Creating Cultures of Care: Blessing LGBTQIA+ Kin Across MC USA

February 15, 2025*

Photo credit: Boulder Mennonite Church.

There is more love somewhere… These words, sung in quiet defiance and deep longing, have carried generations of people through struggle. Originally composed by anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko, this hymn became a spiritual grounding for those seeking freedom in the face of oppression. It is not just a song but a prayer, a promise that even in the midst of harm, injustice, and fear, love has not disappeared. It is still moving. Still calling us forward. Still waiting to be found.

The quest for “more love, somewhere” is a familiar one for those of us who, because of our gender and sexual identity, have been creating communities of safety and belonging in the midst of chaos and fear, for decades. Still, rising hostility toward queer, trans, nonbinary, and gender-expansive people politically, socially, and even within faith spaces makes it clear that this moment is not just about resistance but about survival. The current presidential administration’s campaign against queer people is well-documented, and its effects reverberate into our courts, churches, streets, and homes.

We feel the need for “more love somewhere” in the exhausted sigh of the trans teenager who isn’t sure if school is still safe for them, in the weary resolve of the queer elder who has spent a lifetime watching faith communities debate their dignity, and in the prayers of parents desperately seeking a nation that won’t force them to choose between the law and their child. We keep looking for that “somewhere” where love is real, where justice is not conditional, and where belonging is not up for debate.

For our congregations walking in the way of Jesus, this moment compels us to clarify our efforts to be (or become) communities of safety and belonging for each other. In the wise words of Chicago organizer Kelly Hayes, “Vulnerable people don’t need a sea of reactivity right now. They need caring groups of people who are working together to create as much safety as they can. We need to create a rebellious culture of care.” In the midst of real and justified fear, and the deployment of political and spiritual violence that isolates and targets lgbtqia+ people, the church needs to be a rebellious culture of care.

At its best, the church is that Spirit-led community that can be the somewhere where we find more love. We do this well when we follow the lead of queer, trans, nonbinary, and gender-expansive folx within and beyond our churches. We can stand on the sidelines, offering thoughts and prayers while harm continues. Or we can rise to the call to be peacemakers who create places where love, justice, and care are not just spoken but embodied and lived. 

Below, you’ll find a blessing and a list of resources that equip us to meet this moment with courage and care. For allies who are following Jesus by creating cultures of care, we encourage you to share these with fellow congregants who are queer. Being an ally often means showing up in ways that are not centered around your lived experience. Walking alongside trans and queer Mennonites means reading texts like this blessing and experiencing what it's like to not be a primary audience – an experience that queer folks face often. Pray it over them when they come to you for care and support. Our Mennonite LGBTQIA+ family needs words like these as we face targeting from the U.S. administration.

To our queer family, especially LGBTQIA+ Mennonites, we offer a blessing at this tender moment of fear and uncertainty. Receive it as our prayer over you:

May you know, in the marrow of your bones, that you are holy, not in spite of who you are, but because of it. May the lies of unworthiness unravel at your feet, and may love, real, fierce, unshakable love, rise to meet you. May you be surrounded by those who honor your existence, who see your light and call it good. May every space that seeks to erase you be undone by the truth of your presence. To those who have been cast out, may you find a home that holds all of you. To those who have been silenced, may your voice ring out with power and joy. To those who have been told you are too much, too bold, too different, may you know that you were never meant to be small. May justice be more than a prayer on our lips but a fire in our hands, building a world where you do not have to beg to belong. May rest come easy, knowing that the Divine delights in you, exactly as you are. And may love, abundant, defiant, and ever-expanding, find you wherever you go, until every place is a place where you are free.

As we commit to the work ahead,  let us remember that this is more than a call to action, it is a call to love. A love that is bold and unwavering. A love that does not ask queer and trans people to wait for justice, to shrink themselves for belonging, or to earn what has always been ours. This love, the kind that Jesus embodied, demands that we show up fully, creating spaces where all can thrive.

Resources for LGBTQIA+, nonbinary, & gender-expansive individuals and families:

●     BMC: Brethren Mennonite Council for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Interests. https://www.bmclgbt.org/

○     General trans 101 education: Gender & Sexuality Terms (2016), Trans 101: A Brief Guide (2017) and Trans Myth Busters (2024) https://www.bmclgbt.org/general-resources

○     Safety planning & mutual aid for trans individuals and families: contact BMC. 

