The United Nations’ annual “16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence” campaign is aimed at the prevention and elimination of violence against women and girls. It runs every Nov. 25-Dec. 10. Photo: United Nations

[Episcopal News Service] The Diocese of New York’s Task Force on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault spreads awareness of violence against women and girls year-round, culminating in December when it observes “16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence,” the United Nations’ annual campaign, and The Episcopal Church’s “Breaking the Silence Sunday.”

“We host events throughout the year because violence against women and girls happens on a daily basis,” Yvonne O’Neal, a founding task force member, told Episcopal News Service. “Gender-based violence is a painful reality within our church and our world.”

The “16 Days of Activism” campaign is aimed at preventing and eliminating violence against women and girls. It begins with the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on Nov. 25 and ends on Dec. 10, International Human Rights Day. The campaign started in 1991 at the inauguration of the Women’s Global Leadership Institute.

In support of the campaign, General Convention in 2022 passed a resolution calling on The Episcopal Church to observe the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women on the Sunday closest to Nov. 25. The resolution also calls on Episcopalians, laity and clergy, to learn how to support rape and sexual violence survivors.

“Honoring that call [to observe ‘Break the Silence Sunday’] means speaking clearly to victims and survivors – affirming that we care for them, that we hear them and that they have a home in our congregations,” O’Neal said.

This year’s U.N. campaign focused on cyberbullying, online harassment, deep fakes, blackmail, digital safety and other areas related to digital abuse.

In early December, the diocese’s task force hosted a webinar focused on digital abuse, which can also be used to track women and girls and exploit them online. 

“[Digital violence] can be physical, often with the use of an electronic device, a tracking device … possibly using personal images and pictures,” Shael Norris, co-founder and executive director of SafeBAE, a nonprofit committed to ending sexual violence among middle and high school students nationwide, said during the Dec. 4 webinar.  

The webinar was the third in a three-part series the diocese hosts annually, with the 2026 series beginning in April, which is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. 

An estimated 840 million women – almost one third – worldwide have experienced physical or sexual violence, according to data from the World Health Organization.

In the United States, one fifth of U.S. women have been raped or experienced attempted rape; one third of those women were between the ages of 11 and 17 when they experienced it for the first time, according to the nonprofit National Sexual Violence Resource Center. On average, someone, including men and boys, is assaulted every 74 seconds; every nine minutes, that someone is a minor. Women and girls are at greater risk, with one in six having been raped or having experienced attempted rape, according to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, the largest anti-sexual assault nonprofit in the United States.

Beyond hosting advocacy events, O’Neal said one of the task force’s goals is to educate priests and lay leaders on how to identify the signs of domestic violence and sexual assault so they can help survivors find safety.

“A lot of times the priest, if they don’t know better, can give the wrong information, especially when it’s a marriage – the vow of ‘until death do us part,’” O’Neal said. “A priest who doesn’t know better may recommend you not leave your spouse, but staying could be a death sentence.”

To help congregations observe “16 Days of Activism,’ the Diocese of New York publishes a toolkit offering resources to combat gender-based violence. Its aim is to help congregations in the diocese and throughout The Episcopal Church mark Break the Silence Sunday. The 2025 toolkit, available in Spanish, French and Creole, includes a variety of worship resources, including items to assist those who will be preaching, as well as a liturgy for a “Eucharist of Healing, Hope and Liberation” and additional collects. 

This year’s toolkit also includes messages from Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe and New York Bishop Matthew F. Heyd. Both noted that this year’s “Break the Silence Sunday” fell on Nov. 30, the first day of Advent.

“As followers of Jesus, we are called to lift the veil of silence, to listen deeply, to stand beside survivors in compassion and to act with courage in our churches and communities,” Heyd said. “Healing begins when we listen; transformation begins when we act.”

Rowe expressed similar sentiment: “Gender-based violence is a particular epidemic, and each of us has a responsibility to become educated on its prevalence – and to play a role in healing its harms and disrupting its generational cycles,” Rowe said.

O’Neal said the toolkit can be used any time of the year, not just during the “16 Days of Activism.”

-Shireen Korkzan is a reporter and assistant editor for Episcopal News Service. She can be reached at skorkzan@episcopalchurch.org.

A candlelight vigil at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Louisville, Kentucky, memorializes transgender individuals who’ve been targeted or murdered for being who they are. Nov. 20, 2023. Photo: John Nation

[Episcopal News Service] On Nov. 20, Episcopal churches nationwide will observe Transgender Day of Remembrance by holding special worship services and prayer vigils to memorialize transgender individuals who’ve been targeted or murdered for being who they are and to raise awareness of violence against trans people.

“There are a lot of days where I’m terrified to leave my house, so knowing that Episcopal churches are somewhere I can always go and be safe is amazing,” Rocky Vanderford, webmaster for St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Louisville, Kentucky, and a trans man, told Episcopal News Service.

St. Mark’s, in partnership with several local nonprofits and faith groups, will host an evening vigil on the 20th and a fundraiser at Highlands Community Ministries, with proceeds benefiting Mandala House, an LGBTQ+-affirming outpatient mental health facility in Louisville. The money will be added to a mental health grants fund for trans people without health insurance. 

“A lot of people within the trans community, especially trans people of color, have a harder time accessing the resources they need when they’re visibly trans … in terms of employment and housing and health care access,” Vanderford said.

On the 21st, St. Mark’s members will attend a community Q&A panel discussion on trans issues at Mandala House.

The term “transgender” refers to an individual whose gender identity, expression, or behavior does not conform with the person’s assigned sex at birth; nonbinary reflects a gender identity that is not strictly male or female. The terms are often associated with each other but are not interchangeable.

Luminaries bearing the names of transgender people who’ve been murdered are lined in front of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church ahead of its Nov. 20, 2024, candlelight vigil observing Transgender Day of Remembrance. Photo: Dick Arnspiger

Worldwide, 281 trans people – including 31 in the United States – were murdered between Oct. 1, 2024, and Sept. 30, 2025, though the exact number may be much higher, according to the latest data compiled by the Trans Murder Monitoring Project, an initiative of the Berlin, Germany-based Transgender Europe. Most victims were Black or brown.

In Russellville, Arkansas, All Saints’ Episcopal Church will host a candlelight labyrinth walk on Nov. 20 in the parish hall. Names and photos of trans people murdered in the last year will be projected on screen, with participants asked to reflect silently on their lives while walking the labyrinth.

Jana M. Hall, co-coordinator of the labyrinth walk and an All Saints’ parishioner, told ENS that the church is working to establish relationships with Arkansas Tech University students and the newly formed local chapter of the nonprofit advocacy organization Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, or PFLAG. She hopes the relationships will make LGBTQ+ community members aware that they are safe to be themselves at All Saints’.

“We’re in a small town in rural Arkansas, so there’s a lot of struggle and a lot of hatred and a lot of fear going around as trans people try to live their daily lives,” Hall, who has trans siblings, said. “Not everyone has a solid support network, but we can try to be that for them.”

