| Outside topics |
[Mar. 22nd, 2010|11:12 am] |
Hi everyone,
I just want to remind you that the point of this community is to help us grow as Christians, and to support each other through the additional difficulties of being transgendered. For entries not related to this, there's many other LJ communities where political or educational topics can be discussed.
Thanks!
~ Sarah/geekgirl4christ |
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| Holidays |
[Dec. 5th, 2009|02:25 pm] |
Since there hasn't been much activity on ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif?v=92.1) transchristian lately, I figured I would start a topic of conversation.
So Christmas is right around the corner. (Maybe too close around the corner for me.) How have your holiday seasons changed since starting transition? Are you closer to your families? More distant? Has the "reason for the season" changed for you? Do you find it easier or harder to remain a Christian during this time of year?
~ Sarah |
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| One More River to Cross... |
[Mar. 15th, 2009|04:42 pm] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | Home | ] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  optimistic | ] |
| [ | Current Music |
| | David Arkenstone - Quest of the Dream Warrior | ] |
When I was growing up and the family went on vacation it always seemed that I was asking "How much further is it?". And the answer was always "Just a little further." The lesson being that a goal is always a little further away or harder to achieve than you think it would or should be. This was brought to mind today as I listened to Rev. Carol give us the news that due to changes in the real estate market that the amount of the loan we need to finish our new home for MCCGSL is more than the current appraised value of the property and that as a result it was uncertain when we would be able to move in. One more challenge on a journey that has already seen us as a church give until it seems that we can give no more. But more is needed. Can we as a church rise to this challenge?
At this point I'm going to digress just a bit - I'm going to use as an example the selection process that the military uses to pick who gets into the training courses to join the elite units - Special Forces, Delta, Seals, etc. The common factor is that they work the the prospective trainees for for days on limited food and little or no sleep. Then when they think that have reached their limits physically and mentally present them one more seemingly insurmountable challenge. Perhaps to individually march another 20, 30 or more miles or as a team move a heavy and awkward object some distance with only their own physical ability and what they can scrounge to work with. The ones who pass and go on are those that rise to the challenge, who don't know the meaning of the word quit. The relavance here is that the same attitude is needed in our situation - if we fail at raising that last bit of money/collateral it becomes uncertain when or if we will ever get to move into our new facility. We have been presented that last (I hope) challenge - are we up to it?
There was a time in our church history when we had so little in the line of resources that the bills for utilities and the like would be tacked up on the front door to be adopted and paid by members of the congregation. Somehow they made it through those times. Speaking for myself only, as Rev. Carol outlined the problem my thoughts were not about if I would rise to this challenge but rather how I would do it. As I have written previously I'm already delaying my retirement in order to contribute from my transition fund to help pay for our new home. And then it came to me, I own free and clear a small tract of land in the Ozarks where I go to camp and chill out when life gets to be more than I can handle. Since collateral is needed to secure the additional loan amount I'm going to put the deed to what has been my refuge over the years up to help secure the loan.
I'll be interested to see who else rises to the challenge - but given the history of our church I know that I am not and will not be alone. |
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| "Some Guy At Wal-Mart" |
[Jan. 15th, 2009|01:19 am] |
(No, I didn't write this. Found this from years ago though.)
So there I was at Wally World at 4am -- I just got off work and didn't have any company for once, so I decided to stock up on chocolate and Diet Coke and grab the latest edition of Us. Usually when I leave work, I just pull a sweatshirt over my outfit -- not that there is much to it, and sometimes, like last night, I pull on some leggings too. 4am is the best time to go to Wal-Mart--you can wander arounda bit without having to wade through the crowds, and you NEVER run into jerks from your distant past, assuming you, like me, used to hang out with church people.
I charge right in, heading over towards the grocery section when this guy standing there stays, "Hey, could you show me where the bottled water is in this place?" I look at him--he's just this kind of average conservative-looking guy with a nice smile--and I say, "I don't work here."
