The day I learned my son was transgender, I felt unprepared to respond to the information I had been given. That morning, I spent a long time staring out the windows of our downstairs. I had an endless loop of questions running through my mind, but no answers. What does this mean? Did other people… Continue reading What I Wish Others Knew When My Son Came Out
When my son first came out as being transgender, there were a lot of things I didn’t know. What a binder was. How to administer testosterone. All the letters in LGBTQIA+. That transvestite is an out of date term, and many people in the LGBTQ+ community consider it offensive. In those first days, weeks, and… Continue reading What I Wish I Knew When My Son Came Out As Transgender
Matthew Vines’ God and the Gay Christian is a profoundly significant contribution to the conversation surrounding how the church feels about same-sex relationships. Its sole purpose is not to change the mind of the reader. Rather “exploring what the Bible actually says – and doesn’t say – about same-sex relationships” (back cover). Then, letting the… Continue reading Review: God and the Gay Christian by Matthew Vines
In October of 2017, I began researching a new church I was interested in attending. Maybe. Someone at work had told me about it. I had said that I was interested in finding a new faith community. That I had been thinking about starting over somewhere new. They thought it might be a good match,… Continue reading Starting Over at a New Church
Until just a few years ago, I had never heard the phrase open and affirming. My Catholic background taught me that LGBTQ+ people were welcome at church, so long as they weren’t in a relationship that violated church laws. So basically, they had to be alone and celibate. Who would agree to those terms to… Continue reading Open and Affirming Churches, and How to Find One
When people learn you have a transgender child, their reactions vary from shock, to support, to not having the first idea of what to say. All of these are normal. Sometimes, however, well-meaning people respond in ways that are harmful to both the parent and the child. This is especially true of people in a… Continue reading When It’s Time to Find a New Faith Community
Amy Ellis Nutt’s Becoming Nicole is the triumphant story of the Maines family, and how they overcame discrimination in their small-town Maine community and internal struggles within their own hearts. In 1997, Wayne and Kelly Maines adopted what they thought were identical twin boys, naming one Wyatt and the other Jonas. By the time Wyatt… Continue reading Review: Becoming Nicole by Amy Ellis Nutt
As I’ve become a more grown-up adult – as opposed to the time in my life when I was called an adult but felt like an imposter – I’ve realized that a big part of the holidays involves managing expectations. Your own. Your family’s. And other people’s. You essentially become an event planner/social director/professional shopper/caterer/customer… Continue reading Managing Expectations During the Holidays
As we approach the holiday season, there is increasing pressure to attend social events. These can be with family, friends, co-workers, or other acquaintances. Often, it requires getting together with people you don’t see very often. If you are the parent of a transgender child, this can also mean people who haven’t seen your child… Continue reading Setting Boundaries During the Holidays
In the LGBTQ+ community, we recently observed Trans Parent day, which takes place on the first Sunday in November. According to TransParent.org, which operates a public group on Facebook, this is a day that “celebrates life and the love between Transgender parents and their children. And parents and their Transgender children.” Not either/or, both/and. However,… Continue reading I’m Not a Trans Parent: Admitting When You Are Wrong
