enough food on hand! And please advise of any dietary restrictions.
Transportation: We will work together to transport folks from HRC to Mt. Vernon Place UMC, where the evening activities for Clergy Call 2011 and MCC PAD will be happening. Please let us know if you can assist with these logistics.

Letters & signatures needed for Transgender Equal Rights Bill!

2011-05-19T09:30:00.002-04:00

Good morning!

We still need testimony letters and Declaration signatures for the Transgender Equal Rights Bill’s public hearing on Wednesday June 8^{th --}please submit your letters and signatures by this coming Monday, May 23^rd. (We need to produce binders of testimony and other documents to give to each Committee member on hearing day.)

To sign ICTE’s Declaration Of Religious And Faith-Based Support for the bill:

Read the signed Declaration as a PDF (updated yesterday):

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B-u19Qf_xKGEODRmYmQ3MmItZjllYi00NjBiLWJjZWYtMzNlYmJjMDRkMWNj&hl=en&authkey=CKTEj7QG

If you don’t see your or your community / organization’s signatures, emailInterfaithCoalition@gmail.com – include the name(s) as you wish it/them to appear (if you have a title, please use it if you can), and the denomination(s).

To submit written testimony for the bill’s hearing (Wednesday, June 8^th):

Write a letter telling the Joint Committee on the Judiciary why you support the bill and urging them to do so (we need them to vote the bill onwards to be voted on by the full legislature). If you submitted testimony last legislative session, you will be contacted about updating it. Submit your written testimony to the Committee co-chairs and MTPC. All testimony will be presented to the Committee the day of the hearing. Full instructions for writing and submitting:

http://www.masstpc.org/legislation/testifyinwriting.shtml

More details and opportunities for action are in our previous update (Friday May 6^th):

http://interfaithcoalition.blogspot.com/2011/05/update-ma-transgender-equal-rights-bill.html

Thank you,

Interfaith Coalition for Transgender Equality (ICTE)

http://www.interfaithcoalition.blogspot.com

ICTE FB group:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=7923372429

Faith campaign FB event:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=188135257891766

MA Transgender Equal Rights Bill in Metro Boston newspaper again!

2011-05-17T12:30:00.002-04:00

The MA Transgender Equal Rights Bill is in the Metro Boston newspaper again! Page two of today's print edition (available online as a PDF). Here's the online version:

http://www.metro.us/boston/local/article/862296--transgender-rights-up-for-debate-on-hill

Home

Local

transgender

Transgender rights up for debate on Hill

NICOLAUS CZARNECKI/METRO

Gunnar Scott, executive director of the Mass. Transgender Political Coaltion, will take his fight for equality to Beacon Hill next month.

More about transgender

Council supports transgender bill

Lorelei's struggle as a transgender woman

Transitioning their tactics to raise public awareness

Born this way

Transgender is a difficult issue for most people to wrap their heads round.

» “The best way to describe it,” says Scott, “is as people who are born into a sex that they don’t identify with.”
» For more information on MTPC, go to www.masstpc.org

BOSTON

LINDA LABAN

Published: May 16, 2011 7:57 p.m.

Last modified: May 16, 2011 8:00 p.m.

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Last week’s debut of the Chaz Bono documentary brought the battles of transgender people to the spotlight, but in Massachusetts, a much quieter battle is being waged at the State House — one that many are hoping will be deemed a success in a few short weeks.

The battle for transgender equality already received one victory when the Boston City Council in March unanimously reiterated its support of an ordinance passed in 2002 that legally protects Boston’s transgender population against discrimination and violence. The bigger fight, however, is to gain that protection statewide.

“That’s the push now,” confirms Gunner Scott, executive director of the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition. “Honestly, the resolution was done within 24 hours of my asking them. Every one of those city councilors didn’t think twice about it. They get it. The mayor of Boston, he gets it. I only wish our Legislature was as open to the experiences of transgender people.”

Those experiences involve job discrimination, being refused service at restaurants, and even violence and murder. The Transgender Equal Rights Bill would protect basic civil rights for transgender people in Massachusetts. The MTPC has worked to gain protection since 2007 and a joint hearing of the bill is scheduled for June 8.

“The committee deliberates on whether they are in favor or not, or whether it’s sent to study. For the last two sessions, we’ve been sent to study,” says Scott grimly, because that’s akin to being put on the back burner.

