Happy New Year

I am starting the new year out as a redhead. My Hair Stylist took this shot on her phone for me on 12-31-09.

I hope you all have a wonderful New Year.

Party safely!!

Hugs and Blessings!

Thoughts about Christmas

I love the Christmas carol "O come, O Come Emmanuel" because it sums up Christmas for me. "O Come thou Rod of Jesse, free thine own from Satan's tyranny..." Many of us have felt that tyranny crushing our hopes and dreams and Christ's advent here amongst us is where we get the power to break free and live as we are created!

Maybe it's my Fundamentalist Evangelical roots showing, but I can relate to John the Baptist at this time of year far better than all the rest, especially those that spread commercial tinkling joy and lightness in Christ's name. I was reminded of all this in a very inspiring Sermon last Sunday by Rev. Jane Quandt at The First Congregational Church (UCC) in Riverside. John in his camel's hair, eating locusts and wild honey, standing up and hollering, "you generation of snakes..., make straight the paths of the Lord..., repent for the kingdom of God is at hand..." as he cleared the way for Jesus to come and shatter everyones ideas of what it would mean to have the King of the Kingdom of God here on Earth in the flesh! To me that is what Christmas is about.

If only the Evangelicals and Fundamentalists would listen to what they sing. They too could be free of the tyranny of their prejudice against those that are created different (but still in the image of God). We might discover what Christmas is really is about and become the family of God we are supposed to be.

On a more festive note, if anyone is in Southern California on the Saturday after Christmas - the 26th at 2 PM - Safe Haven Community Christian Church is hosting a traditional Christmas dinner in West Covina. You are invited, but you need to contact me directly (evagenevieve@yahoo.com) to RSVP by the 20th so I can be sure to have enough. I am cooking again and (God willing) it is going to be yummy even if I say so myself.

Hmmm... traditional...

I wonder if locusts and honey go well with stuffing... Actually It'll be apple pecan stuffing. (But just think of the texture - sort of sweet and crunchy - yum)!

I hope you do have a great Christmas - full of blessings and the Peace of God!

Hugs,

Eva-Genevieve!

NYS Senator Diane Savino speaks on the Marriage Equality bill

Hugs,

Eva-Genevieve!

The Seriousness of Transition

Recently in my support groups I posted a few links to the tragic story of Sportswriter Mike Penner life and death. Most of you have already heard this news but for those that have not, here are the links I shared:

http://outsports. com/jocktalkblog /2009/11/ 28/transsexual- sportswriter- mike-penner- dies/

http://www.pridesou rce.com/article. html?article= 27059

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=12783193&ps=rs

I believe that Mike/Christine is one we must add to the long list of people we remember in our future Days of Remembrance. In a few of my support groups there has been some discussion of the issue but I think it useful to post my response to one such thread where the seriousness of transition was being discussed.

Mike Penner's life proves that Transition isn't something to toy with - that is why I posted the news link originally [to the support groups I belong to]. One has to be dead certain transition is the right path to take in one's life or it might just kill you because of the pressures it puts on one. I regret waiting so long to start, but if I had not waited until I had exhausted every other avenue of trying to cope with the girl inside I would not be certain I made the right choice. It is this certainty that gets me through the ridicule that comes from ignorant people. It gets me through the frustrating delays and lack of funds, not to mention the anxiety, depression and times of self-doubt that naturally will come to anyone who goes public in transition. Going back is not an option for me and I damn well know it. The misery of the first 50 and1/2 years is proof enough for me. Even if I am not as far along as I had planned and hoped I am glad to be here alive and basically happy.

One also has to remember that transition isn't a cure-all for the problems of life. These don't go away just because you change your gender, in fact those things likely will get worse if and when you do! So if dressing and going out is a release for you that is great - do enjoy it to the full, but be very sure the real thing comes with all the life-problems that dressing up and partying only hides temporarily.

