Monday, November 22, 2010

TDoR Report Part I: The Service

Last night, I went to the Metropolitan Community Church of Northern Virginia.  It wasn't easy.

The church is in an office building behind a shopping centre.  My gps seemed to think it was at the other end of the street.  The street curves around a parking lot, and it's hard to see if you're on the street or in a private lot.  I parked and only found even numbers, although they were close to what I was looking for.  I walked to the odd side, which was the shopping centre.  I saw someone in a car who was looking for a church.  I also passed someone else who was slowly driving on the street and lot and obviously looking for the church.  I don't know if either found it.

It wasn't in the shopping centre.  I walked back to my car, and tried the gps on my phone.  It led me west to the nearest street, then north about a block, then east a quarter mile, then said to turn east and it was right there.  Wrong.  It was the right street, but the numbers were too low and getting lower.  So I turned west.  Now I could follow the numbers and after crossing a street into the next lot I found it.  And after all of that walking (I figure about a mile) I was maybe 50 feet from my car!

And it was after 7.

I joined the service, already in progress.  A transsexual woman was giving a long and moving talk.  I checked the program; I had missed some of the readings and I wished I had heard all of her talk.  She spoke at length about people we're probably familiar with: Tyra Hunter and Erin Vaught, both denied medical treatment because of how they presented.  The speaker told of her own experience, being told that a local hospital "wasn't sure they could treat someone with her condition."

A candle ceremony followed, commemorating the ten people who died because of how they presented.  One was 17-month-old (yes, month) Roy Jones who was beaten to death by his mother's boyfriend to "try to make him act like a boy instead of a little girl"

I can only hope next year there is no reason to light a candle.



2 comments:

  1. Meg
    Well done making the effort to go especially given how difficult it must have been. The latter part is difficult to read so it must have been even more difficult to be there.
    Louise

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sending peace and harmonious thoughts your way in an effort to emphasize that not all people are violent and lack understanding/compassion/empathy.

    ReplyDelete

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