The Call to Worship and Prayer by the Rev. B. Y. Boone, Senior Pastor of St. John’s MCC on Transgender Day of Remembrance • Sunday, November 21, 2010.

“Thanks be to God for this day, where we can come together along with the global church to observe Transgender Remembrance Day! Today, God joins us in our grief as we remember our siblings [in Christ] lost at the hands of hatred, evil and violence because of their gender identity and expression. Yet, it will be the church, engaged and united in Spirit-breathed prayer, that will unlock the window of the powerful, healing effects of God’s loving will for us.

“Today, we restore anew our commitment to protect, support and remember our transgender [and genderqueer] siblings [in Christ] and indeed all of God’s children who are marginalized and alienated.

“As God bears witness to our restoration, let our worship this day honor our memories, reignite our resolve and reflect our renewal!”

“In that same spirit, Beloved, let us pray.

“Loving Creator God, Maker of us all, You who knows us and loves us, be with us now as we come together to be your community, as we come to worship you, as we come together to remember. Bring us the hope we need and the wholeness that we long for to live lives that are full of Your unconditional and limitless love, lives that are all that You desire us to be. Help us to be the wonderful diverse people that we are: of all sexual orientations, of all gender and gender identities, of all ages and races, for it is You who made us and not we ourselves. We ask that Your presence will be manifest in our words and actions, not just this day, but every day of our lives. This we ask in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.”

– adapted from worship resources provided by MCC Transgender Ministries