Here's something to think about: Why are you a CD/TG/TS identified person? Is it because of the thrill or sexual rush you get by dolling yourself up, going out and kicking up your heels or is it something you must do to live life sanely and face down all of life's challenges in addition to the extra load you will bear in transition. Knowing the answer to that may just save your life one of these days.

Hugs and Blessings,

Eva-Genevieve!

The TDOR Service video

Hi everyone,

I now can post the entire sermon from the Transgender Day of Remembrance service Safe Haven hosted at the Pastor's home here in West Covina.

I must apologize in advance because the Video Server (VEOH) inserts commercials during the playing of the video. But free comes with a price-tag these days. Today this stuff is billed as a feature of the program rather than a nuisance, but that just shows you how "old school" I really am.

Sorry - the embedded video is temporarily unavailable. VEOH the video server has dumped it and I am searching for a new and more reliable host.

OK here's the fix - using Blip TV now the following 3 links are for the entire service - the Sermon starts in Part 2 and continues into part 3. Many thanks to Randy Detroit for the camera work, editing and the help getting this back up. I apologize for the commercials on Blip TV but it's the price one pays for "free" these days.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

I hope you all had great Thanksgiving

Hugs and Blessings,

Eva-Genevieve!

Blank Spaces and Thanksgiving

Greetings everyone,

I must apologize for being so silent this month and leaving a big blank space. I have been so busy with everything I'm involved in and then I had a very bad cold for several days and now the rush to get things done for the holidays has it's hooks in me. The turkey is in the oven now with apple-pecan stuffing and all the fixings.

I just wanted to say the TDOR service went very well and I will post the video as soon as it is edited. If anyone is interested in the text of the sermon e-mail me at evagenevieve@yahoo.com and I will gladly send it to you.

This picture is of me laughing while trying to swallow too big a piece of the communion bread. Having never actually prepared a communion service all by myself before I thought it would be nice to use bigger pieces of bread -- you know, making it seem a bit more substantial than just a tidbit. Well, I broke it up into fairly big pieces but the bread turned out to be quite tough and chewy. By the time we were all served we were all chewing and chewing and chewing and chewing and chewing and chewing and... Until we were all busting up. So it is back to tidbits or wafers this Saturday. You live and learn and sometimes you just gotta laugh about it.

I wish everyone the best Thanksgiving possible. One thing I am thankful for is the freedom we are gaining to be ourselves openly, and I am thankful for all of my T-sisters and T-brothers who are out and making their way in the world and I am thankful for all those who have suffered and died in order that we are better able to stand - let us never forget them.

Thank You all very much!!

Hugs and Blessings,

Eva-Genevieve!

Day of Remembrance to be Celebrated in Church Service

Greetings everyone,

I have recently been invited to be the guest speaker and host for a Saturday Church Service in West Covina on November 21st. Seeing as how this is the day after the Transgender Day of Remembrance I thought I would put out feelers for a few very short stories about transgender folk that you have personally known to include in the Service. I really would like to touch on the personal connections we have with our trans-sisters and brothers who have gone before us to blaze the trail. (If you send me any stories please put in the subject line "D.O.R. story" so I don't miss it - thanks).

This Service is part of the ministry of Safe Haven Community Christian Church and it will be held in the Pastor's Home at 2 PM - please contact me for the address if you would like to attend (contact info below). You are welcome to come dressed according to your preference and there is (limited) space if you need to come early to change. This is a totally safe "trans-ally" space and all are welcome.

Please feel free to pass this request and invitation on to others in Southern California. If anyone has the ability to video tape this service I would like to be contacted regarding this too.

There is a good web site regarding the Day of Remembrance at:

http://www.transgenderdor.org/

Hugs and Blessings,

Eva-Genevieve! Scarborough

Human

Christian

Transgendered

Freelance Advocate for Human / Civil-Rights and Faith without Prejudice

http://livingtransgender.blogspot.com/

evagenevieve@yahoo.com

(619) 495-6229

Homecoming...