Besides City Council support, new federal transgender protection — including measures by the departments of Labor and Housing and Urban Development — add more support.

“It’s sad,” Scott said. “At one point [Mass.] stood up for civil rights, but [it’s not] doing that right now.”

More about transgender , civil rights

Study Finds Employment Discrimination against Transgender Residents of Massachusetts Costs the State Millions Annually

2011-05-12T12:26:00.000-04:00

http://www.masstpc.org/?p=1358

New Study Finds Employment Discrimination against Transgender Residents of Massachusetts Costs the State Millions Annually

May 11th, 2011

For Immediate Release

Contact: Gunner Scott: 617-778-0519
Kara Suffredini: 617-878-2300

May 11, 2011

BOSTON — A new research study released today by The Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Law and Public Policy shows that employment discrimination against transgender residents of Massachusetts likely costs the state millions of dollars each year. These costs are the result of reduced income tax revenue, expenditures on public assistance programs, and other costs related to an increased need for public assistance programs. The added cost to the Commonwealth for public health insurance coverage alone is $3 million annually due to employment discrimination against transgender workers.

“When transgender people experience employment discrimination, not only can that have a substantial negative impact on people’s lives, but it also affects the Commonwealth financially so all Massachusetts residents pay a price,” said study author Jody L. Herman, the Peter J. Cooper Public Policy Fellow at the Williams Institute. “The legislature is making painful choices as it builds next year’s budget,” said Kara Suffredini, executive director of MassEquality. “This law would not cost the state a dime, but it could bring in millions of revenue and savings each year.”

“Employment discrimination erodes your dignity—and empties your pocketbook. When otherwise qualified people cannot find work solely because of who they are, the state loses money in lost tax revenues and increased expenditures on public programs such as MassHealth,” said Gunner Scott, executive director of the Massachusetts Transgender
Political Coalition.

In calculating the cost to the Commonwealth, the study estimates that 6,600 Massachusetts residents have lost a job, 12,900 were not hired for a job, and 5,600 were denied a promotion, all due to due to anti-transgender bias. Furthermore, 15 percent of surveyed transgender Massachusetts residents made $10,000 or less in annual household income, whereas only 3 percent of the Massachusetts general population made this amount.

Employment discrimination can lead to lost wages and the need to access public assistance programs to replace lost income and health insurance coverage. This study estimates that the Commonwealth may be losing millions in income tax revenues each year due to employment discrimination. In addition, the Commonwealth is spending nearly $3 million every year in public health insurance coverage for those who have lost jobs due to anti-transgender bias.

View or download the report

See press coverage

###

About the Transgender Equal Rights Coalition
The Transgender Equal Rights Coalition is working to pass “An Act Relative to Transgender Equal Rights.” (House Bill 502 and Senate Docket Number 536). This law would add gender identity and expression to existing Massachusetts civil rights laws, which currently prohibit
discrimination on the basis of age, race, creed, color, national origin, sexual orientation, sex, and marital status in the areas of employment, housing, public accommodations, education, and credit. The bill would also add offenses regarding gender identity or expression to the list of offenses that are subject to treatment as hate crimes. The bill defines gender identity and expression as “a gender-related identity, appearance, expression, or behavior of an individual,
regardless of the individual’s assigned sex at birth.” This is consistent with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination’s past decisions, as well as Boston’s 2002 transgender
anti-discrimination ordinance. Members of the coalition include MassNOW; ACLU of Massachusetts; Jane Doe, Inc., The Massachusetts Coalition Against Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence; National Association of Social Workers, MA; Mass AFL-CIO; Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders; Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition; MassEquality; the Massachusetts Gay and Lesbian Political Caucus and the Massachusetts LGBTQ Bar Association.

CONNECTICUT - vote expected on transgender equal rights bill TODAY or TOMORROW

2011-05-11T12:22:00.003-04:00

Dear Mycroft,

HB 6599: An Act Concerning Discrimination - which would add gender identity to Connecticut's anti-discrimination law - could face its most difficult hurdle as soon as today. We expect the House to vote on the bill eithertoday, Wednesday, May 11 or tomorrow, Thursday, May 12.

