In January 2021 at Meeting for Business, Northside Friends Meeting minuted a concern for "how we can address, as a Meeting, when someone is misgendered in our Meeting by being referred to using the wrong pronouns.” Our minute affirmed that we “unite with the idea that listening and reflecting on how Friends refer to themselves is an opportunity to practice the deep listening that is central to our faith.”
Change can be hard. We recognize that using binary pronouns is an ingrained habit in our language and culture, and changing this habit takes individual effort. Friends asked Ministry of Mutual Care Committee to seek resources and opportunities for Friends who are having trouble making this transition.
In April, Ministry of Mutual Care hosted a Second Hour program on gender inclusivity featuring a presentation by diversity trainer Josephine Kearns. We are now launching a new resource guide for the Meeting, which is featured on our website at https://www.northsidefriends.org/tgnc-resources. The link can also be found on our Resources page.
We encourage Friends to spend some time exploring our gender inclusivity resources, which may become the focus of further opportunities for Friends to gather, practice, and discern our way forward together.
Ministry of Mutual Care Committee
Beth Burbank (clerk), Pamela Calvert, Steven David Flowers, Arcenia Harmon