Out of 1,012 bills introduced nationwide in 2025 by federal, state and local legislators targeting LGBTQ+ rights, 124 have passed and 506 remain active. This is the sixth consecutive record-breaking year for the total number of proposed anti-LGBTQ+ bills, according to Trans Legislation Tracker, an independent research organization that tracks bills affecting anti-trans and gender-diverse people in the United States.

Many trans Americans and their families are moving to more LGBTQ+-affirming states or, if they can access passports, to other countries for safety reasons and in response to President Donald Trump’s executive orders targeting transgender rights, including limiting access to gender-affirming care for minors, according to Rainbow Railroad, a global nonprofit that helps LGBTQ+ people move to safety. Latoya Nugent, Rainbow Railroad’s head of engagement, told Time Magazine in an interview that the organization has received a record-high number of relocation assistance requests from U.S. citizens since Trump was elected a year ago.

However, not everyone can move because of financial constraints, family ties and other reasons. That’s why it’s “really important” for Episcopalians not only to support trans and nonbinary people at church, but also through political advocacy, Aaron Scott, The Episcopal Church’s gender justice officer and a trans man, told ENS. 

“Episcopalians need to ground ourselves in whatever we’re doing in our congregations and communities and support policy at every level – local, state and federal – to help everybody access gender-affirming care and establish and strengthen all LGBTQ rights,” Scott said. 

For example, General Convention in 2022 passed Resolution D066, which calls on Episcopalians to advocate for policies that support gender-affirming care for people of all ages, including minors. 

Scott has been working with the church’s Office of Communication to build a social media campaign in support of transgender people, which will launch on Nov. 20. The campaign will include a blessing video by the Rev. Cameron Partridge, rector of St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church in San Francisco, California, and a tribute to three trans Episcopal leaders who have died in recent years: the Rev. Gari Green, a founding member of TransEpiscopal, a group that advocates for more inclusive church policies toward transgender people and creates supportive spaces for trans Episcopalians; the Rev. Iain Michael Stanford, a member of TransEpiscopal who co-led advocacy efforts to add “gender identity and expression” to The Episcopal Church’s nondiscrimination canons for access to the ordination process at all church levels of leadership; and the Rev. Vicki Gray, the first openly trans person ordained in the Diocese of California.

“I miss each of these friends very, very much, and I think of them in the great cloud of witnesses standing with us,” Partridge, a trans man, told ENS. “I don’t know anyone who’s not impacted deeply, internally, emotionally, spiritually by the targeted attacks that are coming at us in various forms of violence in the wider world.”

Partridge said he will spend Transgender Day of Remembrance at a gathering at San Francisco City Hall. The group of activists will march to a nearby LGBTQ+ center.

“Organized action, active prayer … all are super important on Trans Day of Remembrance and beyond,” he said.

The day of remembrance was first observed in 1999 in response to the separate murders of three Black trans women in the Greater Boston, Massachusetts, area: Chanelle Pickett in November 1995; Monique Thomas in September 1998; and Rita Hester in November 1998. Hester’s unsolved murder sparked the day of remembrance. The Nov. 20 international observance concludes Transgender Awareness Week, Nov. 13-19. The day of remembrance is distinct from International Transgender Day of Visibility, which takes place every March 31 to celebrate and acknowledge transgender people and their contributions to society.

-Shireen Korkzan is a reporter and assistant editor for Episcopal News Service. She can be reached at skorkzan@episcopalchurch.org.

Its aim is to help congregations in the diocese, as well as churches and dioceses elsewhere, mark the annual Break the Silence Sunday, which was designated by General Convention in 2022 as Nov. 25 or the closest subsequent Sunday. This year it will be observed on Nov. 30, which also is the first Sunday of Advent.

“Our Gospel commitment calls us to stand with those who have suffered violence and to ensure that it has no place in our homes, churches and communities,” Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe said in a letter that is part of the toolkit. “Gender-based violence is a particular epidemic, and each of us has a responsibility to become educated on its prevalence – and to play a role in healing its harms and disrupting its generational cycles.”

Rowe was among the bishops who supported the General Convention resolution designating this observance.

The kit includes a variety of worship resources, including items to assist those who will be preaching that day, as well as a liturgy for a “Eucharist of Healing, Hope and Liberation” and additional collects.

A letter from New York Bishop Matthew Heyd said Break the Silence Sunday provides “holy space to confront the pain caused by gender-based violence.” He noted that as followers of Jesus, “we are called to lift the veil of silence, to listen deeply, to stand beside survivors in compassion, and to act with courage in our churches and communities.”

He added, “Healing begins when we listen; transformation begins when we act.”

Rowe said he hopes people across The Episcopal Church will use the educational and liturgical resources in the toolkit “and encourage those in your circles to do the same.”

The Lutheran Church of the Reformation near the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., held a gender-affirming care rally on June 18, 2025, in response to the court’s ruling upholding Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors. The Supreme Court ruled in a 6-3 decision in the case of U.S. v. Skrmetti that Tennessee’s ban, which bans puberty blockers and hormone therapy for transgender and nonbinary youth, does not violate the U.S. Constitution and can remain in effect. Photo: Bryan Dozier/AP

[Episcopal News Service] The Memphis-based Diocese of West Tennessee and the Southeastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America released a pastoral letter “with heavy hearts” expressing their commitment to support transgender youth and their families in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s 6-3 ruling last week upholding a Tennessee ban on providing gender-affirming medical care for trans and nonbinary minors.

“Today, transgender youth and their families find themselves in positions of profound vulnerability, facing legal barriers to accessing health care that medical professionals and major medical associations consider appropriate and necessary,” the June 23 letter said. “In our Lutheran and Episcopal traditions, we proclaim the fundamental truth that every human being is created in the image of God – the imago Dei – and is therefore deserving of dignity, respect, and love.”

In 2023, the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee and other legal groups sued the state on behalf of a Nashville couple and their 15-year-old trans daughter, a Memphis-based doctor and two other anonymous plaintiffs.

The Supreme Court ruling against the plaintiffs in the case, United States v. Skrmetti, now permits similar bans in 25 other states – where an estimated 39.4% of trans youth live, according to the Human Rights Campaign – and effectively prevents extending new constitutional protections to trans people. Some states, like Ohio and Florida, have gone further and moved to restrict access to gender-affirming care for adults. Some advocates fear that the court’s June 18 ruling could lead to bans on other forms of health care, like birth control, in vitro fertilization or vaccines.

Out of 940 anti-trans bills introduced in 49 states so far in 2025 by federal, state and local legislators, 115 have already passed, and 729 cases remain active, according to Trans Legislation Tracker, an independent research organization that tracks bills affecting anti-trans and gender-diverse people in the United States.

“Both Episcopal and Lutheran social teachings call us to work for systemic change that promotes human dignity and wellbeing,” the letter said. “We continue to advocate at local, state, and federal levels for policies that protect the rights and health care access of transgender individuals, particularly minors who are most vulnerable to legislative restrictions. Our collaborative efforts to advocate for and provide access to health care for all is a matter of justice for all people.”