Please take a moment right now to follow these quick and easy steps to contact your legislator. Even if your state rep has already heard from you, we must remind them until they vote that HB 6599 must become law in 2011. Once you've followed the steps, please forward this email to your pro-equality friends and family.

Click here to take action and give HB 6599 the push it needs!

If you have any questions or concerns, or need assistance, please emailSally Tamarkin or call 860-247-6090. To learn more, visitwww.ctequality.com.

Thank you,

Gary Buseck

Acting Executive Director

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Keshet's Massachusetts programming in May

2011-05-08T19:15:00.012-04:00

Keshet is a national grassroots organization that works for the full inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Jews in Jewish life. Led and supported by LGBT Jews and straight allies, Keshet offers resources, trainings, and technical assistance to create inclusive Jewish communities nationwide.

I wanted to raise up three pieces of their programming this month in Massachusetts (they have offices in Boston, Denver and San Francisco) that are particularly transfaith. Here's their May Massachusetts enewsletter:

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Bonfires--Film-Festivals--and-More-for-May-.html?soid=1101299078235&aid=Xqi2CQva30g. And here's the text from their website:

May 11: Interfaith Gathering

Do you attend shul on Friday and church on Sunday? Chant or meditate? Are you and your partner from different faith traditions? Bring your whole self for a relaxed conversation about our spiritual/social journeys and how we weave together our Jewishness with other traditions. Keshet member Laura Evonne Steinman, who was raised Unitarian, with Jewish and Catholic roots, will guide the conversation.

Cosponsor: Arlington Street Church

Time: 7:45pm

Where: Arlington Street Church, 351 Boylston St., Boston

RSVP: by 5/9 to events@keshetonline.org or call 617-524-9227

*******

May 12: Dr. Joy Ladin: “Judaism, Gender, and Boundaries”

It’s hard to think of an aspect of human identity deeper and broader than gender. At the same time, having an identity–including a gender identity–means having boundaries, since identifying who one is requires identifying who one is not, and boundaries are the lines we draw between the two. What does Judaism say about all this? Don’t miss this chance to learn with award-winning poet Dr. Joy Ladin, English professor at Yeshiva University’s Stern College for Women and the first out trans professor at a religious university.

Cosponsor: Nehar Shalom

Time: 7:30pm

Where: Nehar Shalom Community Synagogue, 43 Lochstead Ave., Jamaica Plain

Cost: suggested donation: $5

RSVP: by 5/10 to events@keshetonline.org or call 617-524-9227

*******

May 25: Trans & Queer Beit Midrash: Transformative Transgender Ritual

In Judaism, ritual practices are crafted and performed to raise our awareness of special, holy time and help us celebrate our lives. However, many rituals are gendered “male” or “female,” which can marginalize and alienate transgender people. This workshop is designed to help us experience the healing and transformative power of innovative Jewish ritual, and to begin to craft personal, Jewish rituals that reflect our spirituality, transitions, and lives. We will explore rituals such as tallit, tefilllin, mikveh, and Jewish naming, as well as innovative rituals that reflect transgender experience. Facilitated by Hebrew College rabbinical students Margot Meitner and Suzie Schwartz.

Supported in part by a grant by CJP’s Innovation Grants Committee.

Time: 6pm

Where: Mayyim Hayyim, 1838 Washington St., Newton

RSVP: 5/23 to events@keshetonline.org or call 617-524-9227

UPDATE - MA Transgender Equal Rights Bill!

2011-05-06T19:34:00.006-04:00

Happy Spring, ICTE Supporters!

We hope this finds you well, and reflecting on meaningful holy weeks in all senses. We come bearing gratitude, good news, and an update about the Transgender Equal Rights Bill (An Act Relative To Transgender Equal Rights, House Bill 502 / Senate Bill 764).

THANK YOU for making Transgender Faith Action Week and the rest of the faith campaign thus far so very successful! We are deeply grateful to you for helping us send this powerful message to the legislature – the Massachusetts faith community wants to see this vital legislation passed this session. More than 100 faith communities have participated – here’s the list:

http://interfaithcoalition.blogspot.com/2011/03/transgender-faith-action-week.html

The highlight of the Week was the amazing clergy press conference – the first faith-themed press conference for the bill – here’s the media coverage:

http://interfaithcoalition.blogspot.com/2011/04/clergy-press-conference-for-ma.html

If you distributed postcards, please collect them and send them to:

Matthew Brunner

MassEquality

262 Washington Street – 7th Floor

Boston, MA 02108

The faith campaign will continue until the bill passes! The Transgender Faith Action Week Facebook event (http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=188135257891766) is being converted into a site for the remainder of the faith campaign.

