Rev. Samaya Oakley of Calgary Unitarians is preparing for the congregation to mark Transgender Day of Visibility on March 31, an event she hopes other UU congregations across Canada will honour as well. 

“If I could, I would love to wave my magic wand and have every Canadian UU congregation across Canada do something to visibly say to the trans community in which they’re located that they are welcome,” she says. “Even making sure that their trans flag was outside of their building. Just something to let the trans community know across Canada that Canadian UU congregations can provide a home, If they’re looking for a spiritual home.”

Calgary Unitarians’ service on March 30 will feature a panel discussion of the book Authentic Selves, the Unitarian Universalist Association’s common read for 2024-25, which will be followed by a four-session group discussion over the subsequent weeks. Oakley believes the interviews with trans and non-binary people within the book make it important reading for UUs.

“The subjects in the book share their real lives, their revelations, challenges, and  joys,” she says. “And the common read invites us to explore the nature of living authentically and the ways connections among us help us to thrive.”

Oakley believes that marking Transgender Day of Visibility is a critical action for UUs to take in these times.

“The way I look at it is If we truly are on the side of love, if that is what we profess, then when we say We honour and affirm the inherent worth and dignity of every person, then that means we honour the inherent worth and dignity of every single person,” she says. “And that’s why I think it’s so important that we honour this day because it’s a day that celebrates trans lives.”

In addition to marking this day, Oakley encourages UUs to act year-round by supporting organizations advocating for trans rights, considering recertification as a Welcoming Congregation, and making space for a variety of gender options on congregational registration forms.