Several independent studies conducted by professional medical organizations find that access to gender-affirming care – including puberty blockers, hormones and surgical procedures – improves the mental health of trans and nonbinary youth, reducing depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation.

The ruling was decided one day after the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration announced that the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline will no longer offer the “Press 3 option” for LGBTQ+ youth-specific services. 

The latest data from The Trevor Project, a nonprofit organization committed to providing counseling and suicide prevention services for LGBTQ+ youth, shows that 90% of young LGBTQ+ people reported recent politics has “negatively impacted” their well-being, and 45% of trans and nonbinary people or their families have considered moving to a different state because of LGBTQ+-related politics and legislation. The same report shows that young LGBTQ+ people who live in “very accepting” communities attempt suicide at less than half the rate of those who live in “very unaccepting” communities.

In the letter, the diocese and synod listed four commitments:

• Praying for trans youth, their families and their allies.
• Working to understand practically the meaning of being welcoming and inclusive communities.
• Supporting organizations that provide resources for trans people.
• Proclaiming “the Gospel truth that God’s love knows no boundaries.”

“While last week’s ruling represents a significant setback, we are reminded that God’s justice is not bound by human institutions or court decisions,” the leaders said. “It is incredibly important for us to stand together with all who identify as transgender, gender non-binary, or gender fluid. Please hear us clearly say: We see you. We love you. We are with you. You are beloved children of God. Your identity is sacred, your dignity is non-negotiable, and your place in God’s reign is secure.”

TransEpiscopal, a group that advocates for more inclusive church policies toward transgender people, last week released a statement calling on Episcopalians to “stand with us” in response to United States v. Skrmetti:

“We are afflicted but not crushed, perplexed but not despairing, persecuted but not forsaken, struck but not destroyed,” the June 18 statement said. “For we struggle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places, confident that Jesus’ risen life is being made visible in our bodies.”

-Shireen Korkzan is a reporter and assistant editor for Episcopal News Service. She can be reached at skorkzan@episcopalchurch.org.

In 2023, the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee and other legal groups sued the state on behalf of a Nashville couple and their 15-year-old trans daughter, a Memphis-based doctor and two other anonymous plaintiffs.

The ruling against the plaintiffs in the case, United States v. Skrmetti, now permits similar bans in 25 other states – where an estimated 39.4% of trans youth live, according to the Human Rights Campaign – and effectively prevents extending new constitutional protections to trans people. Some states, like Ohio and Florida, have additionally moved to restrict access to gender-affirming care for adults.

TransEpiscopal’s statement follows.

Together with other trans people and our families across this country, we received with heaviness of heart, if not surprise, today’s news of the Supreme Court ruling in United States v. Skrmetti. In the ruling, a 6-3 majority upheld a Tennessee ban on gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth, thus protecting bans in more than 20 other states, with more in the pipeline.

These bans constitute a deeply cynical, life-undermining political interference in the most intimate and often life-saving health care decisions. Such decisions are processes of careful discernment with the support of medical doctors who are following growing evidence in their field and with families who know and love their children. This ruling also encourages a hateful movement that foments exclusion and violence against vulnerable youth and indeed all transgender people, by refusing to uphold constitutional protections against discrimination on the basis of sex.

“In sadness, I dissent.”

Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who read her dissent out loud from the bench this morning, wrote that the majority decision is a retreat from heightened scrutiny of discrimination on the basis of sex under the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution, upholding a “categorical ban on lifesaving treatment” on the basis of sex and transgender status. “The Court today renders transgender Americans doubly vulnerable to state-sanctioned discrimination,” she said. “It authorizes, without second thought, untold harm to transgender children and the parents and families who love them … By retreating from meaningful judicial review exactly where it matters most, the Court abandons transgender children and their families to political whims. In sadness, I dissent.”

We are crystal clear that this majority ruling, and the hundreds of anti-trans bills – over 700 – now moving through statehouses and Congress today, are part of a strategy to use transgender people, and especially transgender youth, who are a small minority with little political power in American life, as pawns of political convenience. They are using our existence, our very lives, as an opportunity to gin up a culture war to support a surging right-wing political movement – a movement that deploys a distorted, Christian nationalist rendition of Christianity. If these same legislators really and truly cared about the health and well-being of America’s children, they would not now be moving a “Murder Budget” bill through Congress that proposes draconian cuts to Medicaid and SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) that will snatch access to health care and food from millions of kids with the stroke of a pen in order to fund tax cuts for billionaires.

A faithful response

In the midst of this maelstrom, we are also encouraged by the support that surrounds us.
​
We are grateful for the Episcopal Church’s clear, official position of support for anti-discrimination laws, gender-affirming care and access to health care for all, regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation.

We are inspired by vocal support from bishops, clergy and lay Episcopalians in state legislatures against bans such as the one in Tennessee. As Bishop Betsey Monnot said in her recent testimony to the Iowa state Legislature, “Transgender Iowans are members of my congregations and members of communities across the state of Iowa. They are your neighbors and my neighbors. Jesus calls us to love our neighbors as ourselves. It is unthinkable to remove civil rights and legal protections from people that we love.”

We are deeply appreciative of the Episcopal dioceses and congregations that held Trans Day of Visibility events and services this year, and for the Episcopal Church’s recent celebration of LGBTQ+ Pride with Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe.

With pride we lift up the work of Aaron Scott, the Gender Justice Staff Officer at Episcopal Church Center, and all who support his vital ministry. Aaron has offered galvanizing webinars (such as the Gender Justice Jam and “Building a Fighting Church”) and other formation resources to support dioceses and congregations in responding to what is an unfolding health and pastoral care emergency.

Stand with us. 

Indeed, with this Supreme Court ruling, this pastoral emergency affecting families with transgender youth will be deepening. Families in states with health care bans will be considering whether to stay or go, even as nearly 50% of trans adults have moved or are considering moving to another U.S. location or out of the country altogether. Churches in states that still allow health care for trans youth may be receiving some of these families, even as churches in states with bans continue to be called upon to support those who remain. In an atmosphere of rejection, menace and violence, our Episcopal congregations are, in many places, a singular place of refuge for our families. More than ever before, now is the time to step up our pastoral care, advocacy and solidarity with trans people of all ages.

In the coming days, we urge our congregations and dioceses to join in the Pride events happening in your local communities as a visible Christian presence of love and solidarity, especially in trans-specific events. Please also observe the Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray’s feast day on July 1; this is an opportunity to lift up the work of a remarkable legal scholar and Episcopal priest whose writings were fundamental in constitutional advances to roll back discrimination on the basis of sex and race – and whose own gender identity was almost certainly transgender, although Dr. Murray was not able to express this identity in a public way.

As we sit with today’s news and gather strength for the journey forward, we are reminded of the Apostle Paul’s words to Jesus-followers in Corinth and Ephesus (2 Corinthians 4:8-9, 10b; Ephesians 6:12). We are afflicted but not crushed, perplexed but not despairing, persecuted but not forsaken, struck but not destroyed. For we struggle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places, confident that Jesus’ risen life is being made visible in our bodies.

Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe, right, presided over a June 1, 2025, Eucharist at the Chapel of Christ the Lord at the Episcopal Church Center in New York, New York. The worship service served as a blessing and formal commissioning for Episcopalians and Episcopal congregations to observe Pride Month throughout June. Photo: Screenshot

[Episcopal News Service] The Episcopal Church kicked off Pride Month celebrations and affirmations of LGBTQ+ people with a special livestreamed Eucharist at the Chapel of Christ the Lord at the Episcopal Church Center in New York, New York.

Watch the service on the church’s website or Facebook page.

Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe presided in person at the June 1 service, which served as a blessing and formal commissioning for Episcopalians and Episcopal congregations to observe Pride Month. The Rev. Cameron Partridge, rector of St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church in San Francisco, Diocese of California, and a trans man, preached remotely.

“Let us love one another, not even thoughor despite our queerness, our transness but because of the unique human beings God has created us to be and to become,” Partridge said during his sermon. “In the face of so many who refuse to know us, may our love, our lives reflect the glory of God upholding us, transforming us, strengthening us, and charging us to make our way forward in this moment, together.”

Read Partridge’s entire sermon here.

Pride Month has been celebrated nationwide in June since 1970. It began after the Stonewall riots, a series of gay liberation protests that took place one year prior between June 28 and July 3, 1969. The riots started in response to a police raid at the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York’s Greenwich Village neighborhood. In 1999, former President Bill Clinton commemorated the Stonewall riots’ 30th anniversary by declaring June as Gay and Lesbian Pride Month. June 28 is International LGBT Pride Day, though celebrations are held throughout June.

“LGBTQ+” stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer/questioning, with the “+” sign representing the many other sexual orientations and gender identities that are not explicitly included in the acronym, including intersex, asexual, two-spirit and more. The inclusive terms and its variations – such as “LGBTQIA2S+” and others – are meant to acknowledge the diverse and expansive spectrum of human sexuality and gender expression.

The service began with a recorded performance by Trinity Church Wall Street’s choir of “Epilogue: Meet Me Here” from “Considering Matthew Shepard,” Craig Hella Johnson’s Grammy-nominated three-part oratorio. Johnson composed the work as a musical response to the murder of Shepard – a young gay man who in 1998 was beaten and tortured to death because of his sexuality. Shepard’s parents held onto his ashes for 20 years out of fear his grave would be vandalized before they were safely interred at Washington National Cathedral.

This year’s Pride Month is taking place as hate crimes targeting LGBTQ+ people continue to increase worldwide; and as anti-LGBTQ+ bills continue to be introduced nationwide, with six additional anti-trans bills passing since May 30.

The Rev. Cameron Partridge, rector of St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church in San Francisco, Diocese of California, and a trans man, preached remotely during The Episcopal Church’s June 1, 2025, Eucharist at the Chapel of Christ the Lord at the Episcopal Church Center in New York, New York. The worship service kicked off Pride Month celebrations and affirmations of LGBTQ+ people. Photo: Screenshot

Since The Episcopal Church formally began to welcome and affirm LGBTQ+ people in 1976 through acts of General Convention, Episcopal dioceses, congregations, organizations and individuals continue to advocate for LGBTQ+ rights. LGBTQ+ people also now serve in multiple clergy and lay leadership roles, including bishops. Many churches sponsor and march in their local Pride parades and festivals, while many others display the rainbow flag despite the risk of vandalism.

The rainbow flag – designed by Gilbert Baker and other artists in 1978 by commission from Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California – reflects the diversity of the LGBTQ+ community and the spectrum of human sexuality and gender. More Episcopal churches are also now flying the Progress Pride flag, a variation on the traditional Pride flag with added white, pink and light blue stripes to represent the transgender community, a brown stripe to represent communities of color and a black stripe in remembrance of the 42.3 million people who have died by HIV/AIDS since 1981 – many of whom were LGBTQ+.

“Pride gives us an opportunity to remember the struggles, celebrate the joy, and give thanks for the love of God that binds us together and makes us one,” Rowe wrote in a message printed in the service bulletin. “Especially this year, Pride provides an opportunity to stand against injustice and fear by proclaiming that LGBTQ+ people are beloved children of God and cherished members of The Episcopal Church and the Body of Christ.”

New Testament readings included passages from Acts 1:1-11 and Revelation 22. The Gospel reading was John 17:20-26 – Jesus prays for all believers.

The service also included a recording of All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena, California’s choir performing “In the Midst of New Dimensions,” a hymn written and composed by Julian B. Rush, an ordained minister in the United Methodist Church.

During the commissioning, adapted from the Book of Occasional Services, Rowe addressed the congregation: “You have been called to ministries of the church, to be carried out in communities, congregations, dioceses and all the places in which you serve. Will you faithfully do so to the honor of God and the benefit of the church?”

The congregation replied: “We will.”

Shaneequa Brokenleg, the presiding bishop’s staff officer for racial reconciliation and a Lakota “winkte,” or “two-spirit,” sang an original work called “Creator God, We Cry to You.”

“Hear our prayer for all who serve across your church, for all who doubt and all who search, for all who seek, for all who find, for open hearts and open minds, for justice, peace and equity… .”

Native American cultures generally have a broader understanding of gender identity than European cultures. As an example, the Lakota language does not use gendered pronouns, and two-spirit are seen as reconcilers and healers.

The service also included a reading of Prayers of the People written by the church’s Task Force on LGBTQ+ Inclusion: “For communities that honor queer and transgender lives, and for voices that proclaim your gospel of love and transformation. Strengthen your Church with power through your Spirit, especially where it has caused harm or withheld blessing. Teach us to walk in love, as Christ loved us, and to be faithful stewards of your reconciling grace. … For all who carry hidden wounds, who live with chronic pain, illness, addiction, or despair. For LGBTQ+ youth and elders, especially those cut off from family or care. Let your Spirit bring healing, courage, and companionship.”

The Episcopal Church has special Pride Month resources available on its website, including a downloadable Pride shield, short videos highlighting the church’s advocacy and support, social media graphics and more.

During his sermon, Partridge recalled while a student at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania interviewing an openly gay priest for an essay on the conflict of sexuality in The Episcopal Church in the 90s. Partridge asked the priest, “Do you see [being gay] as integral to your ministry or do you see it as somewhat a part of you that isn’t necessarily in the forefront?”

The priest replied, “People say to you, ‘oh, I love you even though you are gay.’ And my answer is, ‘on the contrary, you love me because I am gay. That the things that you love about me – my warmth, my empathy, my identification with the marginalized, my passion for justice, my humor – all of those things have been shaped by the experience of being gay. So if you love me, not only is being gay part of the package. In a very, very real spiritual sense, gay is the package.”

-Shireen Korkzan is a reporter and assistant editor for Episcopal News Service. She can be reached at skorkzan@episcopalchurch.org.

