Birch Cue, Unitarian Universalist Minister

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A Transgender Day of Remembrance Observance

Birch leading a Transgender Day of Remembrance observance on a Sunday afternoon, on the sidewalk outside of First Universalist Church of Denver. Birch is on the left side of a circle of people in front of a feather-banner that says 'We Remember.' Birch is wearin a teal knit duster. They are holding a tablet and microphone, and looking to the far end of the circle of people. Next to them is stool with ritual materials: a basket of bright-colored stones, a basket of earth-colored stones, and kleenex. There are people of many ages and genders in the circle.

Materials

[Speaker 1:] In 1999, the transgender activist Gwendolyn Ann Smith and others began observing the Transgender Day of Remembrance as a vigil to honor the memory of Rita Hester, a transgender woman who was killed in 1998. Each year the world over, people gather on and around November 20th to remember the victims of anti-trans violence who have died in the previous year.

So we gather here today. We gather to remember these people, and many others, including those we don’t know about. We gather at our Rainbow Garden, a symbol of our commitments to LGBTQ+ justice. Our pink, blue, and white post reminds us of our trans siblings. We also surround our black and brown posts, remembering that the vast majority of the trans people we lose are our Black and Brown siblings.

This observance includes a couple of rituals we invite you into. As we read the names of our Beloved Dead, I invite you to remember them with one of these stones. As we pass around this basket [of earthen stones], take a stone. As you listen to these names, feel its weight in your hand, and remember the weight of the lives we have lost. Imagine the joy they brought into the world, which we miss without them.

[Sp 1: rings chime] As we listen to each of these names, please join us as you are able in saying We remember you. [Sp 1 carries the basket of earthen stones around to participants while other readers share names of the Beloved Dead]

[Sp 2:] Naomi McNew, Age 23, We remember you...

[Sp 3:] Blaire Crits-Christoph, We don’t know your age but we remember you...

[Sp 4:] Righteous Torrence Chevy Hill, Age 35, We remember you...

[Sp 2:] Rain Forest Laranang-Mellor Jr., Age 31, We remember you...

[Sp 1: rings chime]

Beloved Dead, whose names we don’t know, we remember you.
Beloved Dead, whose deaths go un-remembered, we remember you.

Memory is where we must begin, but it cannot be where we end. In the year and years to come, we commit ourselves to making this church, this state, this world a place where trans people will live and flourish. Take a stone from this basket [with bright stones], and hold it in your palm. Warm it with the heat of your hand. Warm it with your intentions to make this world a better place. When you leave today, set this stone in a place where it will remind you of your commitments.

Peace, Amen, So May It Be.

This was an observance I designed & offered to observe Transgender Day of Remembrance at First Universalist Church of Denver on 24 November 2024 and 23 November 2025. We held this outside after morning worship on a busy street at the congregation's Rainbow Post Garden, a monument to their commitment to LGBTQ+ inclusion. As such, this ritual was very site-specific. The litany is a sample of names of the people who died in 2023-2024.

Birch Cue © 2025. Views here represent my own, and may not be representative of my denomination, school, or congregation.