Let there be peace on Earth: Solidarity with the lgbtqia+ community
On Sunday night, I attended a vigil in Concord for Juniper Blessing. A 19 year-old transgender woman, she was killed in her off-campus housing at the University of Washington.
She was studying climate science and participated in an advanced undergraduate choral ensemble. In Seattle, Blessingʼs friends testified to her kindness and open heart. One of the speakers in Concord closed with: “Let there be peace on Earth, and let it begin with me.” This refrain from the well-known song played over and over in my head on the drive home.
Trans people are over four times more likely than cisgender people to be victims of violent crime, according to the UCLA Williams Institute.
As I stood in solidarity by the State House arch and listened to the testimonials of people who carry the weight of this violence around with them every day, I was filled with despair. In her short life, Juniper Blessing was an instrument of peace in the world. She deserved to grow into a life guided by a desire to help heal through science and song. She moved from New Mexico to Seattle in the hopes of finding safety and acceptance. She was killed while doing her laundry.
Injustice and hate are stifling. They take my breath away.
And so does the love. Sunday morning was the one-year anniversary of the UCC Church my family and I attend becoming opening and affirming. Amid the rainbow cupcakes and streamers was a community that learned from its members how to become advocates for members of the LGBTQIA+ community, for peace and for justice.
We can choose to use “Let there be peace on Earth, and let it begin with me" to anchor our shared work to further the cause of peace and justice in our community and around the world.
We can pass HR 1058 to develop and implement a Transgender Bill of Rights to protect and codify the rights of trans and nonbinary people under the law and ensure their access to medical care, shelter, safety, and economic security. And we can ask our current federal delegation to support this legislation.
We can speak out when our own state leaders seek to make life worse and more difficult for trans people, rather than safeguarding their rights in the Live Free or Die State.
And we can continue to show up in solidarity.
On May 24th, I will be at the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Laconia NH for Tales from Trans+ Lives. It will be a chance for local transgender and nonbinary people to share life stories with authenticity and openness, and it will be a chance for allies in the community to listen and come to a deeper understanding and appreciation of the wide and deep humanity inherent in the trans+ community.
Please join me and may we build a world worthy of the multitudes we contain.
Register to attend (pre-registration required)
Get involved & learn more: https://603equality.org/current-actions
