Each of the six videos includes a 45- to 55-minute talk by Rev. Mykal Slack and Zr. Alex Kapitan, reflection questions, and resources that take the conversation deeper.

Module 1. Introduction to Beloved Community: Welcome as a Spiritual Practice
In this session you'll get grounded in a Beloved Community approach to welcome, reflect on your personal experiences of inclusion vs. exclusion, and envision what practicing Beloved Community in a congregational setting looks like.

Module 2. Gender and Our Faith Community
In this session you'll review the origins and impacts of gender binary roles and how they uphold patriarchy, explore gender roles and patriarchy within organized religion in historic and present-day contexts, and reflect on the faith grounding for how people of faith are called to dismantle gender-based oppression.

Module 3. Unpacking the Gender Binary
In this session you'll learn about the different dimensions of gender (biology, expression, and identity), explore the incredible diversity of experience within these dimensions, and reflect on how your own experience of gender aligns or does not align with the gender binary.

Module 4. Trans Experience and Spirituality
In this session you'll learn the risk factors involved in being transgender and the ways that race, class, age, ability, and more impact trans experience; learn about the role of spirituality in trans lives and the experiences of trans people in congregations; and explore the many spiritual gifts of trans people.

Module 5. The Role of Culture in Trans Exclusion
In this session you'll gain an understanding of the iceberg model of culture, explore the characteristics of mainstream culture, and learn how cultural differences between trans culture and mainstream culture contribute to trans exclusion in congregations.

Module 6. Creating Culture Shift
In this session you'll learn tools and practices for congregational culture shift, brainstorm next steps for creating trans-affirming culture shift in your congregation or faith group, and find out about additional resources that can support you in your next steps.

Module 1. Introduction to Beloved Community: Welcome as a Spiritual Practice
(was held on Wed., July 8, 7:00 PM and Sun., July 12, 11:15 AM)

In this session we learned how to get grounded in a Beloved Community approach to welcome, reflect on your personal experiences of inclusion vs. exclusion, and envision what practicing Beloved Community in a congregational setting looks like.

Resources

1. Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s philosophy of Beloved Community, as summarized by the King Center.
2. After reading the resource above, read the beginning of the same page: King’s “Triple Evils,” “Six Principles of Nonviolence,” and “Six Steps of Nonviolent Social Change.”
3. “The Welcoming Congregation,” a 2013 sermon by Alex.
4. Slides from “Another Paradigm for Activism: Beloved Community,” by Hilary Allen, Meck Groot, and Rev. Deborah Holder for Be the Love.
5. “The Spiritual Practice of Hospitality” by David Rynick, UU World.
6. “Religious Community is Not Enough” by Rev. Tom Schade, UU World.

Module 2. Gender and Our Faith Community
(was held on Wed., July 22, 7:00 PM and Sun., July 26, 11:15 AM)

In this session you'll review the origins and impacts of gender binary roles and how they uphold patriarchy, explore gender roles and patriarchy within organized religion in historic and present-day contexts, and reflect on the faith grounding for how people of faith are called to dismantle gender-based oppression.

Resources

1. “What Is Patriarchy (And How Does It Hurt Us All)?” a 5-minute Everyday Feminism video.
2. “‘Delusions of Gender’: The Bad Science of Brain Sexism,” an interview with Cordelia Fine, Salon.
3. “Target will stop labeling toys for boys or for girls. Good.” by Rebecca Hains, The Washington Post.
4. “With Principle and Spirit: Women, Feminism, and Unitarian Universalism,” a sermon by Rev. Tim Temerson. (Bonus resource: An excellent but longer piece if you have time is “The Feminization of the Unitarian Universalist Clergy” by Rev. Dawn Sangrey.)
5. “From Eve to to Hillary,” a sermon by Rev. Erin J. Walter

Module 3. Unpacking the Gender Binary
(was held on Wed., Aug. 26, 7:00 PM and Sun., Aug. 23, 11:15 AM)

In this session we learned about the different dimensions of gender (biology, expression, and identity), explore the incredible diversity of experience within these dimensions, and reflect on how your own experience of gender aligns or does not align with the gender binary.

Resources

1. “A Twenty-First-Century Gender 101” by Alex (PDF).
   
   • Bonus resource: for those who'd like a similar take on sexual orientation, see "A Twenty-First-Century Sexual Orientation 101" by Alex (PDF).
2. “Science Doesn’t Support the Sex Binary” by Riley J. Dennis (video transcript only: scroll down and select "Click for the Transcript").
   