●     Transmission Ministry Collective: trans support groups, mutual aid, education https://transmissionministry.com/

●     Trans Youth Emergency Project https://southernequality.org/tyep/

●     Dear Trans Kids, You Don’t Need the Government’s Permission to Exist: from Raquel Willis https://www.teenvogue.com/story/dear-trans-kids-raquel-willis

●     Trans Lifeline: operates M-F 12-8p Central, 877-565-8860 (US), 877-330-6366 (Canada) https://translifeline.org/

●     Thrive Lifeline: mental health support, trans led & operated, 313-662-8209 https://thrivelifeline.org/

●     Know Your Rights: For lgbtqia+ and allied people affected by ICE raids https://immigrantjustice.org/know-your-rights. Know Your Rights cards you can print and distribute here.

●     Queer Anabaptist Online Church: Community of Hope. Pastor Rachael is queer and available for pastoral care by Zoom or phone: pastor@communityofhopechurch.com https://www.communityofhopechurch.com/

●     Fabulous Fierce and Sacred May 2025: A respite for lgbtqia+ Anabaptist siblings and allies, a retreat centering queer and trans joy and belonging. Join us! https://www.bmclgbt.org/ffs

Resources and tips for congregations and allies:

●     Public witness: If you are fully affirming of lgbtqia+ people in all levels of church life and leadership, make it known. Publicize this in your community. This act of public witness collectively disperses the risk and vulnerability that many queer and trans people face daily.  Become a member of BMC’s Supportive Communities Network of nearly 150 publicly affirming Mennonite & Brethren churches/organizations.

●     Check in with those most vulnerable in your congregation: What do they need? What kind of creative, courageous care might be welcome?

●     5 Things Your Religious Community Can Do To Support Trans People https://sojo.net/articles/opinion/5-things-your-religious-community-can-do-support-trans-people

●     PReP (HIV medication) Policy Changes - Call to Action https://openandaffirming.org/the-u-s-governments-harmful-prep-policy-change-and-its-impact-on-lgbtq-communities/

●     Read: Trump's Latest Anti-Trans Actions and How We Can Fight Back from Kelly Hayes https://organizingmythoughts.org/trumps-latest-anti-trans-actions-and-how-we-can-fight-back/

●     Congregational Safety Planning: https://www.uua.org/safe/community-resilience

●     Harnessing Our Power to End Political Violence (HOPE): https://www.endpoliticalviolence.org/ 

●     Get involved with a local group fighting back on state legislation.  Mapping Attacks of LGBTQIA+ Rights in US State Legislatures https://www.aclu.org/legislative-attacks-on-lgbtq-rights-2025

Anti-trans Legislation Tracker

●     Start a mutual aid fund for people in your congregation and community who may need to relocate or travel to access care. Build this fund now, even if you don’t see an immediate need

https://www.transformationsproject.org/state-anti-trans-legislation

●     Assess your capacity to take increased risk as an ally. This looks different for each of us. Meeting the demands of the moment will call upon all of us to summon boldness alongside those most vulnerable.

●     Read: They’re Coming for Your Neighbors: Will You Stand or Stay Silent? from Thulani Moore, Roots of Justice trainer https://www.rootsofjusticetraining.org/blog/theyre-coming-for-your-neighbors-will-you-stand-or-stay-silent

Shana Green (they/them) is pastor at New Creation Fellowship Church in Newton, Kansas. They also serve as a member of the MC USA Queer Constituency Council and the Inclusive Pastors Leadership Team.

Rachael Weasley (she/her) is the pastor and church planter at Community of Hope Mennonite Church, which centers queer theology and gathers for worship on Zoom every first Monday (come visit us!) as well as for Wild Church in Bellingham, WA.

Michael Crosby(he/him) is a pastor at First Mennonite Church of Champaign-Urbana (IL) and a member of the Inclusive Pastors Leadership Team.

Annabeth Roeschley (they/she) is Executive Director of the Brethren Mennonite Council for LGBT Interests, which has supported LGBTQIA+ Anabaptist individuals, congregations, and denominations since 1976.

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*This piece was originally written in February 2025 for Mennonite Church USA's Menno Snapshots Blog at their invitation. Given disagreements with MC USA Executive Board Staff over the use of the Steve Biko hymn that frames the piece as well as over the inclusion of the resource list, MC USA did not publish it and the authors elected to publish it here instead.