Every year, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Kansas City, Missouri, hosts the Dioceses of Kansas and West Missouri’s annual Diocesan Mass as part of the Kansas City PrideFest during Pride Month in June. After the mass, members of the dioceses march in the Pride parade in solidarity and celebration of LGBTQ+ people. Photo: Diocese of Kansas

[Episcopal News Service] Episcopal churches nationwide will recognize Pride Month throughout June with special events to celebrate and affirm LGBTQ+ people, and to raise awareness of increasing anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment.

“It’s really important for Christians to be actively, vocally affirming and visible in Pride Month. It’s a time to be fabulous, to be joyful and to celebrate,” the Rev. Cameron Partridge, rector of St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church in San Francisco, Diocese of California, and a trans man, told Episcopal News Service. “I’m looking forward to continuing to live out our witness as a church in support of the community and as agents of good news and transformers of this world.”

On June 1 at 6 p.m. Eastern, The Episcopal Church will kick off Pride Month with a special livestreamed Eucharist at the Chapel of Christ the Lord at the Episcopal Church Center in New York, New York, “to bless and commission Episcopalians who will share God’s love at Pride events across the church,” and to “celebrate the dignity, love and lives of LGBTQ+ people.” Partridge will preach and Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe will preside.

Pride Month has been celebrated nationwide in June since 1970. It began after the Stonewall riots, a series of gay liberation protests that took place one year prior between June 28 and July 3, 1969. The riots started in response to a police raid at the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York’s Greenwich Village neighborhood. In 1999, then-President Bill Clinton commemorated the Stonewall riots’ 30th anniversary by declaring June as Gay and Lesbian Pride Month. June 28 is International LGBT Pride Day, though celebrations commonly occur on other days in June.

This year’s Pride Month events will take place as anti-LGBTQ+ bills continue to be introduced nationwide. As of May 16, the American Civil Liberties Union is tracking 588 anti-LGBTQ+ bills in the United States. Out of 910 anti-trans bills introduced in 49 states so far in 2025 by federal, state and local legislators, 103 have already passed, and 731 cases remain active, according to Trans Legislation Tracker, an independent research organization that tracks bills affecting anti-trans and gender-diverse people in the United States.

In January, President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning initiatives that support diversity, equity and inclusion, prompting federal agencies and now some private corporations to discontinue commemorating holidays and observances, including Pride Month. By early February, agency websites began to remove mention of transgender or queer people, including the Rev. Pauli Murray, and changed the acronym LGBTQ (for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer) to LGB.

Additionally, hate crimes targeting marginalized groups, including LGBTQ+ people, also have increased worldwide. Between Oct. 1, 2023, and Sept. 30, 2024, 350 known transgender people worldwide – including 41 in the United States – were murdered, though the number may be much higher, according to data compiled by the Trans Murder Monitoring Project, an initiative of Transgender Europe, a Berlin, Germany-based nongovernmental organization.

The Episcopal Church has been formally welcoming and affirming LGBTQ+ people since 1976, when General Convention adopted two resolutions stating that “homosexual persons are children of God who have a full and equal claim with all other persons upon the love, acceptance, and pastoral concern and care of the Church (A069), and that they “are entitled to equal protection of the laws with all other citizens (A071).

Today, Episcopal dioceses, congregations, organizations and individuals continue to advocate for LGBTQ+ rights, and LGBTQ+ people now serve in clergy and lay leadership roles, including bishops. Many churches display the rainbow flag despite the risk of vandalism, while many others sponsor and march in their local Pride parades and festivals.

“I recognize that sometimes there may be a place where, for instance, it’s not safe to have pride flags flying outside your church. Maybe in those cases, you don’t do that, but you make sure that within your community, you are doing the work to be fully welcoming and supportive,” Partridge said. “I recognize that not all contexts are the same, and you have to know your context and what’s going to create the greatest reality of sanctuary for trans and nonbinary folks in your midst.”

The Episcopal Church has special Pride Month resources available on its website, including a downloadable Pride shield, short videos highlighting the church’s advocacy and support, social media graphics and more.

The following is a list of some Episcopal congregations hosting Pride Month gatherings or participating in community-led events. Check online for additional events hosted by local dioceses and parishes. All times are local.

Every year, members of the Diocese of Indianapolis participate in the Indy Pride Festival & Parade in Indianapolis during Pride Month in June to welcome and affirm LGBTQ+ people. Photo: Diocese of Indianapolis

Lebanon, Pennsylvania — St. Luke’s Episcopal Church will hold a livestreamed Pride service on June 1 at 10:30 a.m. followed by a luncheon. At 3 p.m., St. Luke’s will host the Harrisburg Gay Men’s Chorus, who will perform their spring program, “A Choral Kaleidoscope.”

Crystal Lake, Illinois — Trinity Episcopal Parish: St. Mary’s Church is sponsoring and participating in the city’s downtown Pride Walk & Social, taking place June 1 beginning at 11 a.m. A festival featuring live music, line dancing, karaoke and a car show will follow. The festival will also include a craft fair supporting LGBTQ+-owned businesses and makers, as well as opportunities to connect with local nonprofits and community resources.

New York City — St. Philip’s Episcopal Church in Harlem, Upper Manhattan, will host a special Pride worship service on June 1 at 10 a.m. After the service, everyone is welcome to gather in the church’s garden beginning at noon for the “Gay Garden Get Together,” “where the vibes are lush, the love is loud, and the community is unapologetically queer.” There will be a DJ and live performances and presentation, as well as open mic opportunities for poetry readings, music and storytelling. “This is a celebration of Pride, joy, resilience, and community. Whether you’re out and proud or still finding your way, this space is for YOU.”

Greenville, North Carolina — Members of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church will participate in an interfaith Pride prayer service on June 1 at 3 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church in Greenville. The Rev. Josiah Daniels, associate rector of St. Paul’s, will be the headline speaker. The event will include activities for children.

Arlington, Virginia — St. George’s Episcopal Church will host a special choral evensong service on June 1 at 3:45 p.m. followed by a festive reception. Selected repertoire will include works by LGBTQ+ composers.

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma — Members of St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral will march in the 39th Street Pride Parade on June 1 at 7 p.m. This year’s parade theme, “They Can’t Erase Us,” will serve “to remind the world that our stories, our love, and our existence cannot be erased. …We are here, and we are unstoppable.”

Homewood, Alabama — All Saints Episcopal Church will host a contemplative prayer service celebrating and uplifting the LGBTQ+ community on June 4 at 6 p.m. The service will include reflection and music. The Rev. Dillon Greene, rector of St. Catherine’s Episcopal Church in Chelsea, Alabama, will preach.

Salt Lake City, Utah — The Episcopal Church of Utah will host and participate in several events in conjunction with the city’s Utah Pride Parade & Festival beginning with an interfaith Pride service on June 5 at 7 p.m. at First Baptist Church in Salt Lake City. Utah Bishop Phyllis Spiegel will lead the service. On June 7 and 8, the diocese will have a booth at the Pride festival in Salt Lake City. The diocese will also participate in the Pride parade on June 8, starting with a pre-parade led by the Rev. Jeff Stevenson, canon to the ordinary, at 10 a.m.

