Transgender Day of Visibility is Monday, March 31, 2025. How can faith spaces take part?
Transgender Day of Visibility (TDOV) is a day to celebrate and encourage trans people and commit to protecting their rights and resilience. TDOV is held every year on March 31. (International Transgender Day of Remembrance, or TDOR, is observed every year on November 20 to remember victims of transphobia.) With increasing vitriol and attacks against trans people, trans visibility, trans resilience, and trans joy is more important than ever – especially in faith spaces. Inside Out Faith is proud to offer suggested prayers, books, assessments, and actions for faith spaces to consider this TDOV.
Pray
We’ve collected a number of prayers from multiple religious expressions. Your congregation or ministry could use these in worship the weekend of March 29-30 or record a video to post to social media on Monday March 31.
By Lutheran pastor and IOF interim executive director Emmy Kegler, for use in a longer Prayers of the People:
Holy God, you preserve us from trouble and sustain us with deliverance. As we mark the Trans Day of Visibility, we lift up to you the precious lives of all your transgender, nonbinary, and gender-expansive children. Renew their strength, ease their sorrows, and multiply their joy. Open our hearts to receive them as new creations in Christ, and reconcile us that we may be their best champions and advocates, marking us all as your children and siblings in Christ. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.
From a blessing by Alissa Bender for Mennonite Church Canada:
Holy Creating One,
You are the God who calls us by new names.
You are the One who sends dreams of unimagined futures.
You are the Word that became flesh and lived among us, beside us, and for us.
We give you thanks for your diverse creation that is constantly giving us glimpses of who you are.
We give you thanks for all that we learn about you through your beloved ones
who are transgender and gender-nonconforming,
those who dance with your Spirit beyond the binary of gender.
From a blessing by the Rev. TJ Remaley, one of the co-moderators of the Covenant Network of Presbyterians:
May love, acceptance, safekeeping, and joy accompany our trans, nonbinary, and genderqueer siblings on their journey. As we celebrate that they are seen and heard and loved, may all our hearts be open to learning, understanding, and embracing the sacred diversity within our community. In the name of the Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer, we pray. Amen.
From a blessing by Rev. Mr. Barb Greve, a trans Unitarian Universalist minister:
Blessed are the drag queens and kings,
who remind us to not take life too seriously.
Blessed are the gender benders, non-binary,
gender fluid, and third-gender folk,
those who challenge us to reframe our gender paradigm.
Blessed are the young ones,
who present fearlessly from the start.
Blessed are their parents,
who make space for freedom,
and love their children fiercely.
From a prayer by the Transforming Hearts Collective:
On this day, we commit and recommit to creating a world where people of all genders know peace, love, and justice. We commit and recommit to living lives of compassion and care for all of humanity. We commit and recommit to the healing work of relationship-building that will help every person know, no matter their gender or sexuality, that they are loved and valued.
A collect for use in Episcopal liturgy, found on Reddit:
Almighty God, who created humanity in Your image: watch over your transgender children and keep them safe in an ever-changing and oft-hostile world. Allow them to see that they are not broken or in error as they seek to bring into the physical that knowledge of self that you bless us all with; and Heavenly Father, we pray for those who would seek to use Your Word to harm and shame Your children, that they may receive the grace to see that we are all made in Your image. We pray this in the name of your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen
Read
Of the many inspiring and life-changing books available on trans life and faith, we want to highlight these three:
Transforming: The Bible & the Lives of Transgender Christians, by Austen Hartke
“Weaving biblical examples of gender nonconformity and transformation with the stories and voices of contemporary trans Christians, Hartke’s approach is both pastoral and prophetic as he addresses harmful Christian theology that has been used to further marginalize and exclude trans people. Hartke’s scriptural basis for a trans-affirming theology offers a healing balm for queer and trans people who have ever questioned that God loves them based on “what it says in the Bible,” while challenging progressive Christian communities to center trans perspectives in their efforts to become truly open and affirming.” –Sojourners
Becoming Eve: My Journey from Ultra-Orthodox Rabbi to Transgender Woman, by Abby Chava Stein
Abby Stein is the tenth-generation descendant of the Baal Shem Tov, the founder of the Hasidic movement. In 2015, Stein came out as a woman, and she now works as a trans activist. In 2019, she served on the steering committee for the Women’s March in Washington, DC, and she was named by the Jewish Week as one of the “36 Under 36” Jews who are affecting change in the world.
Raising Kids Beyond the Binary: Celebrating God’s Transgender and Gender-Diverse Children, by Jamie Bruesehoff
Drawing on the author’s experience as a mother walking with and learning from her own transgender child, as well as working with hundreds of families across the country doing the same, this book helps parents navigate the emotional, spiritual, and logistical landscape of raising a gender-diverse child. Grounded in the unequivocal truth of God’s deep love and limitless creativity, this book compels readers to move past “all are welcome” to loving and celebrating transgender and gender-diverse youth in the brilliance of their uniqueness, the wisdom of their self-awareness, and the joy of their authenticity.
Assess
How affirming is your faith space for trans, nonbinary, and gender-expansive kids and adults? These questions can help you begin to explore how to expand your welcome and invitation to all God’s children.
Bathrooms
* All Gender Restrooms clearly marked and easily accessible by all
* Menstrual Products available in all bathrooms (and not labeled “feminine products”)
Forms (member rolls, tax documents, program registration, etc)
* Pronouns (not “preferred pronouns”)
* Gender Options go beyond female/male (or do not ask for gender at all)
* Legal Name isn’t mentioned unless absolutely necessary (background checks, tax forms)
Worship
* Inclusive Language: Changing brothers (or brothers & sisters) in sermons, prayers, songs, and/or translations to Kindred, Siblings, Beloved
* Expansive Language: God is referred to in more than male pronouns and/or symbols
* Mother’s and Father’s Day prayers or celebrations include gender-expansive or non-gendered language, or Parents’ Day (fourth Sunday of July since 1994) or Nonbinary Parents Day (third Sunday of April) is also celebrated
* Music: Singing parts doesn’t assume male = low voice and female = high voice. (For example, say “sopranos and altos” instead of “women,” “low voices sing third verse” instead of “men sing third verse”)
Youth & Young Adult events:
* Overnights: Housings and room placements can accommodate trans and non-binary youth. (If you want to prepare a policy that does this, begin with reading Made, Known, Loved: Developing LGBTQ-Inclusive Youth Ministry.)
* Ensure there is equal access to all-gender restrooms
* Train all volunteers and staff on non-discrimination policies related to gender identity/expression and sexual orientation
Act
Visit translegislation.com to learn what legislation in your city, county, and/or state is affecting trans people. Contact your representatives to encourage them to protect trans lives and rights.
“Defend Trans Lives,” offered by the Transforming Hearts Collective in partnership with enfleshed, Soulforce, and Queer Theology, will equip you to respond to this terrifying time for trans people. Speakers will discuss the moral and spiritual imperative to defend trans lives and how attendees can take action in the public square and in their own churches and faith communities.
Transmission Ministry Collective’s first Building Trans Affirming Churches Cohort is now open and accepting registrations! This three-month journey of learning and connection is designed specifically for ministry leaders who recognize the profound harm transgender individuals have experienced within Christian spaces and offers a pathway to creating truly inclusive and liberating spiritual communities.
“We want to be welcoming, but we aren’t ready yet…”
Today is a perfect day to start. Trans Day of Visibility in 2026 will be the Tuesday before Easter!
Begin the work of trans affirmation and celebration now to be ready for next year.
Not sure where to begin? How about an Inside Out Faith event with founder Jennifer Knapp or interim executive director Emmy Kegler? Email IOF here.