Trans-Substantiation Service
If you have any questions about the service or about Grace, you contact Pastor Megan Rohrer at pastor@gracesf.com.
The First Cycle: Creation
Welcome and Intention Setting
Rev. Dr. Megan Rohrer
substantiate
sub·stan·ti·ate | \ səb-ˈstan(t)-shē-ˌāt \
substantiated; substantiating
Definition of substantiate
1: to give substance or form to : EMBODY
2: to establish by proof or competent evidence : VERIFY
The service begins with a brief introduction to Trans The*logy[1] Without Apology.
In this space all of you is welcome. If you have ever been told that you are anything less than a child of G*d, I am sorry. In this space you are invited to proclaim any name (in your heart or out loud) you’d like to be called.
We celebrate our many names.
Name tags are available for those who would like to share their name with others.
Like us, the Divine also knows many names. We celebrate the use of any and all names from the sacred that kindle your faith. In Genesis it is written that humans were made male AND female in the image of a multigendered G*d. In this space the words you use to express your gender are important to us.
We celebrate our preferred gender pronouns.
Pins are available for those who would like to share their pgp’s with others.
In this space, we honor bodies of all sizes, shapes and abilities. You are encouraged to care for your body by wiggling, moving, sharing your boundaries and going to the bathroom when needed. Downstairs (out the doors at the front of the sanctuary) we have two bathrooms. The first is a single-stall gender neutral bathroom. The second is labelled “ladies room” and has two stalls. All are welcome to use the restroom of their choice.
Please take a moment to become fully present in this sacred space. Settle your hearts and minds as much as you are able.
Participants breathe and center.
A singing bowl is sounded three times.
Prayer:[2]
Everchanging G*d,
Puberty is hard when it is done in the company of peers
It is even harder as a solo journey.
Provide me with the strength to love myself
as I transgress the middle spaces.
Protect me from others
who will use my vulnerabilities
as a weapon against me.
Surgery is always hard.
It is even harder when
friends and family,
political leaders
and the world at large
does not understand.
Provide me with the strength to love myself
as I heal
not only my body,
but also my heart and mind.
Help me to rest more than I think I should.
Surround me with support and care.
And help my scars to fade into the skin I have dreamed of.
You are a G*d who renames others
when they have a significant encounter with you.
Help others honor the name and pronouns
that mark our sacred journey.
When others forget, help them to apologize privately
without drawing attention to me and my journey.
G*d who knit me in my mother’s womb
and declared me
fearfully and wonderfully made,
thank you for giving me free will
to make choices about my body and hormones.
Paul imagined a world where the
powers, privileges and prejudices
that separated men and woman
would disappear forever.
May those transgressing gender
take comfort in the gender creativity
within G*d’s grace.
May those seeking a new identity or expression
find that their journey is smoother than expected.
Fill my heart with love
and surround me with everything I need
to live my life fully.
Thank You for loving me always,
even when it was hard for me to love myself.
Thank You for loving me always,
even if others chose not to.
Thank You for loving me always
and walking with me through this transition.
Provide me with a strong light at the end of the tunnel
so that I may achieve my goals,
be seen as I would like
and follow the path I have dreamed of for so long.