Trans Joy East of the Cascades - Rev. Tyler Connoley

More than a hundred people stood below the statehouse steps, looking up at the young activist talking about living and thriving in the state they called home. We’d just heard a drag queen who sang with her own voice – no lip syncing! – who brought tears of joy to my eyes with her anthem of strength and resilience, despite her questionable use of blush. I was about to march beside a family whose daughter had recently told them she was a girl, and a doctor who loved her nonbinary nibling. We were all buzzing with excitement and joy. This was Boise, and it was the Trans Joy March, which happens on the Friday night of Boise Pride Weekend.  

A black person once told me to stop thinking of the South as a place I should boycott because of racism. They said, “Think of it as a place where millions of black folk live under unjust laws, and as a place where those people deserve your attention and your money.” I’ve been thinking a lot about their challenge as we prepare to hold our Annual Gathering in Boise. 

I know there are trans people and people of color who have good reason to fear traveling to Idaho. The members of the Annual Gathering Planning Team are trying to make our time together in Boise as safe and welcoming as possible, but we trust you to make decisions about attendance that take care of yourself. 

I also know that my own fear of Idaho is mostly unfounded, and I know that’s probably true of most of our members in the Central Pacific Conference. I travel widely in Idaho without shrinking myself, and I’ve definitely had encounters with strangers that felt dangerous, but not any more dangerous than similar encounters I’ve had in Oregon or Washington or even downtown Portland. I know that the bathroom law, as frightening as it is, has proven unenforceable.

More importantly, I personally know many trans and nonbinary people who live in Idaho. That’s why, when I think about boycotting or skipping Idaho, I think about the organizers of the Trans Joy March, and the people who love them, who deserve our attention. I think about how they deserve my solidarity. They deserve my joy. And, they even deserve my discomfort, if that’s what it takes to be close to them. 

The good news is that every one of our UCC churches in Idaho is seeking to be a place where queer people are welcome – even the churches that aren’t officially Open & Affirming are welcoming and striving to be more so. Every one of our churches in Idaho has family who are queer, and members who love them deeply and fiercely. Idaho is a place with a lot of Trans Joy (as are Oregon and Washington) and our churches all across this region are hubs of resilience. Boise First, where our Annual Gathering is taking place, is a longtime leader in queer inclusion in Boise. So is the Wassmuth Center for Human Rights where we plan to spend Saturday morning.

I sincerely hope you’ll be able to join us for the onsite portion of Annual Gathering, September 25th to 27th in Boise, as well as the online portion, October 3rd in my Zoom room. Besides all I said above, I’m excited for our non-Idaho members to see some of my favorite landscapes in the conference. (Sorry, Lincoln City and Eugene, I most-love the land East of the Cascades. I’m a child of the desert.) If you want to be at the onsite or online portions of Annual Gathering, you can register here.

And, as always, thank you for being the Church God needs for this time and for this place. Thank you for being communities where Trans Joy thrives whatever the government does or says.

Blessings,
Tyler