Here’s how you can take action to support the bill – please share this information with everyone you can:

Sign ICTE’s Declaration Of Religious And Faith-Based Support for the bill -- by Monday May 23rd. Here’s the Declaration as a PDF:

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B-u19Qf_xKGEODRmYmQ3MmItZjllYi00NjBiLWJjZWYtMzNlYmJjMDRkMWNj&hl=en&authkey=CKTEj7QG

If you don’t see your or your community / organization’s signatures, email InterfaithCoalition@gmail.com – include the name(s) as you wish it/them to appear (if you have a title, please use it if you can), and the denomination(s).

Submit written testimony for the bill’s hearing (Wednesday, June 8th) – by Monday May 23rd.

http://www.masstpc.org/legislation/testifyinwriting.shtml

Attend the bill’s hearing on Wednesday June 8th, at 1:00 p.m. in the MA Statehouse’s Gardner Auditorium.

This is the public hearing before the Joint Committee on the Judiciary, which we need to vote the bill onwards to be voted on by the full legislature.

Attend Transgender Equal Rights Lobby Day on Thursday June 23rd, from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. at the MA Statehouse’s Grand Staircase.

Transgender Equal Rights Lobby Day Facebook event:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=199424550095489

Everyone is welcome and needed at the hearing and Lobby Day – you do not need to testify or meet with a legislator. We need the Statehouse to see as many supporters as possible. We particularly need visible clergy, lay leaders and other people of faith.

Learn more about the bill and MTPC’s legislative and educational work through a conference call.

MTPC will be holding two phone conference calls:

Staff members of advocacy / partner organizations – next Wednesday May 11th at 4:00 p.m.

(ICTE will be participating)

Community members -- next Thursday May 12th at 6:30 p.m.

To register and receive the call-in number RSVP to Rachel at rachel@masstpc.org / 617.778.0519 -- include your name, email address and which call you will participating in. Capacity is limited, but additional calls will be scheduled if needed.

And again – please share this information with everyone you can!

Yours in gratitude, hope and excitement,

Interfaith Coalition for Transgender Equality (ICTE)

http://www.interfaithcoalition.blogspot.com

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=7923372429

"Thy Will Be Done" documentary screening this Monday

2011-05-05T05:30:00.002-04:00

Director Alice Bouvrie's documentary "Thy Will Be Done" follows male-to-female transsexual Sara Herwig in her path to ordination in the Presbyterian Church; a transsexual woman's journey through family and faith.

The image is a production still.

Our previous post about it:

http://interfaithcoalition.blogspot.com/2010/11/thy-will-be-done-documentary-about.html

Director Alice Bouvrie's film site:
http://www.mineralkingproductions.com/

The film's Facebook site:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/THY-WILL-BE-DONE/115827228256

The next local showing is this coming Monday, May 9th, 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. in the Community Room of the Robbins Library in Arlington (700 Mass. Ave.). The filmmaker and cast will be present.

Philadelphia Trans-Health Conference ~ June 2nd - 4th!

2011-05-04T18:13:00.006-04:00

The 10th annual Philadelphia Trans-Health Conference is Thursday June 2nd through Saturday June 4th! And it will have more faith / religion / spirituality content than ever before. Chris Paige of Trans Faith Online has provided this excellent text:

Philadelphia Trans-Health Conference

2011 marks the third year of TransFaith leadership being involved in planning spiritually-themed events in and around the Philadelphia Trans-Health Conference (PTHC).

June 2-4, 2011 (Thursday to Saturday, plus pre- and post-events)
Philadelphia, PA
Registration is FREE
PTHC is the largest transgender-specific conference in the world
Yes! Family, friends, and allies are encouraged to join us!
More at http://www.trans-health.org

TransFaith Caucuses (pre-event)

Gathering at Old First UCC on June 1, 2011 from 2pm-5pm, this pre-event will allow for transgender people of faith and our allies to gather and connect as we arrive in Philadelphia -- allowing for those relationships to deepen as the conference unfolds. Learn more!

