Dear MCC friends - we send you warm greetings on this Holy Week:

Although we are newly appointed to the MCC Council of Elders, we could not let the “Transgender Day of Visibility” (TDOV) pass by without mention and reflection; especially given this year’s annual celebration falls uniquely on Easter Sunday.

As you may know, the TDOV has been celebrated since 2009 to intentionally lift up and honor the gifts and positive contributions of transgender people in stark contrast to the one-day vigil set aside for the Transgender Day of Remembrance that commemorates the precious lives lost as a result of anti-transgender violence.

What better way to celebrate than to do so along with Easter Sunday? The resurrection is a powerful and visible example of what God’s love can do in raising Jesus from the dead and transforming with new life. For many of us, who live a trans, nonbinary, and transgender expansive (TNGE) experience, it

may feel like we are walking out of tombs labeled “gender conformity and expectation” with the hope to be trans-formed with new life; living freely and fully as who we are. Just like Jesus, we often leave behind grave clothes, clothes that are gendered incorrectly, and then ‘robe’ ourselves with that which more accurately expresses who we are inside --- on the outside.

Like sexuality, gender identity is a gift from God although it may not seem so, given a world that increasingly expresses (in word and action) political, social, and religious animus toward the TNGE community that can harm and seeks to criminalize medical care and other aspects of our daily lives.

Heartbreakingly, some of this is done “in the name of God” and yet God is ever-creating, always loving, and inviting (and helping) us to become more fully ourselves each day.

The Good News is indeed GOOD and speaks repeatedly, by different authors and witnesses, to God’s unconditional, faithful, and eternal love for us all. The command by Jesus to “love others as you love yourself” presupposes that we start with loving ourselves and then loving others. Loving ourselves is important especially in times like these-- when we hear powerful and loud voices that diminish, attempt to silence, and seek to make us invisible.

As we celebrate Easter this year, let us also celebrate who we are (God’s beloved) and who we are becoming. Easter reminds us that Jesus rose and so can we --- because that is what love does. What God’s love does. And, love sets us free; liberating us from whatever tombs try to contain us.

This Easter Sunday, let us again revel in the miracle and glory of resurrection that happened on that first Easter morning and then open ourselves to the possibility that, with the help of God, there can be more Easter mornings—when the miracle and power of God’s love transform us with new life --- over

and over again.

Many blessings to you on this Easter, dear friends! My hope is that one day all of us can be visible (safely not just bravely) and excited to celebrate with one another. Until that day, let us stand for justice and always choose to embody love, making love visible for all to see…just like Jesus did.

Amen and Alleluia!

Rev. Elder Aaron Miller

On behalf of the MCC Council of Elders