In Memory and Mourning
A Christian Reflection for Trans Day of Remembrance
Content Warning: This blog discusses violence against LGBTQ+ people, including specific events, and ongoing hardships faced by members of the trans and gender minority community in particular. This may be hard to read, so you may wish to know only this: we grieve today with our friends and siblings in the trans and gender minority community over the unsafety they experience. You can also click here to read about Revoice’s commitment to our trans and gender minority siblings. You are valued.
Prelude: My Own Ignorance
I first learned about Transgender Day of Remembrance on November 19th, 2022, the day after the Club Q shooting in Colorado Springs. Like so many moments marked by tragedy, the memory of where I was when I heard the news is still vivid—a taco joint with friends after church. Stunned, I put my food down, told my friends I had to go, and walked to my car. I was in tears as I opened the door and sat in the driver’s seat, shocked by what I was learning about. See, in the joyful glow of my first few months with Revoice, thrilled as I was to be devoting my full-time vocation to the service of LGBTQ+/SSA Christians, it was easy to forget that I still lived in a world that was violent towards LGBTQ+ people.
“Surely,” I thought to myself, “We are past this. We can’t still be here.” It was a naïve thought, born of fierce hope for the community I love and belong to. I spent that Sunday learning about Daniel Aston and Kelly Loving, trans individuals who lost their lives at Club Q alongside three others. I was shocked and heartbroken to discover that these were only a few of the lives lost that year, and that violence against LGBTQ+ people–and particularly against transgender people–was far more common than I had realized.
This is the reality that makes a day like Transgender Day of Remembrance tragically necessary. Today, we honor the memory of transgender people whose lives are lost each year due to acts of hatred and violence. As a cisgender man, I write today to lament alongside my trans and gender minority siblings, and to offer our community some spiritual reflections alongside our communal lament.
A Sobering Realization
We begin today by recognizing the reality that our LGBTQ+ community faces. The violence I was becoming aware of in 2022 was something that many others among us had already known, both in fact and in experience.
In 2022, the FBI reported that overall LGBTQ+ hate crimes had increased by more than 10% since 2021, a number that continued upward in 2023. Distressingly, within that broader upward trend, violent hate crimes against transgender individuals rose at an even steeper rate—nearly 40% between 2021 and 2022. In 2024, the year for which the most recent data is available, over 2,400 anti-LGBTQ+ hate crimes occurred in the U.S., accounting for more than six per day (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2025).
Research done by the UCLA School of Law found that transgender people are over four times more likely than cisgender people to experience violent victimization (Kidd, J.D., Et Al., 2023). Other resources tracking LGBTQ+ violence in the United States report that over 50% of all violent incidents in the last year were specifically targeting transgender and gender non-conforming people, with Black trans women experiencing the greatest risk (GLAAD, 2025).
On Transgender Day of Remembrance, we also remember those who have lost their lives due to suicide, recognizing that mistreatment and ongoing societal challenges contribute significantly to this reality. Studies have found about 6 times higher rates of suicidality among trans communities than cisgender communities, with around 80% of trans people surveyed reporting suicidal ideation in their lifetime (Kidd, J.D., Et Al., 2023). Numerous studies show that undignifying treatment, including from political and religious leaders, contributes significantly to these suicidality statistics (Wolford-Clevenger, C., et. al., 2017).
Simply put:
Violence against LGBTQ+ people is not a thing of the past; in fact, it has increased compared to just five years ago.
Within this sobering reality, violence against transgender people represents a disproportionate share of all LGBTQ+ incidents, meaning our trans siblings face greater risk on average.
This persistent violence against transgender people constitutes a real and grievous reality in our world.
A Grievous Lament
I will end this article with a few spiritual reflections for my Christian siblings to consider, but as today is Transgender Day of Remembrance, I need to pause here. We need to pause here because every number I just stated above represents thousands of lives affected. Because Daniel Aston, when he died at Club Q, was a priceless life. We do not need to know his story, personal merits, or theological convictions to recognize that his life mattered in the eyes of our God who made him.
In 2025, too many names have joined Daniel’s, including Kelsey Elem from St Louis, Missouri, Laura Schueler from Cincinnati, Ohio (both regions where we have held Revoice conferences), and Raven Syed from my own state of New Jersey. Each of these lives was preciously made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). Indeed, as a pastor once told me, “you have never met a human who was not made in the image of God. You never will.” The unjust ending of their lives through violence is a tragedy. We grieve it today.
We grieve also the significant loss of transgender lives by suicide, so often caused by hardship, mistreatment, abuse, and hateful rhetoric. We pray for comfort, peace, and safety—emotional and physical—for our trans and gender minority friends and neighbors. Holy Spirit, be a comfort.
Today, we pause, honor, and grieve the lives of transgender individuals who have lost their lives prematurely and unjustly. We grieve that this violence is real today, and we decry it as sin and tragedy in the eyes of God’s people. As you read this, we ask that you take a moment of silence to honor this grievous reality—and to pray for the loved ones of those lost this year.
A Spiritual Reminder
While the first act of this day is to pause and grieve alongside our trans and gender dysphoric siblings, I would be remiss as a shepherd of God’s people if I did not remind us of some spiritual truths.
First, I remind each of us of what I said above: we will never meet a human being who was not made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). We will never encounter a life that is not precious in God’s eyes. No behavioral correctness, theological question, or moral difference can diminish the dignity owed to another. This is true for all of us in the LGBTQ+/SSA community—and that includes our trans siblings. Our trans neighbor, too, is made in the image of God.
Second, the way of redemption supersedes the way of violence. As followers of Jesus—who healed the ear of the very soldier threatening him (Luke 22:49–51)—such senseless violence should trouble us, move us, and call us into deeper love expressed through action. If our sexual integrity points toward the already/not-yet glory of heaven, then our advocacy for the flourishing of our siblings must do the same, as we work toward the New Creation where swords become plowshares (Micah 4:3). As Christ’s hands and feet, may we stand with the marginalized and honor their dignity.
Third, I urge us to consider how each life lost is a gift lost to the global Church of Christ. For those of us in Jesus, joined in one body, every part is a glorious gift to the others. I join the Apostle Paul in reminding us, God’s people, that we can say to no part of our own body, “I don’t need you!” (1 Corinthians 12:12-27). Our trans siblings have unique and valuable gifts to offer the body. I continue to thank God for the faith and witness of our gender minority siblings.
Finally, I encourage all Christ-followers to carefully consider how they speak of others, for “the tongue is also a fire, a world of evil” (James 3:6). James admonishes the Church that we cannot both praise God and curse our fellow humans. As a minister of reconciliation, I urge us to consider the impact of our words at a time when our trans siblings are facing risk and harm. If we think our words are of little consequence, consider that LGBTQ+ suicidality in young adults significantly increased when they heard their experiences discussed harshly on television. Conversely, studies have shown that utilizing a gender minority’s pronouns and name can drastically reduce the risk of self-harm (Russell, S.T., Et. al., 2018). Christ’s church has a far greater responsibility to speak with love than your local news outlet. May we be voices of life, hope, redemption, and reconciliation in a time of violence.
Most of all, may we continue to live as evidence, witnesses, and way-makers of the resurrection. In doing so, we live as followers of our King Jesus, of whom it is said:
“He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” (Revelation 21:4).
Amen.
To learn more about Revoice’s theological and ministerial postures toward sexual minorities and gender minorities, please see Revoice’s mission statement, statement of sexual ethics and Christian obedience, and FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions).