Public Event Pre-Event

This free, public conference pre-event will begin at 7:30pm on Wednesday, June 1, 2011, at Old First UCC and is co-sponsored by the Transgender People of Color Coalition. This panel presentation on gender diversity among indigenous people offers an exciting opportunity to consider how spirituality and identity intersect in some less visible cultural contexts. Learn more!

Spirituality Workshops

Spirituality content at PTHC 2011 (Thursday, June 2 - Saturday, June 4, 2011 will include offerings for transgender people, as well as for allied clergy, mental health professionals, family, and friends.

Spirituality workshops: http://workshops-2011.trans-health.org/public/list/21/
Mental health professionals, clergy, and other counselors will also want to consider to review the full slate of mental health offerings
Friends, family, and allies will also want to consider partner-oriented workshops, ally-oriented workshops, and family-oriented workshops
Programming is also available for children and teens

Spiritual Opportunities

Workshops are great, but it's also healing and empowering to gather for spiritual or religious observances in an intentionally transgender-affirming space. Numerous opportunities will be available in 2011.

And so much more!

There are well over 200 activities planned. Please visit http://www.trans-health.org for full details, as well as travel details!

Why at PTHC 2011? There are few places in the world where people of faith can gather to learn about transgender communities in all of our diversity -- not simply to hear about diversity from one or a few presenters, but to walk among transgender people from a variety of races and life experiences. PTHC hosts gender non-conforming children with their familes, youth and young adults, as well as older trans men, trans women, and genderqueer community members. Presenters include national transgender leaders and grassroots organizers, as well as medical and mental health providers. By working within and around the largest, transgender-specific conference in the world, we are able to expose participants to leading experts from a variety of disciplines who can help conference participants to contextualize the role of faith and spirituality in the life of the transgender community.

General Summary
http://hub.transfaithonline.org/events/philadelphia_pa_in_june_2011/

2011 TransFaith Caucuses
http://hub.transfaithonline.org/events/philadelphia_pa_in_june_2011/2011_transfaith_caucuses/

Gender Diversity and Indigenous Peoples in Dialogue (public pre-event)
http://hub.transfaithonline.org/events/philadelphia_pa_in_june_2011/june_1_pre_event/

Join The Impact MA – 2nd annual [LGBTQ] Equal Rights Con – “Momentum” - this weekend

2011-04-29T12:07:00.005-04:00

Join The Impact Massachusetts’ second annual [LGBTQ] Equal Rights Conference, “Momentum (Our History, Our Movement, Our Future)”, is this weekend, today through Sunday, here in Boston. I’ll be on the panel “Lives Of Faith, Lives Of Activism” – my colleague Rev. Cameron Partridge was invited but unavailable and very kindly recommended me.

WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION:

Lives of Faith, Lives of Activism - a panel discussion

Many LGBTQ people continue to worship in faith communities and serve as religious leaders - in spite of negative experiences they may have had with churches or temples in the past - and to experience a faith-centered commitment to seeking justice and equality. What role can faith communities play in advancing LGBTQ rights as an issue of social justice? How do we as LGBTQ people of faith respond to the religious right's anti-gay misinformation and rhetoric? In this interactive and wide-ranging panel discussion, a diverse group of religious leaders, professors, and students will explore these questions and discuss ways in which religious faith shapes our lives and informs our work for equality. Confirmed panelists include minister, writer, and activist Rev. Irene Monroe; historian and professor Jennifer Wright Knust of Boston University Theological School; Delfin Bautista, program coordinator of Unitarian Universalist Association's LGBT Ministries; Nathaniel Katz, Epps Fellow for Undergraduate Ministry at The Memorial Church, Harvard University; and Mycroft Masada Holmes, Chair of the Interfaith Coalition for Transgender Equality.

MY BIO:

Mycroft Masada Holmes is a transgender leader specializing in faith, religion and spirituality. Mycroft is Chair of the Interfaith Coalition for Transgender Equality (ICTE) and Chair of the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition’s (MTPC) Training Committee, as well as Emeritus Founding Chair of Keshet’s Transgender Working Group (TWiG) and a board member of Congregation Am Tikva. Mycroft was a member of an Episcopal church which closed, and has been “church shopping”. Mycroft is also committed to working for fat / size acceptance.

