At this Sunday’s 11am service, we are observing the Transgender Day of Remembrance, which takes place annually on November 20th. The guest preacher for this service will be Rev Cathy Bird.
Cathy is a Methodist Presbyter of 30 years, but currently has permission to serve another denomination and is Minister of Union Chapel Congregational Church in Highbury. Cathy was part of the team of the West London Mission Circuit between 2001 and 2008. As an activist and theologian, Cathy is passionate about the church as a radically inclusive community in which people’s sexual orientation, gender and identity are celebrated as God given, so Trans Remembrance Sunday carries a very special significance.
Cathy is a Coach, Mediation Practitioner and Spiritual Director and an experienced writer of liturgy and hymns. In 2017 she was proud to publish her first book, ‘The Divine Heart of Darkness: Finding God in the Shadows’ (Sacristy Press).
About this week’s upcoming service, Cathy says:
“Transgender Day of Remembrance is an annual observance on November 20 that commemorates the memory of transgender people whose lives have been lost in acts of anti-transgender violence, so we are recognising that day on the Sunday closest to 20th November, as an explicitly Christian response, filled with lament and hope.”
A recording of In Memoriam (Our Candle Burns) with vocals and piano will be used in the service. The recording and sheet music can be found via the link below. It would be wonderful if you could familiarise yourself with it before the 11am service on Sunday, either by listening a few times to it, or reading the music, as you prefer.
https://www.methodist.org.uk/for-churches/resources/hymns/in-memoriam-our-candle-burns