   • Bonus resources: “What It’s Like to be Intersex” from As/Is, and the longer video "Male and Female are Binary, but People Aren’t" by Riley J. Dennis
3. “How to Raise Happy, Healthy Transgender Kids,” by Kristina R. Olson and Katie A. McLaughlin, Los Angeles Times.
   
   • Bonus resource: Four video clips from Transgender Law Center’s TRUTH project: Zeam, Danny, Zoey, and Crysta
4. “10 Myths About Non-Binary People It’s Time to Unlearn,” by Adrian Ballou, Everyday Feminism.
   
   • Bonus resource: "This Is What Gender-Nonbinary People Look Like," by Meredith Talusan, them.
5. “Two Spirit: The Story of a Movement Unfolds,” by Zachary Pullin (Chippewa Cree), Native People's Magazine.
6. “To Survive on this Shore” portraits of trans elders by Jess Dugan (scroll through and read a few of the short interviews).
7. “Gender Nonconformity as Peak Blackness” by Jayy Dodd, Medium.

Module 4. Trans Experience and Spirituality
(was held on Wed., Sept. 23, 7:00 PM and Sun., Sept. 27, 11:15 AM)

In this session we discussed the risk factors involved in being transgender and the ways that race, class, age, ability, and more impact trans experience; learn about the role of spirituality in trans lives and the experiences of trans people in congregations; and explore the many spiritual gifts of trans people.

Resources

1. 2015 U.S. Trans Survey executive summary (PDF).
2. “Laverne Cox Explains the Intersection of Transphobia, Racism, and Misogyny” at Everyday Feminism (video transcript only: scroll down and select "Click for the Transcript")
3. Two chapters (18 pages) from Transgender Warriors by Leslie Feinberg: Chapter 3, “The Give Away,” and Chapter 5, “Our Sacred Past” (PDFs). *Note: this book was published in 1996, so some of the language it uses is dated.
4. “Is God Transgender?” by Rabbi Mark Sameth, The New York Times.
5. Rev. Brendan Boone’s story of faith, a 7.5-minute video by Many Voices.
6. Excerpt from “TRUUsT Talks” video created for the Unitarian Universalist Ministerial Fellowship Committee by the steering committee of TRUUsT (the UU organization of trans religious professionals): “Consequences” chapter, time stamp 29:46–39:22.

Module 5. The Role of Culture in Trans Exclusion
(was held on Sun., Oct. 25, 11:15 AM and Wed., Oct. 28, 7:00 PM)

In this session we gained an understanding of the iceberg model of culture, explore the characteristics of mainstream culture, and learn how cultural differences between trans culture and mainstream culture contribute to trans exclusion in congregations.

Resources

1. “Visualizing the Iceberg Model of Culture” by James Penstone.
2. Three cultural icebergs by Alex and Mykal.
3. Introduction to Sociology (Canadian version), Chapter 3: Culture.
4. "Cultural Competency vs. Cultural Humility” by Andrew Marin, Patheos.
5. “Queer Culture in the Age of Transgender Disruption” by Meredith Talusan, Vice.
6. “We Must Change” by Rev. Rosemary Bray McNatt, UU World.
7. “White Supremacy Culture” by Kenneth Jones and Tema Okun.

Module 6. Creating Culture Shift
(was held on Thur., Nov. 19, 7:00 PM and Sun., Nov. 22, 11:15 AM)

In this session we will learn tools and practices for congregational culture shift, brainstorm next steps for creating trans-affirming culture shift in your congregation or faith group, and find out about additional resources that can support you in your next steps.

Resources

1. "Moving from Inviting to Inclusion to Radical Welcome" by Stephanie Spellers (PDF).
2. "Welcome as a Spiritual Practice," a 2017 sermon by Alex.
3. "Invitation vs. Inclusion vs. Radical Welcome of Trans People in Congregations" by Alex Kapitan, Mykal Slack, and Teo Drake (PDF).
4. "Experiences of Trans Unitarian Universalists: Report on the 2018 Survey of Trans UUs" from TRUUsT.
5. Bulls-eye worksheet (PDF).
6. "Chapter 4: Getting Pronouns Right and What It Teaches Us About Gender" from the book Trans Allyship Workbook by Davey Shlasko (PDF). Full book available from Think Again.