FRONT PAGE OF THE CON SITE (http://www.lgbtqmomentum.org/):

2nd ANNUAL EQUAL RIGHTS CONFERENCE

Old South Church at Copley Square

Boston, Massachusetts

April 29th - May 1st

Big thanks to TraniWreck for hosting our opening social event on Friday, April 29th! Join us for an all ages, all gender, all genre, cabaret variety show produced by Truth Serum Productions. Drag, Burlesque, Spoken Word and live music! With special appearances and greetings by Sue Hyde, Gunner Scott, and Robbie Samuels. Doors open at 7pm at Old South Church.

$8 or $10 (more if you have it) - pay at the door cash or check only.

Since 2008 the LGBTQ community has seen real legal and legislative gains, but at the same time many social programs serving the LGBTQ community are facing devastating budget cuts. Just in the last year at the federal level, some of the gains of our movement include: the congressional repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell; the public declaration by the courts and Obama that the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional, and the granting of transgender non-discrimination protections for HUD funded housing. On a local level, we have taken huge steps forward by winning protections for transgender state employees and anti-bullying legislation, while working to maintain and extend marriage equality in the region. All of these gains are just a step in the right direction, but the fight for full equality and unconditional justice continues and many people in our movement are working on projects that cannnot be measured by legal and legislative gains. This conference will bring together LGBTQ people & allies from all around the Northeast to collaborate and strategize about how to continue our momentum.

SIGN-UP FOR CONFERENCE UPDATES:

To sign up for our email listserv: http://groups.google.com/group/lgbtconference

#lgbtqmomentum

Let us know you are attending and share this event on facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=210263775652238

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Momentum-2nd-Annual-Equal-Rights-

Conference/185449621477374

CONNECTICUT Equality Day is TODAY!

2011-04-28T12:30:00.001-04:00

Dear Mycroft,

Equality Day 2011 is this Thursday, April 28! Equality Day is your opportunity to hear exciting guest speakers from the transgender community - like GLAD's Transgender Rights Project Director Jennifer Levi -- and to meet other advocates and citizen activistsworking to pass HB 6599, a bill that would prevent discrimination against transgender people in Connecticut.

RSVP NOW for Equality Day on Thursday, April 28, in the Old Judiciary Room at the State Capitol in Hartford from

10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Our partner organization ctEQUALITY will hold a mini-training on how to discuss the bill with your legislators, because Equality Day is also an opportunity to talk with lawmakers about the importance of making our state a place where people are treated fairly and equally regardless of their gender identity or expression. Our opponents are ramping up their efforts to defeat HB 6599, so we must show legislators and the public that we are unified and committed to full equality for all Connecticut residents!

Never spoken to your legislator before? No problem. ctEQUALITY will provide all the materials and resources you need and walk you through the process. They'll even book the appointment for you

Be sure to share the RSVP link with your pro-equality friends and family!

If you have any questions or concerns, or need assistance with any of the above, please e-mail Sally Tamarkin at stamarkin@cwealf.org or call (860) 247-6090 ext. 105. To learn more, check out ctEQUALITY's website at www.ctequality.com.

Thank you,

Gary Buseck
Acting Executive Director

CONNECT WITH GLAD

Interfaith transgender panel - Harvard University Hillel - THIS WEDNESDAY!

2011-04-25T19:54:00.008-04:00

There's going to be an interfaith transgender panel at Harvard University's Hillel this Wednesday (April 27th)! I will be one of the panelists, along with my colleagues Rev. Cameron Partridge, Laurie Wolfe, and Jamez Terry. All are welcome!!! (You don't need to be a Harvard affiliate.) Please join us!

Mycroft Masada Holmes is a transgender leader specializing in faith, religion and spirituality. Mycroft is Chair of the Interfaith Coalition for Transgender Equality (ICTE) and Chair of the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition’s (MTPC) Training Committee, as well as Emeritus Founding Chair of Keshet’s Transgender Working Group (TWiG) and a board member of Congregation Am Tikva. Mycroft was a member of an Episcopal church which closed, and has been “church shopping”. Mycroft is also committed to working for fat / size acceptance.

