“Am I both a man and a woman? Am I neither man nor woman? I am a hijra, so I can access both states of being.” The passage below is excerpted from Queeroes and Trans Champs: 15 Extraordinary People from Around the World Who Show that Authenticity Is Power It is said you can tell what part of Mumbai, India you are in by scent alone. Exhaust fumes from cars, busses, and 3-wheeled autorickshaws mix with spices and wood smoke from street-food vendors. Perfume and body odor rise f

The passage below is excerpted from Holding on to Hope: Help for friends and family of transgender people. Respect Their Name and Pronouns Until recently, you, your family, friends, and social circles have known your loved one by the gender they were assigned at birth and a name corresponding to that gender. Requesting those people to use a chosen name and the appropriate pronouns is a significant milestone for transgender individuals. Hearing these affirming words after a li

Has a friend or family member come out as transgender? My husband is trans, and I’ve been writing about gender issues for years. I’ve walked down a road similar to the one you’re on and have created resources to travel with you through some of the issues you’ll face. For many of us, hearing the news that a loved one isn't the gender we've understood them to be comes as a shock and creates confusion about how to respond. If that describes you, you’ve come to the right place. M

You’re probably wondering about the photo accompanying this post. It’s a hunting vest, with handy little pockets for shotgun shells. I discovered it months ago at a Goodwill Outlet and added some flowers to create a wearable art statement. It’s odd, yes, and I’ll tell you more about it in a few minutes. I'm a homilist at a wonderful social-justice focused church in our area, and the reflection below is based on a sermon I wrote for this past Monday. Here's the gospel reading

I'm a writer, which means I transform thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations into letters on a page. The process of molding those things into words and sentences is a sanctuary action for me, and in these dark days we really need to seek out strategies which help us cope. Here are a few ways things writing does: It forces me to encounter what I'm thinking or feeling, and provides shape to what it is. It gives me a sense of control within a wild and untamed universe. I ha

Declan and I received lovely roses at our city's Transgender Day of Remembrance event. You can still see the glorious pinks and greens of the petals. They initially looked like basic off-white flowers, and it took a few days for them to open up and display their extraordinary hues. The event was held November 20, and I took this picture today, nearly forty days later. It's astonishing that they've held on so long. Yes, the petals are beginning to turn brown on the edges, bu

The passage below is excerpted from Holding on to Hope: Help for friends and family of transgender people. Emotions run high at holidays, and special days on the calendar add emotional complexity to the transgender experience, particularly in the first year of coming out. Mother’s Day and Father’s Day are hard for trans parents as both they and the children work out how to view their roles and titles. Birthdays can trigger sorrow in trans people for the years they were forced

Many Where True Love Is followers want nothing to do with church, and I get it. Declan does an astounding job curating content to uplift and energize people in this dystopian era where ugliness and exclusion are proclaimed as truth, and those messages touch a wide range of people. He and I have received a generous walloping of pain from churches, both in person and online, so we understand the distrust, and the content of the WTLI movement has broadened over the years in res

Each era of life brings unique challenges, opportunities, and gifts. One of the gifts in this particular time and place is being a homilist at Spiritus Christi Church, a revolutionary faith community which does profound works of social justice, and feels like family. Here's my latest, from Monday 12/1/2025, which contemplates the difficulty of translation, the issue of biblical inerrancy, and the possibility of a gay Roman Centurion's plea for help.

Declan and I talked about the new golden statue of the current president this morning, and it's contrast with the teachings of the gospels and Wisdom of Laotse which we've been contemplating. The urging of both writings is to seek humility, and the special importance of that virtue for those in positions of leadership. The conversation reminded me of a passage from Sleeper, Awake: 40 days of companionship for the deconstruction process , which I've excerpted below. While not