In a brief support Grimm's lawsuit, a number of leading medical societies in the study of transgender health wrote: "For transgender students, being in a school that affirms and supports their gender identity is critical to ensuring that they too can experience adolescence in a healthy and constructive manner.
"For transgender students, being in a school that affirms and supports their gender identity is critical to ensuring that they too can experience adolescence in a healthy and constructive manner," read one brief, by leading medical societies, in support of a Virginia student who sued for the right to use the boys' bathroom.
Having a culture and family environment where these kids are affirmed and supported is essential to their safety, and mental and physical health.
And in wrestling with these issues, I decided to visit my local Metropolitan Community Church (MCC), which was a church founded in the 1960's with the express purpose affirming and supporting the LGBT community.
MI adherent statements entail asking for permission before giving information and advice, emphasizing the patient's control, affirming and supporting the patient.
Their responsibilities include: Knowing, affirming, and supporting every student on their caseload including monitoring their academic, career/college readiness, and personal/social competency development through individual planning, school counseling core curriculum lessons, and through advising.
We believe that if we can help the family work through when their child comes out as gay, lesbian or transgender, then they can become an affirming family and support this child on their journey.
It affirms life and supports the dignity of patients until natural death.
In centering intersectionality, we answer the call of the "least of these," and we position the church, not as a complicit institution, but as a leader in a vision toward God's kin-dom that welcomes, affirms, encourages, and supports all of God's children in all of their God-given complexity.
