The National Weekend of Prayer was designed to be a time to pray for Gavin Grimm (the transgender student at the center of the case), the transgender community, and the Supreme Court justices. All that changed on March 6, 2017, when the Court decided it would no longer hear the case—in response to the executive branch’s decision to remove Title IX guidance clarifying protection for transgender students.
At present, the United States is a society far from embodying transgender justice. Transgender women of color are being murdered in epidemic numbers. Transgender youth face harassment and a denial of rights. Transgender immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers are being detained and deported. In most states, transgender people lack full legal protection, and many states are looking to pass new legislation that explicitly curtails transgender people’s basic rights. In the face of these injustices, transgender justice is a moral imperative. People of faith must take action.
The National Weekend of Prayer for Transgender Justice was created by the Religious Institute, a national multifaith organization dedicated to creating sexual, reproductive, and gender justice in faith communities and society, in collaboration with the Transforming Hearts Collective, a trans- and queer-led, faith-rooted collective that resources people of all sexualities, gender identities, races, classes, abilities, ages, sizes, and spiritualities for the work of collective liberation and culture shift. GLAD Alliance is one of the co-sponsors of the event, and all of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) Open & Affirming Congregations are invited to take part. Click here to learn more
