Transgender Awareness Week
November 13-19 

Transgender Awareness Week invites us to learn about the lives, struggles, and gifts of transgender and gender-diverse people. This past year, the violence against transgender people in America has been extensive and unrelenting. Bathroom bans, sports bans, executive orders, the stripping of identification and civil rights.  An epidemic of violence. An entire community’s identity labeled a threat. Their healthcare has been defunded, legislated against and in some cases, banned outright.

At Horizon, we are working hard to build a community where trans and gender-diverse people feel safe, known and cherished. We honor people’s pronouns, speak up when we encounter misinformation or discrimination, and advocate for legislation that protects the health, safety, and dignity of trans and non-binary people. 

Transgender Day of Remembrance - Friday, November 20th 

The week closes on Friday, November 20 on a sobering note, with Transgender Day of Remembrance.  Each year, communities gather on this day to remember transgender and gender-nonconforming people lost to violence over the previous year. 

This year, Horizon’s “service” will be less formal:  We will gather to build an altar together and place lighted candles for all who have died in the United States this year. We will also have photos of these individuals pinned on the wall in the Fellowship Hall. This altar and photos will stay up for a couple of weeks so people have a chance honor these beloveds.

Other Ways to Participate

As you move through this week, we invite you to take one concrete step: attend our altar-making service, look closely at the photos pinned to the wall, read a book by a trans author, check in with a trans or non-binary friend or congregant, or take time lost in quiet reflection on what it means to love without conditions. However we choose to mark these days, please do so with open hearts, rooted in the belief that every person is worthy of love, safety, and belonging.