Advocacy Committee for Women’s Concerns, Presbyterian Women call on the PC(USA) to stand with transgender, nonbinary and LGBTQIA+ youth and their families
by Mike Ferguson | Presbyterian News Service
Photo by Sharon McCutcheon via Unsplash
LOUISVILLE — The Advocacy Committee for Women’s Concerns and Presbyterian Women are calling on the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to stand with transgender, nonbinary and LGBTQIA+ youth and their families.
According to a statement found here, the PC(USA) as a Matthew 25 denomination “is compelled to celebrate and support transgender and nonbinary youth and their parents within our denomination and beyond.”
“The rash of transphobic and homophobic legislation being introduced and passed across the United States stands in direct opposition to our call to care for those held down by systemic discrimination and oppression,” the statement says. LGBTQIA+ youth are four times more likely to seriously consider suicide, to make a plan for suicide and to attempt suicide than their cisgender, heterosexual peers, according to the statement, which adds, “They cannot afford for us to remain silent.”
Government officials in several states are making “false and dangerous claims about gender-affirming health care for youth as well as threatening honest and potentially lifesaving education for LBGTQIA+ youth in our schools,” the statement says. “We cannot stand by as legislation is put in place to withhold that which we know has the capacity to not only honor their lived reality, but ultimately save the lives of LGBTQIA+ youth.”
ACWC and Presbyterian Women in the PC(USA), Inc., say they’re “proud to belong to a denomination that celebrates gender diversity, recognizing that each person is a unique and beautiful reflection of the very image of our Creator.”
ACWC and Presbyterian Women urge Presbyterians act immediately to:
- Educate yourself about the challenges faced by transgender, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming youth
- Advocate for access to lifesaving medical care as well as support for LGBTQIA+ children in school systems
- Inform yourself about anti-trans legislation in your state, and contact your local government officials to let them know why your faith demands you speak up
- Preach or ask your pastor to preach on God’s radical and abundant love for transgender children and youth and the call of Jesus to each of us to stand and act with those most in need of that transformative love.
For more information
https://www.presbyterianmission.org/resource/well-chosen-words/
https://www.thetrevorproject.org/
Track local legislation: https://freedomforallamericans.org/legislative-tracker/medical-care-bans/
The importance of gender-affirming health care for transgender children: The Journal of the American Medical Association
For parents: https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/gradeschool/Pages/Gender-Diverse-Transgender-Children.aspx
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Categories: Advocacy & Social Justice, Matthew 25, Women’s Ministries
Tags: advocacy and social justice, Advocacy Committee for Women’s Concerns, homophobic legislation, lgbtqia youth, matthew 25 invitation, presbyterian women inc., transphobic legislation
Ministries: Advocacy Committee for Women and Gender Justice, All Women in the Church, Matthew 25 in the PC(USA): Join the Movement