If you’re experiencing a crisis and are seeking immediate support, please find crisis resources (scroll to the bottom of that page).

Register for the trans/nonbinary+ gathering.

Register for the pastoral care group space.

Join Us for Trans Day of Visibility 2024

Join UPLIFT Ministries and TRUUsT Director Rev. Julián Jamaica Soto for Trans Day of Visibility 2024 on Tuesday, April 2, 2024 at 8 ET/7 CT/6 MT/5 PT! All are welcome--all ages, all (a)gender identities, all religious experiences that include folks happy to attend a UUA event.
We’d love you to invite friends, family, and community members by sharing this link: https://bit.ly/upliftTDOV2024. Hope to see you there!

A Space For Trans/Nonbinary+ Community

Please note: the UPLIFT Gatherings and Pastoral Space are both closed spaces specifically and only for the trans/nonbinary+ (and questioning) community. Closed spaces are important for marginalized people to have time and space together to process and build community around shared experiences.

If you are sure you are cisgender, the space isn't for you. If you are not cisgender, whether you're sure of that or not, or whether you are partly cis and partly not, or whether some other words better describe you--then yes, you are welcome here!

We do not gatekeep who "belongs" in the trans/nonbinary+ community. If you aren't sure if you belong in this closed space, or are looking for other spaces to talk and learn about transness as a cisgender person, please reach out to us at lgbtq@uua.org. We're happy to point you in the right direction!

We love our allies and we need you now more than ever! We'd love you to get involved with actions supporting trans/nonbinary+ people. Please check out our UPLIFT Action programs through Side with Love, and our resource page below, and sign up for our newsletter (in the right column of the UPLIFT Action homepage).

If you're looking for resources for trans UUs, check out Resources of Support for Transgender and Non-Binary People, which talks about programming, education, and crisis support. Scroll to the bottom of the page for crisis resources.

If you'd like to chat directly about UPLIFT Programs or these events, please contact Adrian Ballou at aballou@uua.org, or lgbtq@uua.org.

UPLIFT Gatherings

Fourth Tuesdays September-June

1.5 hours starting at 8 Eastern Time/7 Central Time/6 Mountain Time/5 Pacific Time

Join the UPLIFT monthly gatherings for trans, nonbinary, and other not-entirely-or-at-all-cis UUs and friends of UUism. Join us to connect with other trans/nonbinary+ UUs and co-create support and community across our faith. All you need to bring is yourself (and other trans/nonbinary friends, if you’d like)! Non-UUs are welcome if they are OK with being in a UU-focused community (we won't proselytize). If you are interested in this space, and you aren’t (entirely or at all) cisgender, it’s a space for you.

What do we do during the gatherings? They are a cozy community space where we connect with each other with games and breakout groups, share ideas and stories on all kinds of topics, listen to music and poetry (often by trans/nonbinary+ creators), and much more!

This is a drop-in space, where folks can come and go as works best for them, and where people can join us at any time. You can be a regular or someone new, someone who's been curious for a while but hasn't yet checked us out, somebody who is rejoining after time away, and all other ways of relating to this space! You are welcome here, and you are loved.

Check out our covenant if you're wondering more about how we are in community together.

All-Ages Community

This space is intentionally multi-generational. It is open to and welcoming of trans/nonbinary elders as well as children, youth, and young adults. Standard UUA online safety measures apply to ensure all people under 18 are able to attend. We're glad to have you here!

Accessibility Information

Closed captioning will be available, and any common chat content will also be spoken aloud. Please be mindful of processing and communication access, and speak one at a time. The meeting will not be recorded, and participation, as well as what is shared, will be confidential. There is no requirement to appear on video or to otherwise maintain “conventional” appearances. Any additional accessibility needs? Let us know by emailing lgbtq@uua.org or aballou@uua.org! We’ll do our best to ensure you can fully access the space.

Registration

To attend the next gathering and join the community, REGISTER TODAY.

Registration for Children Ages 13 and Younger

Children 13 or younger: please bring with you a parent/guardian, or a trusted adult who is approved by your parent/guardian (it is OK if that parent/guardian/other adult is not trans/nonbinary). Please have your parent/guardian send an email to aballou@uua.org to let us know who will be coming with you.

Registration for Youth in High School Youth Programs (~14-18+)

Youth (ages 14+ up to bridging out of high-school-age Youth Group): please email youth@uua.org for more information on signing the permission form for the UUA webpage for youth drop-in spaces.

Pastoral Care Group Space

Second Fridays September-June

1-hour program starting at 8 Eastern Time/7 Central Time/6 Mountain Time/5 Pacific Time

What is pastoral care, exactly? Pastoral care is support with navigating life—big and small things, joys and hardships and all those mixed together. It’s not therapy, but a way for us to be in community together, supporting each other. This is a space to share the hard stuff and to hold the hard stuff that others are navigating in their lives. To read more about pastoral care and find some resources to locate pastoral care, check out this post by UU Youth Ministry: What is pastoral care and where you can find it.

During our time together, our lead chaplain/facilitators will share opening and closing words, and in between, there is time for everyone to share what's on their heards, and receive what others are sharing about their own lives. It's a supportive, judgment-free place to connect with other trans/nonbinary+ people.

Registration

Join our pastoral care community–register here!

This year, the pastoral space is for adults only. If you’re a child or a youth and you’d like to have a space to talk about the hard stuff, let us know by registering for the pastoral space and putting a note in the comments. When we have enough children and youth registered, we’ll plan for opening additional spaces for different ages. And stay tuned for additional opportunities for children and youth to connect—we’re working on this!

Accessibility Information

Programming is trauma-informed. Closed captioning will be available, and any common chat content will also be spoken aloud. Please be mindful of processing and communication access, and speak one at a time. Meeting will not be recorded, and participation, as well as what is shared, will be confidential. There is no requirement to appear on video or to otherwise maintain “conventional” appearances. Any additional accessibility needs? Let us know by emailing lgbtq@uua.org or aballou@uua.org! We’ll do our best to ensure you can fully access the space.