Rev. Dr. Cameron Partridge is the Interim Episcopal Chaplain and a Lecturer who has taught courses in WGS and at the Divinity School. Cameron is a transgender man who transitioned at Harvard as a doctoral student in 2002 and was ordained a priest in the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts in 2005. He has for several years contributed to ongoing conversations on LGBT issues in The Episcopal Church and Anglican Communion. As a founding member of the Interfaith Coalition for Transgender Equality, he is also working to bring transgender and trans-supportive people of faith into public conversations, particularly on pending local and national transgender nondiscrimination legislation.

Laurie Wolfe is an activist, educator and speaker on gender and trans issues. She volunteers with Keshet, a Boston-based organization that works for full inclusion of LGBTQ people in Jewish life, and co-chairs their Greater Boston Steering Committee and Trans Working Group (TWiG). She also volunteers with MTPC, the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition, and SpeakOut Boston, the lgbt speakers bureau. Laurie worked most recently as a fundraiser for non-profit organizations. Her spiritual path has led her from Hatha and Bhakti Yoga to Hindu practices and Shamanic teachings. She is in the process of learning more about what being Jewish is about thanks to her Keshet family. Her current spiritual practice combines prayer, meditation, writing and chanting.

Jamez Terry is an MDiv candidate in the Unitarian Universalist tradition at Harvard Divinity School. He is also the founder and organizer of the Tranny Roadshow and has spent the past 6 years bringing trans performance art to communities throughout North America. He is very interested in the intersections of gender identity and religious identity and in bringing trans communities into conversation with communities of faith. He works at the First Parish in Milton and lives in Somerville with his wife and son.

*******

How did you realize you're transgender?

What does transphobia look like?

Trans people can be in the clergy?

How does your religion affect your identity?

What does it feel like to grow up trans?

What does "transgender" really mean, anyway?

Transforming Faith: Experiencing Religion and Gender Identity

Wondering about gender identity and faith? Come hear transgender speakers of various religions discuss these questions and others. Speakers will talk about their personal experiences being trans people of faith and reflect upon the influences their religions and gender identities have had on their lives. There will be time for an open Q&A, so bring any questions you have!

When: Wednesday, April 27th, 6-7 pm
Where: Smith Hall, Harvard Hillel
52 Mt. Auburn St.

RSVP on facebook

Co-sponsored by the Progressive Jewish Alliance, BAGELS, Interfaith Council, Harvard College QSA, Trans Task Force, Harvard Secular Society, Harvard Buddhist Community, and other campus religious groups TBA.

"Transgender Health and Human Rights" event at Harvard School of Public Health TOMORROW

2011-04-19T20:07:00.002-04:00

Facebook event:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=122679107810171

The members of the Queer Student Alliance and Women, Gender and Health from Harvard School of Public Health (with the support of The Office of Diversity, HMS Kinsey 2-6ers, and Center for Population Research in LGBT Health at The Fenway Institute, Fenway Health) would like to invite you to the major event in our Spring Speaker Series for 2011!

What: Transgender Health and Human Rights: An evening of thought

provoking speakers, panel discussion, and food

When: Wednesday, April 20th

Time: 5:30pm - 8:00pm - (a hot dinner will be served from 5:15pm)

Where: Kresge Building (G3) - Harvard School of Public Health, 677

Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA (map attached)

After: Social event to be arranged in the Longwood area following the event

Our speakers:

• Pauline Park, PhD – New York based transgender rights activist

• Kerith Conron, ScD, MPH – health disparities researcher from

the Institute on Urban Health Research, Northeastern University

A dynamic panel features:

• Norman Spack, MD from the Gender Management Service from

Boston Children’s Hospital

• Ruben Hopwood, MDiv, PhD candidate, Coordinator of the

Transgender Health Program at Fenway Health

• Gunner Scott, Executive Director, Massachusetts Transgender

Political Coalition (MTPC)

MTPC's "I AM : Trans People Speak" -- 3 new video stories, all Jewish

2011-04-08T19:00:00.001-04:00

MTPC has added three new video stories to their "I AM : Trans People Speak" public education campaign (http://www.transpeoplespeak.org/). And because this week is Transgender Faith Action Week, all three stories are faith themed -- all three people are Jewish.

Here is MTPC's press release --

Contact Gunner Scott

617-778-0519

gscott@masstpc.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

New Videos Highlight Transgender People and Allies Speaking About the Role of Faith in Their Lives

Boston, MA [04.08.11]— The Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition (MTPC) is excited to announce the release of three new videos as part of their ground-breaking multi-media public education campaign entitled I AM: Trans People Speak.

