Prayer For Transgender Day Of Remembrance
Loving Creator, Let the rain come and wash away the ancient grudges, the bitter hatreds held and nurtured over generations. Let the rain wash away the memory of the heart, and neglect. Then Oh God, let the sun come out and fill the sky with beautiful rainbows.
Let the warmth of the Sun heal us wherever we are broken. Let It burn away the fog so that each of us sees each other clearly. So that we can move beyond labels, beyond accents, gender, sexual orientation, or skin color. Let the warmth and brightness of the sun melt our selfishness. So that we can share the joy and sorrow of our neighbors. And let the light of the sun be so strong that we will see all people as our neighbors.
Let the Earth, nourished by rain, bring forth flowers to surround us with your beauty, and let the mountains teach our hearts to reach upward to heaven. Then, Dear God, grant us comfort, give us peace, and allow us strength to enable us to Stand up, Fight for, and be a Voice for Equality. In Jesus' name, Amen!
Dear Ancestor Spirits: Please hear our prayer.
Remind us to breathe deep in each moment, touching our lives from within, as we honor you there.
Remind us to reach back to you who were here long before we began counting time, or needing labels to describe ourselves as human beings.
You goddesses, warriors, and kings; healers, priests, shamans, two-spirit; family and friends; share with us your wisdom, that we may know the power of community, and understand we are already ONE, we need only self-love and compassion so that we can truly let each other in!
Spirit of life and love that resides within and among us, we enter this moment with all that we are, with an open heart, and with a love for justice.
We hold in love and prayer all transgender people, so many of whom live under the weight of violence, fear, and intolerance. We hold in love and prayer all the ways that transgender people have survived and thrived in a hostile world. We hold in love and prayer all who recognize the significance of gender justice for all people.
We who believe in freedom will not rest until it comes. We pray for the dawn of a new day when the very humanity of trans people is no longer called into question or ignored. We pray that physical, emotional, and spiritual violence will come to an end. We pray that a spirit of compassion and care will fill us to overflowing, that we may have the capacity to listen, learn, and grow not only in our awareness but also in our willingness to act. We pray for teachers, spiritual leaders, social workers, lawyers, and all people who heed the call to support Trans liberation, Trans leadership, and Trans visibility. May they ultimately lean into the Light of truth and justice, offering hope to Trans and gender nonconforming youth and adults.
We pray for Gavin Grimm and his family and friends as they continue to shoulder a legal process that is too often unkind. May he persevere with courage and strength.
On this day, we commit and recommit to creating a world where people of all genders know peace, love, and justice. We commit and recommit to living lives of compassion and care for all of humanity. We commit and recommit to the healing work of relationship-building that will help every person know, no matter their gender or sexuality, that they are loved and valued.
O Infinite Love, help me face this day.
My heart weeps with fear of violence, of invisibility, of hatred.
Open me to beauty and wholeness, to love and laughter.
I am enough. We are enough.
I live in the sacred in-between. I embody the connectivity and allness of the Infinite. May I remember that I am inherently sacred by my existence.
The earth is filled with magnificent diversity of which I am a small piece. May I remember I am a part of the spectacular beauty of a diverse world dependent on that diversitymy existencefor its survival.
When I feel lost, may I hold to the earth and to community.
When I feel invisible, may I have the strength to shout joyous gratitude from the rooftops for all who have seen me.
When violence is before me, I ask for grace through the next moment.
When I feel connected, may I share my love with those around me.
When I feel seen, my I see others in need.
When I am secure, may I rise up for the security of others.
O Infinite Love, I sit within you and shine you out to the world that we may know grace even when we do not live up to our most grounded values. We are life and we are lives worth living and my life is valuable as all lives are valuable.
O Infinite Love, thank you for the gift of the transcendent both, all, And, Infinite, liminal, glue, connectivity. May I rest in that transcendent space today and for all the days to come. Aho, amin, ashe.
God full of mercy, bless the souls of all who are in our hearts on this Transgender Day of Remembrance. We call to mind today young and old, of every race, faith, and gender experience, who have died by violence. We remember those who have died because they would not hide, or did not pass, or did pass, or stood too proud. Today we name them: the reluctant activist; the fiery hurler of heels; the warrior for quiet truth; the one whom no one really knew.
As many as we can name, there are thousands more whom we cannot, and for whom no Kaddish may have been said. We mourn their senseless deaths, and give thanks for their lives, for their teaching, and for the brief glow of each holy flame. We pray for the strength to carry on their legacy of vision, bravery, and love.
And as we remember them, we remember with them the thousands more who have taken their own lives. We pray for resolve to root out the injustice, ignorance, and cruelty that grow despair. And we pray, God, that all those who perpetrate hate and violence will speedily come to understand that Your creation has many faces, many genders, many holy expressions.
Blessed are they, who have allowed their divine image to shine in the world. Blessed is God, in Whom no light is extinguished.
God of creation, Source of life,
we behold your newness with each new day.
We watch how the seasons transition
from winter to spring to summer to fall
and then the cycle is renewed.
Your creative process of life
is ever before us in all its diversity
and human life is no exception.
As we observe Transgender Day of Remembrance,
we pray with thanksgiving
for those whose lives have been cut short
by fear, hatred, and violence
because they were perceived to be different,
because they had the courage to live their lives
with integrity and openness,
because they did not conform
to someone else's view of how they should live.
We remember and give thanks
for the seasons of their lives,
for the love and friendships they shared
and the ways in which their living
has been a gift to us all.
Be present to those of us who are grieving,
may your peace rest on us.
Be present to those of us who are angry,
may the power of your love inspire and embolden us
to use our anger to dismantle hate,
the fear of difference and all that incites violence.
And send us out into the world
with the wisdom and guidance of your Spirit
and with evangelical courage
that we may work in solidarity with one another
to build your community of welcome, justice and peace.
We pray in the name of the Christ, who transforms the world. Amen.
Gracious and loving God, you made all of humankind in your image and redeemed us through Jesus your Son: On this International Transgender Day of Remembrance, we remember those who were killed because of their all-encompassing humanity; help us to overcome our anger and our fear of those whose lives move beyond our binary definitions; draw us closer to the mystery and complexity of your infinite creativity and creation; teach us to look upon all of God's children with love and compassion, that we may all live in safety and in peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
God of love, you weep with us in our grief and fear. Enfold in your loving embrace all those in our trans community lost to death this year. You know their names, Divine Creator, even when they are misnamed or misgendered as a last act of violence and erasure. You see each one as beloved, and call them by their chosen name. You claim them as your children.
God of peace, give comfort to those who mourn. Give courage to our trans communities in the face of cruelty and harassment. Bring to justice those who perpetrate this violence.
Challenge us, O Holy One, to speak out for those who are silenced, to stand with those who are bullied, and to go with those who face danger.
God of wonder, you are beyond gender. You made each of us in your image. Be with us today and always as we long for a day when every individual is safe and known and honored.
We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, who brings us all together in one human family.
Amen.