Building Support for Gender-Affirming Health Care
A resolution to support gender-affirming health care passed resoundingly at this year’s Annual Meeting. The resolution calls for the creation of gender-affirming healthcare champions in congregations as well as educational advocacy and financial support.
The work to craft the resolution and bring it for a vote of the delegates at the Annual Meeting started with Rev. Jeanine Dorfman and Rev. Claire Klein, members of Lyndale UCC. “I had heard people in our congregation frequently lifting up people for prayer for gender-affirming health care,” says Klein, a music therapist ordained through Grace Hospice. “I was also hearing about health care institutions that were ending this type of care for fear of losing funding. So even though Minnesota is a state that supports this care, I knew people were losing access. And because our attention was rightfully focused on the demands of the ICE surge, I also knew that the issue was getting lost.”
Klein drafted a resolution and Dorfman added to it, as did Rev. Dr. Rebecca Voekel and Rev. T. Michael Rock, pastors at Lyndale UCC, Rev. Oby Ballinger from Prism, and several community members.
“In some ways I was already unofficially acting as a champion of the issue before we wrote the resolution,” said Dorfman. “I have a trans child who is 15 and several trans friends so that was motivating me to keep it in front of my congregation.”
They arranged for two workshops at the Annual Meeting, one for the day before the vote and one after. They engaged Rev. Derek Terry, who at the time was executive director of the UCC’s Open and Affirming Coalition (Terry recently passed away). “We wanted to hear what was going on in different communities, where we were being called and led, and what would be helpful to do the work in this resolution,” says Klein.
The workshop participants discussed four major areas:
- Advocacy, such tracking legislation throughout the U.S., and advocacy with political leaders;
- Interpersonal pastoral care, such as Meal Trains for those undergoing surgery, clothing swaps, and support to care providers;
- Worship and what churches do in terms of hymns, prayers, and buildings;
- Education through such activities as OWL programming and queer positive events.
Church leaders were encouraged to seek out people who were willing to take on this work in their congregation. The goal is to see the initiative grow and thrive in Minnesota – and perhaps then be shared beyond the state. Rev. Mallory Everhart, the Covenant Organizer for the Minnesota Conference UCC, will be supporting the work as well.
“We are called to help people thrive and shine in their embodiment of Christ,” says Klein. “We should help people feel the most empowered and close to their essential self. This is about being affirmed, seen, and loved.”
Dorfman agrees. “We hear so much about gender dysphoria, but I have learned a lot about gender euphoria, which is in alignment of seeing the image of God in people. Why wouldn’t we want to help people be who they were created to be?”
Read the full resolution here.
Learn about a September 23rd session on becoming a gender affirming care champion