In conjunction with the Interfaith Coalition for Transgender Equality’s (ICTE) Faith Action Week (beginning Sunday April 3, 2011), all three new videos share the common theme of spirituality and religion.

One newly premiered video features Stephanie, an undergraduate student who identifies as a writer, poet, and spoken word artist. Stephanie, in her search for a new spirituality, found Judaism and is currently in the process of conversion. She speaks about working with her rabbi on her conversion and the strong sense of community she has found in Reform Judaism. Stephanie talks about her temple community being loving, accepting, and welcoming people who help inform and strengthen who she is.

Another video being premiered is that of Stacey, a parent and software engineer. Having been raised in a religious Jewish household, Stacey says she feels that she shouldn’t have to give up who she is just because of her transition. Although Stacey had a good experience coming out and transitioning at her job, she found that not everyone at her synagogue was accepting. Stacey speaks about how difficult, and often scary, it can be when people do not respect your identity.

The last new video to premier on the I AM: Trans People Speak website is of David, an ally to the transgender community. David speaks about how is own identity as a gay male intertwines with his Jewish identity—as well as how the two communities intersect. David speaks about being aware of the privilege he has and how he uses that privilege to be a better ally to the trans community. He shares with us his five tips for being a better ally, and details how he, along with Keshet (a national organization that works for the full inclusion of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender Jews in Jewish life) work to welcome back people who feel like they can’t go back to their religious home.

The stories of these three individuals serve to remind that transgender people, like all people, are more than just their gender identity and expression. Transgender people, like all people, belong to a wide variety of individuals and intersecting communities.

I AM is a collection of recorded stories that aims to challenge stereotypes and misconceptions of transgender individuals by highlighting the realities of their lived experience. These voices span across a diversity of communities and intersecting identities. I AM fosters support and raises awareness for trans communities by providing a forum where these unique stories can be shared and given significance.

All three new videos were filmed and edited by Jesse Begenyi, a Boston filmmaker. Begenyi and MTPC plan to continue filming and uploading new videos to the website periodically.

For more information please visit www.transpeoplespeak.org or direct questions to info@transpeoplespeak.org.

For more information about ICTE’s Faith Action Week, please visit www.interfaithcoalition.blogspot.com.

###

About MTPC: Founded in 2001, the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition (MTPC) is dedicated to ending discrimination on the basis of gender identity and gender expression. MTPC works for a world where persons of all genders are treated with respect and fully participate in all areas of society, free from fear of prohibition, harassment or violence based on their gender identity and/or expression. Its members educate the public, advocate with state, local, and federal government, engage in political activism, and encourage empowerment of community members through collective action.

A Night To Remember Stephanie Edwards is TOMORROW

2011-04-08T10:14:00.005-04:00

Stephanie Lynne Edwards passed away on Saturday December 18th.

She was a member of Tiffany Club of New England, the Massachusetts Imperial Court, Congregation Am Tikva, and Keshet. She served on TCNE’s board of directors, MTPC’s Steering Committee, and the Randolph Town Meeting (there’s a Patriot Ledger

article about that from 2007); she was also part of the Randolph Country Club

community. If you know her other name, you can find her obituary. She was also

memorialized at Tiffany Club’s annual First Event conference in January.

I knew her through the Jewish and transgender communities, primarily at CAT, Keshet

and MTPC. May her memory be a blessing (as we say in Judaism).

Daphne Prideaux and Genesis of Randolph Country Club have organized a tribute event for Stephanie tomorrow, which is also a benefit for MTPC. I will be attending with two fellow MTPC Steering Committee members, and we’ll be giving a brief speech.

All are welcome – but all guests must be 21+.

A Night to Remember Stephanie Edwards

TOMORROW, Saturday, April 9th, 2011

10:00 p.m. – 1:00 a.m. (Sunday)

Recommended arrival – 9:00 p.m.

Randolph Country Club

44 Mazzeo Drive

Randolph, MA 02368

All guests must be 21+.

$5 donation at door and raffle tickets for donated prizes all benefit the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition (MTPC)! There will also be giveaways, and performers from RCC and the Imperial Courts of Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

Tiffany Club website page:

http://tcne.org/?p=4114

Facebook event:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=134589683278754