On July 8, TransLutherans was announced as a new affinity group in ReconcilingWorks: Lutherans for Full Participation at our assembly in Washington, D.C. Thanks to the board for approving the formation of this group at its 2012 spring meeting in Minneapolis. TransLutherans has been a long time in the making. A word or two about the history of this process is in order.

The board of LC/NA approved a resolution in the fall of 2002 to add transgender and bisexual to our vision and mission statements, and a task force was formed to integrate this work into the RIC program. In 2003 transgender and bisexual identities were to be included in all subsequent mission statements of congregations who were to become RIC. All congregations previously approved as RIC were asked to update their statements as well. Many chose to use the wording “all sexual orientations and gender identities.” Those gathered at the final business session of the 2010 biennial assembly of LC/NA in Minneapolis approved a resolution to

• increase transgender and bisexual training opportunities for board, staff, and Regional Coordinators,
• create a national speakers bureau qualified to provide education,
• commit the Legislative team and trans/bi/queer communities to work together to create resolutions for synod and church wide assemblies.

These resolutions would expand the welcome of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) to specifically include trans*, bi and all people affected by binary gender oppression.

– full report at Huffington Post

Related articles

• Telling Trans-Faith Stories (queerchurchnews.wordpress.com)
• The Truth in Transgender: Will the Episcopal Church Amend Its Rules? (queerchurchnews.wordpress.com)
• Washington Methodist Minister: Gay Marriage Is ‘The Right Thing To Do’ (huffingtonpost.com)
• Minnesota Lutherans reject gay marriage ban (queeringthechurch.com)