San Francisco, California — St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church will host a “Pride poster pizza party” on June 6 at 6 p.m., where members of the congregation and community can make LGBTQ+-affirming posters ahead of Pride Month events in the San Francisco Bay area, including the Queer Faith Festival from 1-4 p.m. at St. Anselm’s Episcopal Church on June 14 in Lafayette, the Trans March on June 27 in San Francisco and the San Francisco Pride Parade on June 29. Also in San Francisco, Grace Cathedral will host its annual Pride Mass on June 1 at 6 p.m.

Kansas City, Missouri — St. Paul’s Episcopal Church will host the Dioceses of Kansas and West Missouri’s annual Diocesan Mass on June 7 at 9 a.m. as part of the Kansas City PrideFest. After Mass, members of the dioceses will march in the Pride parade.

Memphis, Tennessee — Members of Grace-St. Luke’s Episcopal Church will participate in the Mid-South Pride Parade in Memphis on June 7 at 11 a.m. The church will also include a collect supporting its LGBTQ+ ministry during worship services throughout June.

Patchogue, New York — St. Paul’s Episcopal Church will host its second annual Pride Mass on June 7 at noon. The special worship service will kick off Pride Weekend in Patchogue.

Seward, Alaska — St. Peter’s Episcopal Church will conclude Pride Weekend Seward with a special Pride worship service on June 8 at 9 a.m.

Milwaukee, Wisconsin — Episcopalians in the Diocese of Wisconsin will march at the Milwaukee Pride Parade on June 8 beginning at 2 p.m. “The Episcopal Diocese of Wisconsin is proud to show up in love, solidarity, and celebration with our LGBTQ+ siblings. …All are welcome – really.”

Indianapolis, Indiana — Members of the Diocese of Indianapolis will march in the Indy Pride Parade in downtown Indianapolis alongside the diocese’s special float. Participants will gather at the lineup at 9:30 a.m. for a brief worship service, a half hour before the parade begins. The diocese will also have a booth at the Indy Pride Festival during and after the parade.

Missoula, Montana — Members of Holy Spirit Episcopal Church will march or ride vehicles in the Missoula Pride Parade on June 21 at noon. Staging begins at 10 a.m.

Las Vegas, Nevada — All Saints/Todos Los Santos Episcopal Church will dedicate its 9:30 a.m. English language worship service to Pride Month and expressing solidarity for LGBTQ+ people on June 29. “Diverse and beautiful, blessed and beloved, we are all made in the image of the Creator of all things.”

-Shireen Korkzan is a reporter and assistant editor for Episcopal News Service. She can be reached at skorkzan@episcopalchurch.org.

A transgender pride flag is displayed at a booth during Portland Pride on July 21, 2024, in Portland, Oregon. Photo: Jenny Kane/AP

[Episcopal News Service] Over the next week, some Episcopal churches will recognize International Transgender Day of Visibility, March 31, with special worship services and educational events to celebrate transgender people and their contributions to society, and to raise awareness of the discrimination they face worldwide.

“This is a time of celebration. I do think it’s important to acknowledge the particular context we are in right now, but for now we will focus on empowerment and strengths and celebrating the vibrant, lived reality of trans and nonbinary and two-spirit [meaning, third-gender person],” the Rev. Cameron Partridge, rector of St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church in San Francisco, Diocese of California, and a trans man, told Episcopal News Service. “We’re here and we are in community and we’re in leadership, and we have opportunities to experience and express our joy even in the midst of hardship.”

Partridge will preach at Grace Cathedral’s Trans Day of Visibility evening Eucharist at 6 p.m. Pacific on March 30, which will be streamed via Zoom. 

“There are so many pressures for trans people to fly under the radar, to not be noticed, to try to minimize who they are. This Eucharist is a chance to let that aside and just be loved for who you are and to celebrate before God who God created you to be,” the Very Rev. Malcolm Young, dean of Grace Cathedral, told ENS. “It’s so important to support and love our trans siblings every day.”

After the worship service, Partridge will moderate a conversation with Nico Lang, an LGBTQ+ news and politics reporter, about their newest book, “American Teenager: How Trans Kids are Surviving Hate and Finding Joy in a Turbulent Era.”

Earlier in the day on March 30, St. Aidan’s morning worship services will incorporate some liturgical resources recently created for the day of visibility. TransEpiscopal, a group that advocates for more inclusive church policies toward transgender people and creates supportive spaces for trans Episcopalians, and the Associated Parishes for Liturgy and Mission collaborated on the liturgical resources.

Also, in the Diocese of California, St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Redwood City will host a day of visibility service on April 5.

The term “transgender” refers to an individual whose gender identity, expression or behavior does not conform with the person’s assigned sex at birth, whereas nonbinary reflects a gender identity that is not strictly male or female. The terms are often associated with each other but are not interchangeable.

Rachel Crandall Crocker, a transgender activist and psychotherapist from Michigan, founded the first Transgender Day of Visibility in 2009 out of frustration that the only designated day recognizing trans people was the Transgender Day of Remembrance. The day of remembrance, which takes place every Nov. 20, memorializes those who’ve been targeted and murdered for being transgender and raises awareness of violence against trans people. In contrast, the day of visibility is a time of unashamed pride, celebration and acknowledgement of trans people’s existence and resilience.

The Diocese of New York will host a livestreamed 12 p.m. Eastern prayer service celebrating Transgender Day of Visibility on March 29 at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of Manhattan. Aaron Scott, The Episcopal Church’s gender justice officer and a lay trans man, will preach.

“I am most excited to be with a whole bunch of other trans people at a gathering that is about us being alive – right together – even when we now have officially seen legislation that says we don’t exist,” Scott told ENS.

LGBTQ+ sentiment and hate crimes targeting LGBTQ+ people have increased in recent years. Out of 821 anti-trans bills introduced in 49 states so far in 2025 by federal, state and local legislators, 40 have already passed, and 725 cases remain active, according to the Trans Legislation Tracker, an independent research organization that tracks bills affecting anti-trans and gender-diverse people in the United States. Last week, South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden signed a bill into law that restricts trans people from using public bathrooms that match their gender identity. Similar bills are moving forward in Arkansas, Tennessee and New Hampshire.

After taking office on Jan. 20, President Donald Trump issued a series of executive orders aimed at erasing references across federal agencies and departments to issues of diversity and “gender ideology.” By early February, agency websites began to remove mention of transgender or queer people, including the Rev. Pauli Murray, and changed the acronym LGBTQ (for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer) to LGB.

“Now more than ever, it’s important for the church to invest in real relationships, whether that’s one-on-one in your parish or between your parish and diocese, and whatever transgender-led organizations that are in your wider community,” Scott said. “This is a great time to reach out to your local trans youth group or LGBTQ center and say, ‘Hey, we are an affirming church. If you have a need for food donations or a need for people who need transportation to and from medical appointments or whatever, we’re here for you.’”

