Moonrise Community Covenant

Moonrise is a retreat for transgender, nonbinary, two-spirit, intersex, and gender-expansive religious professionals and spiritual leaders. We gather across traditions, identities, vocations, races, abilities, histories, and experiences of ministry. Some of us serve openly. Some serve quietly. Some are celebrated in our communities. Some carry deep wounds from the communities we love. These are the commitments we make to one another.

Together, we covenant to create a space rooted in dignity, confidentiality, care, and belonging.

We covenant to honor each person’s identity, name, pronouns, body, story, spiritual path, and lived experience without assumption or interrogation.

We covenant to respect confidentiality and differing levels of disclosure. Many among us navigate complicated realities regarding safety, employment, family, geography, faith communities, and visibility. What is shared at Moonrise stays there unless explicit permission is given.

We covenant to practice consent in all things, including conversation, photography, social media posting, storytelling, touch, and emotional labor.

We covenant to practice communal care. We will care for ourselves and one another with compassion, honesty, humility, and respect for personal limits and capacity.

We covenant to make room for rest. Moonrise is not a performance space. No one is required to justify their existence, educate others about their identity, or remain constantly available. Rest, quiet, absence, laughter, grief, joy, and solitude are all welcome here.

We covenant to honor the diversity of theology, spirituality, ministry, and sacred practice among us. We recognize that many of us carry both deep love for our traditions and deep experiences of harm within them.

We covenant to remain accountable to one another. When harm occurs, we will strive toward repair through listening, humility, compassion, and responsibility rather than shame, gossip, or abandonment.

We covenant to help create a retreat where people do not have to shrink themselves.

And together, we remember that we are not alone.

Moonrise Health Guidelines

Because Moonrise is designed as a space of rest, connection, and care for transgender, nonbinary, two-spirit, intersex, and gender-expansive religious professionals, we ask all participants to help us create a gathering environment rooted in mutual care and accessibility. Below are our current policies regarding COVID-19. Other policies may be added if needed.

COVID-19

• Vaccination

  Attendees are expected to remain up to date with COVID-19 vaccinations and boosters when medically eligible.

• Testing Before Travel

  All attendees are asked to complete a COVID-19 test before traveling to Moonrise. Rapid antigen tests are acceptable unless otherwise noted by event organizers.

• Masks

  Masks may be required in indoor gathering spaces unless all present are comfortable with unmasking and social distancing. Participants are encouraged to bring well-fitting masks, including N95 or KN95 masks. A limited number of masks will also be available onsite.

  Whenever possible, meals and informal gatherings may take place outdoors to support community health and accessibility.

• If You Feel Unwell

  If you begin feeling ill or test positive for COVID-19 during the retreat, please notify event organizers as soon as possible so we can support you with care, privacy, and next steps. Rapid tests will be available onsite for anyone who begins experiencing symptoms.

  We ask all participants to honor the wellbeing of the wider community by stepping away from group activities if they are actively ill or have tested positive for a communicable illness.

• Medical Accommodations

  We recognize that some participants may require accommodations related to masking, vaccination, or other health practices. Moonrise will work compassionately and confidentially with participants requesting accommodations whenever possible while also balancing the collective wellbeing of the community.

• Shared Responsibility

  By attending Moonrise, participants acknowledge that travel and communal gatherings carry some risk of exposure to illness, including COVID-19 and other communicable diseases. Each participant accepts responsibility for helping care for themselves and the wider community through thoughtful and respectful health practices.

Participants are responsible for any additional lodging, travel, medical, or quarantine-related expenses that may arise due to illness during or following the retreat.