JAMESTOWN – The Southern Tier Trans Network, in partnership St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, will be presenting a memorial service for those transgender people who have died by violence in the past 12 months. The service will be held in St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, on Fourth and Main Streets this Saturday, November 21, at 7 p.m. An entertaining discussion about transgender identities and lives will take place after the ceremony. Refreshments will be served.
The first Transgender Day of Remembrance was held in Boston in 1999, commemorating the violent death of Rita Hester, a local transgender woman. It has since become an international annual event. Ms. Hester’s murderer has never been brought to justice.
“While we will mourn and remember those who have died due to the undeserved stigma they had to face as transgender people,” Helen Walther, Southern Tier Trans Network’s executive director says, “we more importantly dedicate ourselves to fight against the prejudice and discrimination transgender people suffer under. Trans people are, for all their perceived differences, still more like everyone else than they are different. We deserve the same dignity and respect others expect for themselves.”
St. Luke’s Rector, the Rev. Luke Fodor agrees. “At each baptism service we promise to honor and respect the dignity of every human being. Sadly, we often forget this promise when we encounter people that are different than we are. When we follow Jesus example, we reach out to those on the margins and those who don’t fit in.” he remarks. “St Luke’s is delighted to stand alongside the Southern Tier Trans Network to honor those transgender folks who have lost their lives this last year simply for being different.”
The Southern Tier Trans Network is a peer support group for transgender people, their significant others and their allies. It was founded in 2011 and meets in Jamestown. For more information, please visit www.southerntiertrans.org.
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