Editor’s Note: The following is by Molly Carnes, as told to Nico Lang, the author of American Teenager: How Trans Kids Are Surviving Hate and Finding Joy in a Turbulent Era.
Seeing my teenage daughter, Ruby, stand up in her church and claim her space as a proud trans woman was one of the most joyous days of my life. Our congregation, St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Cypress, held a renaming liturgy for Ruby in June 2021. After months in lockdown, we had recently received our COVID vaccines, and parishioners felt safer to share physical space with one another. Reflecting that feeling of jubilation, our church draped a Pride flag around its cross for the first time in its history, as a public demonstration of support for families like mine.
