The First Unitarian Universalist Society in Newton (FUUSN) hosted a Transgender Day of Remembrance service Thursday evening, November 20, bringing together members of 14 congregations in a unified gathering at the church to create a broader, united front at a time, faith leaders said, when anti-trans discrimination is rising nationwide.
The other congregations participating were Congregation Dorshei Tzedek, Eliot Church of Newton, First Church of Newton, First Church in Chestnut Hill, Myrtle Baptist Church, Newton Presbyterian Church, Newton Highlands Congregational Church, Second Church in Newton, St. Ignatius of Loyola Parish, Temple Beth Avodah, Temple Shalom, the Union Church in Waban, and United Parish of Auburndale.
Remember
Reverend Dr. Debra Haffner, senior co-minister at FUUSN, opened the service with a call for unity. The service included clergy and lay leaders from across the participating congregations reading the names of the 67 transgender people killed by violence or suicide in the past year – including one 15-year-old.
“We gather because every one of those lives was precious, because their memories deserve dignity, because grief becomes holy, and yes, more bearable when we share it together,” Rev. Haffner said. “But we decided remembering is no longer enough.”
Holly Ryan, a transgender woman and former Newton city councilor, outlined how Transgender Day of Remembrance began in Massachusetts, tracing its origins to the 1995 murder of Chanelle Pickett in Watertown and the 1998 killing of Rita Hester in Allston, which prompted the first community vigils. Ryan said she remembers joining more than 200 people in the streets for a candlelight vigil in the streets of Boston after Hester’s murder.
“Some of us were grieving, some of us were angry, and some of us didn’t even know why we were there,” Ryan said.
Jacki Rohan, who served on the Rainbow Umbrella committee dedicated to helping the LGTBQ+ community, is a member of FUUSN, which has hosted the remembrance service for many years.
“This is hopeful – more than just being somber, like they always have been before,” Rohan said.
Resist
Ryan also reflected on the current political climate for transgender people, saying national policies in recent years – including actions under the Trump administration – have intensified fear among trans youth and families. She said earlier efforts by the administration to limit federal recognition of transgender people led many young people to panic.
“[Trump] wrote an executive order erasing us from existence,” Ryan said.
Ryan also pointed to earlier advocacy efforts in Massachusetts, including the passage of the 2011 Transgender Civil Rights Law and public accommodations protections in 2016. Those campaigns, she said, succeeded because faith and business coalitions supported transgender activists.
Rev. Haffner told attendees that more than 1,000 anti-trans bills were introduced across 49 states last year, a trend she described as part of a broader rise in discrimination.
“As people of faith, we must resist all attempts to erase, diminish, or endanger our transgender, intersex, and nonbinary beloveds,” Rev. Haffner said.
Rise
Music played a major role throughout the service, with multiple hymns and songs. Neal Klinman sang with the First Unitarian Universalist Society choir, led by Anne Watson Born, throughout the service.
“Participating with the choir has been powerful because I get a little deeper into the music, get to understand the lyrics, and the words stay with me a little longer,” Klinman said.
The service concluded with attendees forming a large circle around the church’s sanctuary and joining hands to sing Draw the Circle Wide, led by the choir. After the service, guests enjoyed food and drinks in a community reception in FUUSN’s Parish Hall.
Near the end of the service, Rada Ruggles, a ministerial intern at Eliot Church who is transgender, addressed attendees directly, urging them to maintain hope despite political and social pressures.
“We’ve gathered here today to honor and remember our transgender and the gender-fabulous ancestors who have gone before us, especially those we have lost this year,” Ruggles said. “If you take anything from tonight, I hope you take the fact that you are loved.”
Ryan, a practicing Catholic herself at St. Ignatius of Loyola Parish, said one of the aims of the night was to counter religious-based discrimination against transgender people.
Seeing 14 congregations gather under one roof – from synagogues to Protestant churches – left Ryan deeply moved.
“This is good for the interfaith community,” Ryan said. “It shows us all the allies.”
