Bishop Robinson Stepping UP/an Invitation
Letters and petitions were sent to the Rt. Rev. V. Gene Robinson, Bishop, New Hampshire the only openly gay Bishop in the Anglican communion, asking him to consider how his attendance at certain social organizations fund raiser might affect transgender people. It is the belief of many transgender people that the exclusion from the national human rights movement was inhumane and his attendance would validate a sense that Transgender people were somehow less than Gays and Lesbians.
Our petitions and protests are without constraint from political and religious influence.
The response we received from Bishop Robinson took us completely off guard. Bishop Robinson asked to meet us, anywhere anytime! Well, how dare he? A religious leader of the Anglican communion willingly stepping up and taking this risk to meet? I was astounded and had to rethink how could we best respond to such a offer.
I went back to my roots at the Reconciling Ministries Network (RMN), and what I have learned of philosophy and faith. I considered what could be the most important out come of such a meeting?
In response to Bishops Robinson's invitation we formed the Dallas Transgender Advocates and Allies from previously friendly but separate people.
We all realized our need to be cohesive yet diverse and to respect each other for our common goal of lifting up the Transgender, Queer, Intersexed, Asexual and Questioning people from the sense of despair, frustration and anger we have found ourselves in since our exclusion from the national Gay and Lesbian human rights movement.
Dallas Transgender Advocates and Allies are now extending our hand in friendship and welcome to all. We are everything, from radical to conservative and there are no guarantees. It is a leap of faith.
Come and be part of the Conversation with Bishop Robinson on November 22 in Dallas Texas.
We are so different yet so much the same. This realization of our humanity is due to Bishop Robinson "Stepping UP!"
By Kelli Busey
Nov. 3,2008
planetransgender
4 comments:
What are you hoping that he does as a result of your meeting?
Great Question Kel. When I first wrote him it was out of a sense of betrayal and anger. I hoped he would not attend anything HRC related.
I have been changing since then. In a almost surreal change of events those who I thought at best would never join the conversation have become our mentors.
Now I hope that queer folk will take notice of faith and I hope religions will play a larger, more assertive role in our re-assimilation into the national human rights movement.
In what I consider an act of faith our press release was cross posted at Episcopal Integrity USA http://walkingwithintegrity.blogspot.com/2008/11/press-release-bishop-of-new-hampshire.html
Let me ask again. What are you hoping that he does as a result of this?
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