New York Assistant Bishop Mary Glasspool, the second openly gay – and first lesbian – bishop in the Anglican Communion, told ENS in a phone interview, “When you are in a group that’s considered a minority group, and there is a whole sort of stereotypical characterization of that group, and you may feel targeted simply because you’re a member of that group, not because of who you are as an individual, it can be very scary,” 

Glasspool, who oversees the Diocese of New York’s LGBTQ+ Concerns Committee, will retire on June 30 after almost 45 years of ordained ministry.

“You can’t say there aren’t transgender people in the world. They are wonderful human beings – children of God – deserving … to be loved and accepted into the human community,” she said.

New York Bishop Matthew Heyd, who will preside over the prayer service at St. John the Divine, echoed a similar sentiment when he spoke with ENS by phone.

“The Holy Spirit moves at ground level, and welcome is a gift and an opportunity for The Episcopal Church that we would make clear our welcome to transgender people, and that they would know that in all of our communities, they can find a place to belong,” he said.

The day of visibility service at St. John the Divine will also feature live music from the TRANScend Ambassadors, New York’s first and only choral ensemble featuring trans and gender-expansive singers. The ensemble performed at St. John the Divine’s first day of visibility in 2024 and beforehand at St. John’s in the Village in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village neighborhood.

“One of the bits of feedback that I get constantly is, ‘I never thought there was going to be a place for me. I never thought I would hear trans people singing liturgical music in a church. I never thought there would be a place where I could go and feel spiritually at home and have music that spoke to me from people who I identify with,’” Felix Graham, a trans vocologist and music pedagogue who founded TRANScend in 2021, told ENS.

In the Diocese of Newark in New Jersey, the diocesan LGBTQ+ task force will offer a celebratory day of visibility service on March 31 at Grace Episcopal Church in Madison. The Rev. Abigail King, priest-in-charge of Trinity Episcopal Church in Bayonne and a trans woman, will officiate. Brigid Dwyer, a lay leader in the diocese and a trans woman, will preach. The liturgy will incorporate some of TransEpiscopal’s liturgical resources.

“When I came out to my parish, one of the things I said in my letter was that in an ideal world, coming out would be a little bit like letting people know that you moved to a new house, otherwise Christmas cards will go to the wrong place. …But we don’t live in an ideal world, and coming out is more fraught than that,” King told ENS. “Transgender Day of Visibility is a good way to elevate trans voices and celebrate who we are.”

-Shireen Korkzan is a reporter and assistant editor for Episcopal News Service. She can be reached at skorkzan@episcopalchurch.org.

The Preventing Violence Against Women in Multicultural and Faith-Based Communities forum, taking place at at St. Philip’s, Collingwood on March 7, will feature learnings from the Safe and Thriving CALD Anglican project, research from Deakin University and observations from a panel of multicultural clergy.

Panelist the Rev. Xiaoxi Lou said the forum would help increase awareness about violence in communities, which often does get seen but often goes unacknowledged.

She hoped it would assure people caught in violent situations that the church supported them, while simultaneously making others aware they, too, could act to counter family violence.

“Different cultures will often deal with violence differently, and being a voice to acknowledge that God and the Anglican church do not see violence as OK within the family, can help bring light and truth to these situations,” Lou said.

The Rev. Prashant Bhonsle said he was participating because he was concerned about the world being divided by gender lines, globalization and patriarchy especially.

He believed the focus on growing churches tended not to give long term consideration to how congregations would evolve without integrating gender justice and challenging the patriarchal structures of society.

“We would not really be able to have a holistic, ecumenical and justice-oriented approach in our congregations without that long-term thinking,” Bhonsle said.

“We need to have gender justice as a core concern running across all our themes and programs of our congregational life right from the beginning. Interpreting the Scriptures with an inclusive dimension is very important for any priest to foster an inclusive understanding.”

He said this was important to empower women as well as people with different gender orientations in congregations.

“Unless we affirm that we all created in the image of God, we will be unable to sail forward,” Bhonsle said. He added he hoped forum attendees would gain a good understanding of the challenges some congregations faced while trying to address such a sensitive issue as gender-based violence.

CALD PVAW project officer Sarah Aruliah said the four-year-old initiative had given the diocese a better understanding about the CALD genderspace.

She said there were many unique layers that needed to be covered in working with faith, multiple cultures and prevention work, and there were plenty of insights to be shared.

Aruliah said the diocese was leading the way in intersecting those areas and working with different cultures, but it was still learning, and building support networks with other faith-based and secular anti-violence organizations.

She said the forum was open to everyone, and would be especially useful for people from culturally diverse communities and clergy.

A transgender pride flag is displayed at a booth during Portland Pride on July 21, 2024, in Portland, Oregon. Photo: Jenny Kane/AP

[Episcopal News Service] One week ahead of Inauguration Day, over 400 Episcopalians gathered live via Zoom to learn about the current U.S. legislative environment and what they can do to protect and support transgender and nonbinary people over the next four years.

TransEpiscopal, a group that advocates for more inclusive church policies toward transgender people, joined The Episcopal Church’s Department of Gender Justice and Department of Racial Reconciliation, Justice and Creation Care in hosting the Jan. 13 webinar titled “Defending the Dignity of Trans and Non-Binary People in 2025 and Beyond.” Nearly 700 people registered for the Zoom event, which will later be available on demand. 

Aaron Scott, the church’s gender justice officer and a trans man, facilitated the webinar’s discussion. He stressed the need for Episcopalians to collectively advocate for transgender and nonbinary rights, not individually.

As a church, “we need to be more tightly in step with one another, maybe more than we have ever been before,” Scott said during the webinar. “When it comes to supporting one another and sharing information about how we are finding our way, we do not really need lone rangers right now, and we cannot afford to operate in isolation.”

In the lead-up to Election Day, now President-elect Donald Trump and his running mate, Ohio Senator J.D. Vance, amped up their opposition to LGBTQ+ rights, especially transgender and nonbinary rights, using demeaning language at rallies, in interviews, on social media and in campaign videos.

Anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment didn’t begin with the U.S. election season, however; it has grown steadily in recent years. Out of 665 bills introduced nationwide in 2024 by federal, state and local legislators targeting LGBTQ+ rights, 50 passed, making it the fifth consecutive record-breaking year for the total number of proposed anti-LGBTQ+ bills. So far in 2025, 160 bills in 27 states are active. One day after the webinar, the House of Representatives passed a bill that would bar transgender athletes from competing in women’s and girls’ sports at federally funded schools and educational institutions.

Hate crimes targeting marginalized groups, including LGBTQ+ people, also have increased.

“This is a moment in which the basic dignity of trans, nonbinary and two-spirit people is being widely disrespected, undermined and demeaned for political gain,” the Rev. Cameron Partridge, rector of St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church in San Francisco, California and a trans man, said during the webinar. “Such action is happening at local levels, in the form of school board actions to ban particular books or flags, or to prevent trans people in general – and trans girls in particular – from accessing sports or other gender-specific activities and spaces.”

