Today, November 20, we mourn, along with trans people and our loved ones all over the world. In the words of Monica Roberts:

“It’s been 20 years since Gwen Smith created the TDOR to remember the people that we have lost due to anti-trans violence. And it’s also been 20 years since Rita Hester was murdered, and her killer not being brought to justice. We have another 22 people who were murdered in 2018 [in the USA], and as per usual in the States, they are disproportionately African American trans people. Internationally Brazil depressingly leads the pack in being the most dangerous nation to be trans.

“Say their names. Their trans lives mattered.”

As trans Unitarian Universalist leaders, we grieve our fallen kindred, we offer care to each other and our communities, and we vow to keep fighting. Below are three prayers offered by TRUUsT members, trans Unitarian Universalist leaders.

We Are Holy. We Are Sacred. We Are Divine.

Our Friend, Our Creator and Source:

We come to you with words of grief,
but also, silent rage. We know that You
have made us and called us:

We are trans. And we are holy.
We are intersex. And we are sacred.
We are gender-diverse. And we are divine.

We know that Justice is
always on the side of the
Oppressed. Stay on our side now,
Creator. Call your people
to this place. Remind them
that Love is
more than saying.
Love is being and doing.

This government may try to
find ways to outlaw our existence.
Help us to lift up that higher law. The Truth
that each and all of us exist
as a complete expression of humanity.

And help us both to heal and to rise. A people
marked by difference, but chosen by ourselves
and each other, to be known, to be recognized,
Beloved and belonging, Unitarian Universalists.

We are trans. And we are holy.
We are intersex. And we are sacred.
We are gender-diverse. And we are divine.

For all these things,
we give thanks and say,
Amen.

—Rev. Theresa I. Soto, nonbinary community minister in Ashland, Oregon

A Prayer for the Lost Ones

This is a prayer for the lost ones,
those taken from us too soon.
And too many.

The truth be told,
one would be too many!
One life taken is one too many to be dead.

This is a prayer for those whose lives were taken in violence,
for who they were
and how they loved.

Those who are no longer with us were people
they were our siblings and parents
our children, coworkers, and lovers.

This is a prayer for their families,
who will never know all of who they were to become,
nor never again feel their warm embrace.
May their memories ease their grief.

This is a prayer for the lost ones,
beautiful human beings who once occupied this earth
with beauty, humor, anger, frustration, and fear,
and who are no longer with us.

This is a prayer for those
who are now our ancestors.
We pray you continue to guide us towards making
a more just, more loving, more accepting world.

This is a prayer for the survivors of hate crimes and hate.
For those who live in fear
and cannot flourish as they are.

This is a prayer for the survivors
whose lives have been impacted by violence and hate.
May we remember the legacy from which we come
and the legacy we will leave behind.

May we continue to build families of choice and protection,
for our souls as well as our bodies,
Trusting that we were always meant to be here
and knowing that we are loved just as we are.

—Mr. Barb Greve, co-founder of TRUUsT and Co-Moderator, Unitarian Universalist Association

You Are Holy

Dearest siblings, you are holy. Your body is holy. Your life is holy. You are a being of such great worth, deserving of dignity and so much more.

Dearest siblings, your being is a reflection of divinity. Your trans-ness – that with which our world marks you deviant – is of God.

Dearest sisters, this world is not good enough to you, for you. Thank you for the blessings of your presence in the world. May we honor you fully.

Dearest sisters, let nobody tell you you aren’t of the Divine feminine. You are. You who give birth to whole new worlds by being.

Dearest brothers, we see you. We see you and your journeys and your struggles to find a masculinity beyond toxicity. Bless your lives, bless your journeys.

Dearest brothers, you are holy. You are whole.

Dearest, dearest siblings, you are holy. You are precious. You are beloved. And you are loved.

May you carry these words and my love in your heart as we face a difficult and often scary world together. May we together seek something new, better, beyond.

—Rev. KC Slack, agender femme working towards more beautiful futures in UU congregations and the queer community

Read more prayers and reflections on Transgender Day of Remembrance