Transgender Awareness for Faith Leaders

Wednesday, August 20th 2025

6:30pm

5401 Centre Ave.

Pittsburgh, PA 15232

Affirming faith leaders and congregants are invited to join a gathering to address a deeply troubling development in our state: the increasing erosion of rights and dignity for transgender youth.

Despite the severity of the harm being done, public conversation remains disturbingly quiet. The average person's understanding of trans issues is heavily influenced by millions of dollars of unopposed political propaganda. We believe that affirming faith communities—grounded in compassion, justice, and moral clarity—have a vital role to play in breaking that silence.

We hope you will join us at First United Methodist Church, 5401 Centre Ave., August 20, 2025, gathering at 6:30 PM, hosted by Pastor Tracy Cox and FUMC, for light food and conversation with a start time of 7:00 PM

This meeting is being organized by advocates with experience working with trans and nonbinary youth in collaboration with Pastor Tracy Cox and is part of a broader effort to equip trans-affirming people of faith with accurate information, shared language, and tools for advocacy. We aim to build a network of informed and courageous voices who will speak out in their congregations, neighborhoods, and broader communities.

The stakes are high. Trans youth are facing not just policy setbacks, but threats to their safety, well-being, and very existence. The evidence is clear: gender-affirming care saves lives. We need more people to understand this—and to say it out loud. Silence has not served us.

We hope you will join us in this urgent work. Your presence and leadership matter. Together, we can ensure that our communities are not complicit in harm, but instead stand as beacons of love, truth, and justice.