Alan Yarborough, associate director of The Episcopal Church’s Office of Government Relations, provided an overview of the office and the Episcopal Public Policy Network and how they operate. During his presentation, Yarborough explained how the Office of Government Relations, through authorization by acts of General Convention and Executive Council, cautiously monitors and addresses areas of concern regarding transgender and nonbinary legislation at the federal level.

“We will try to communicate clear information [on our website] as much as we can about the potential impacts, and we’ll try to work discreetly,” Yarborough said. “This is where strategy comes in; sometimes more visibility can actually be harmful. But we will try to work discreetly where we can, and [address] some of those policy changes to resist any that might be harmful.”

Yarborough mentioned that the Office of Government Relations invites Episcopalians to join its weekly network calls every Thursday, 1-1:30 p.m. Eastern, via Zoom to hear staff members discuss current developments in Washington, D.C., and to ask questions.

The Rev. Sarah Shipman, director of Episcopal Migration Ministries, gave an overview of EMM’s Rainbow Initiative, a project dedicated to working with Episcopal churches to bring awareness and aid to LGBTQ+ forced migrants and asylum-seekers. EMM launched the Rainbow Initiative in response to a 2022 General Convention resolution in support of LGBTQ+ forced migrants and asylum-seekers, who face persecution, discrimination and violence not only in their home countries but also often in the countries where they seek asylum and resettlement. Today, EMM has signed covenant agreements with 29 “Rainbow Initiative Congregations/Communities” including churches, ministries and organizations of various denominations in the United States and Europe.

EMM’s commitment to sustaining the Rainbow Initiative is part of a larger churchwide undertaking to support and protect migrants as Trump has vowed to deport millions of immigrants while embracing false and dehumanizing stereotypes about immigrant communities.

“We are called to be the instruments of love and agents of mercy. The recent discussions to halt refugee resettlement, revoke [Temporary] Protective Status and close our borders weigh heavily on our hearts. These decisions turn away those who are in desperate need of safety and refuge – those fleeing violence, persecution and unimaginable hardship,” Shipman said. “Our faith teaches us to welcome all of those in need, to extend a hand and to honor the divine image in every person seeking shelter. This is not just a calling, it’s a sacred trust, and migrants are not statistics. They are neighbors, friends and members of our human family.”

The Rev. Shaneequa Brokenleg, the presiding bishop’s staff officer for racial reconciliation, addressed the need to prepare young adults for future leadership positions in advocating for transgender and nonbinary rights as anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment, discrimination and oppression continue. For example, she said, when the U.S. government forbade Indigenous tribes from practicing their religions and ceremonies between 1883 to 1978, they would secretly hold ceremonies to ensure their traditions would pass down to future generations. 

“We may have to enlist new ways and new ideas to survive passing on our sacred knowledge – our sacred roles are paramount – and it is imperative that we lift up and empower our young people into roles of leadership,” said Brokenleg, who is a Lakota ‘winkte,’ or ‘two-spirit.’ “In Lakota, our word for child is ‘wakanyeja,’ which literally means ‘sacred one.’ Know that they have wisdom to share.”

Native American cultures generally have had a broader understanding of gender identity than European cultures. As an example, the Lakota language does not use gendered pronouns, and two-spirit people are seen as reconcilers and healers.

One week ahead of Inauguration Day, over 400 Episcopalians gathered for The Episcopal Church’s Jan. 13 webinar, titled “Defending the Dignity of Trans and Non-Binary People in 2025 and Beyond,” to learn about the current U.S. legislative environment and what they can do to protect and support transgender and nonbinary people over the next four years. Photo: Screenshot

From a pastoral perspective, the Rev. Carla Robinson, the Diocese of Olympia’s canon for multicultural ministries and community, and a trans woman, said The Episcopal Church must be a “fighting church” when advocating for transgender and nonbinary rights. The term may sound counterintuitive to Christ’s message, she said, but “it takes me back to my spiritual roots in the Black church” in the 1960s and 1970s.

“In those days, it was not unusual for someone to ask you in church, ‘How goes the struggle?’ It was asked in church because the church was actively engaged in the fight for civil rights and justice,” Robinson said. As Episcopalians, “We’ve been called to something much different than ‘Nice.’ [A fighting church] acknowledges that there is a real struggle. …It acknowledges the reality of who is being hurt – how they are being hurt – and it calls upon the church to not be shy about facing those realities. …A fighting church acts and speaks from its place as followers of Jesus.”

Scott shared a “five-prong approach,” or five key areas of ministry, to actively engage in for transgender and nonbinary advocacy:

• Legal and policy front. This includes connecting and tracking policies, legal cases and initiatives unfolding at state and local levels, followed by participating in advocacy work, such as speaking at school board meetings.
• Sanctuary work. This includes congregations acting beyond making blanket statements of support.
• Theology and the ‘battle for the Bible.’ “Are we going to stand idly by while our Savior and the word of God are hijacked by the weakest possible theological arguments and a handful of flimsy proof texts, only for the sake of furthering violence against the marginalized?”
• Chaplaincy. This includes responding pastorally to transgender and nonbinary people and their loved ones who are impacted by targeted legislation, harassment, threats and violence.
• Counter recruitment. Anti-trans organizations and individuals don’t lead their outreach with anti-trans rhetoric and violence. Instead, Scott said, their outreach helps everyday people, such as running large feeding programs. “How can we reach more people in ways that are relevant to their daily struggles for survival? This is the good work we are called to do. It is also evangelism, and it is a way of inoculating folks against the worst distortions of our faith.”

Many webinar participants used Zoom’s chat function to ask questions, share their stories and express concerns. Some spoke their questions during the Q&A session. Several people, for example, inquired about Medicare, Medicaid and TRICARE coverage of gender-affirming health care. Others shared fears for themselves and for their loved ones’ safety.

“As a disabled, non-binary person married to a trans man, I’m so worried about our future, even though things seem safer for us since we’re in New York,” one person wrote. “Thank goodness we both have the support of our church family…!”

“Our children need to see this response,” a teacher wrote.

Scott shared that reading Ephesians 6:10-13 has been “a personal spiritual anchor point” for him since Election Day. The passage from the 10th book in the New Testament encourages Christians to don the “full armor of God” and stand firm against the devil’s evil schemes.

“We need each other, and we need to be organized … to stand effectively in our values of truth and inclusion – to stand strong and unwavering in our commitment to supporting and caring for the vulnerable,” Scott said.

The Episcopal Church’s gender justice department will next host a two-part webinar series on reproductive justice and reproductive health care access. Dates haven’t been finalized yet.

EMM’s website includes resources on how individuals and congregations can support LGBTQ+ migrants. Episcopalians interested in engaging in advocacy work for LGBTQ+ migrants also can learn more by visiting the Episcopal Public Policy Network’s website.

–Shireen Korkzan is a reporter and assistant editor for Episcopal News Service. She can be reached at skorkzan@episcopalchurch.org.