He says, "I know, but could you show me where the water is?" I look him over once and he doesn't look like the sort of guy who hangs out where I dance, so I figure he is a poor married dweeb whose wife can't sleep and sent him to get her some things and he doesn't usually shop, so I say, "Whatever." He follows me down the main aisle and I realize I'm still wearing my stage makeup and big lashes, and my sweatshirt says "Mystique Cabaret" and for some reason I feel a little weird about it.
"You're a church person, aren't you?" I challenge him. "What do you want with me?"
Then he says the weirdest thing, "I know you're tired of what you've been doing and I've got something a lot better for you."
"You can't even find your way to the bottled water! You don't have a clue about me. Way too many other guys have told me they could make my life better and here I am at Wal-Mart at 4am by myself! Here's your water," I tell him, pointing him down the aisle that is all waters on one side and all alcohol on the other.
"Thanks, Tara," he says and starts to head for the water. "If you want things to be different, give me a call."
"How do you know my name?" I'm shocked. Maybe he was one of my "admirers." I got pretty tensed up. "Are you stalking me? My life is tough enough without some pervert messing with me."
"That's just it," he says. "Your life is tough, and I want to make it better."
"Oh sure," I say sarcastically. "Fix me, right here by the frozen foods."
"Go tell your husband that things are going to get a lot better," he says.
"OK, so you're not as smart as you think you are. I'm not married," I snap.
"It's true," he says. "You've been hitched a few times, before, but you've never married this guy."
You could have knocked me over with a feather. "Are you some kind of psychic?" I ask.
He says, "I'm just really close to God."
So I say, "I'll bet you're into all those 'Left Behind' books and you think you're better than me and you're probably going to ask me for money! I don't want to be forced into your box."
He comes back with something like, "I'm not here to judge you and I don't care much what you read. I don't want any of your money. I don't want to offer you a box; I want to offer you a life. The only thing that matters is whether or not you know who God is and that you connect up with Him."
I say, "Religion never did work for me. I'm a little bit rusty on my Sunday school lessons, so I'm probably going to need someone to help me see things your way."
He smiles and says, "I've got all the time in the world!" |
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| Soulfest? |
[Jan. 4th, 2009|12:26 am] |
Has anyone ever been to Soulfest?
I have been to some of the concerts, and am thinking of getting a campsite this year. |
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| On Transgender at MCCGSL |
[Nov. 30th, 2008|06:13 pm] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | Home | ] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| | hopeful | ] |
| [ | Current Music |
| | Doug Smith - Guitar - Order of Magnitude | ] |
Through the years the Transgender population at Metropolitan Community Church of Greater Saint Louis has been rather small. Part of that is I suspect due to the bad rap that Transgendered folks get from many religious denominations and partly due to a lack of outreach to the Transgender community. As a part of our TDOR service for 2008 we made a point of inviting members of the St. Louis Gender Foundation to join us as we paid respect to those who died this year because they tried to live their lives as who they truly were. While their turnout was limited it would appear that the ice has been broken. A case in point. Two women who are Gender Foundation members and have recently started transition and the Real Life Test have contacted me in the last couple of weeks looking for information on MCCGSL. Both came to our 11:30 service today and I would venture to guess that they will be back - this is our modern or "contemporary" service and I suspect that they may have been a bit surprised by the sheer energy/exuberance that they found. Not to mention the warm but not I hope overpowering greeting. A comment from one was "This is nothing like the Church of England!". Welcome Stephanie and Chrissie - we hope to see much of you in the future. And if you prefer something more traditional then our 9:30 service may be to your liking.
So what comes next? I've spoken of joining the Gender Foundation and I suspect that this will be my next move. The chance to put a human face on MCCGSL and let them get to know us is something not to be missed. An email asking in effect "Can I come out and play too?" will be sent - I'll be interested in the response. |
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