Article by By MELINDA WALDROP of the Daily Press

WILLIAMSBURG - History was made without fanfare on Saturday. Jessee Vasold, William and Mary's first transgender homecoming queen, took the field at halftime of the Tribe's game against James Madison wearing a red shirt, black pants and a small silver lip ring to applause and not much other notice.

Vasold, a junior, and the other members of the homecoming court were introduced to the crowd, posed for pictures, and walked off the field.

"I knew I was nominated, but I was just surprised, because there were a lot of other really good candidates on the ballot," Vasold said. "I know all of the other girls, and they're wonderful people, really friendly. So I was surprised."

Jessee Vasold, William and Mary 's first transgender homecoming queen, took the field at halftime of the Tribe's game against James Madison U. today in Williamsburg. (Joe Fudge, Daily Press / October 24, 2009)

Read more...

Here is the comment I posted to the article:

"I think this is appropriate for our times and our diverse culture - including the moral aspects of it.

Thank you W&M for being understanding and progressive enough to embrace this!

Thank you Jessee for being bold enough to step into the spotlight!!

To the folk that stick to the strict view that God made man and woman let me say this. While I absolutely believe that God made one pure man and a pure woman just as Scripture says, I also believe that God knew and intentionally created us is in a way that guaranteed gender diversity. St. Paul loved to say "look at nature" for examples of gender roles so, OK, lets do that in the light of what we know to be true today.

God made a man and then a woman but every successive generation born takes some of the male and some of the female to make a child - that is basic genetics. Logic indicates there would be a few that fall somewhere else along the bell curve of gender other than pure male and pure female. I.E.: That some would posses a mix of attributes from both genders. Being intersexed (or hermaphrodite) is one of many known gender variant conditions. So this is not a mistake or an oversight of God or some horrible sin. God knew and did exactly as David said and formed all of us including us transgender folk "perfectly".

What W&M has done here is openly embrace human diversity as created by a loving God!

This is Awesome!!!!!"

Hugs and Blessings,
Eva-Genevieve!

Let’s change the way we all interact within the LGBTQI “community”

For a long time now we have grouped ourselves together by preferred traits and promoted just the issues that benefit us while avoiding personally controversial ones that pertain to other’s needs. As a transgendered Christian woman I have watched this go on for several years and I have come to see this tendency as something that is often counterproductive for us on the whole. We no longer have this luxury – that of being separate, exclusive and picking and choosing which “rights” we work for while there people dying from, or suffering with hunger, AIDS and other illnesses, or that lack basic sanitary necessities or dignity because they are differently abled. And these folks are plentiful right in our own neighborhoods!

I understand the apprehension and discomfort we feel when we must push the envelope of our personal comfort zones and stretch again resources that are already stretched. But in this day of unrest and mis-trust, of corruption at the highest levels of our society and government, of economic collapse, of hate crimes and of budget cuts that are hurting so many of us, this is what we need to do – push our limits... Again. If we won’t take notice and help each other and build each other up, regardless of how each of us perceives others, self-identifies or presents, who will? Now is the time to take the progressive lead and reshape our world together.

Rather than gravitating to our comfortable niches where hopefully we can ride out the storms without having to stretch too much farther, we need to be our own strongest allies and work together – setting aside some of or prejudices and unease with those that are different or foreign to us. It is past time to build up the whole of our community. We need to be lifting up the ones that struggle with the effects of life-long marginalization, rejection and ridicule and those that wrestle with death itself or who have no means of their own to survive.

For example, I don’t see Marriage Equality as the number one issue currently but nonetheless I am very active in that movement, and it isn’t because I seek to marry someone of the same sex. I have set aside some of my own discomfort and prejudice to work with some people whose needs and motives I sometimes can hardly fathom. To an in-process transgender woman the inequity is something that be can worked around just by changing or not changing an obsolete method of identifying gender once certain “plumbing” issues are resolved (though this is not a perfect solution, it is livable), so I view the situation from a completely different angle than most folks do. Supporting M.E. is a means of advancing the common good. My faith, and who I now am, drives me into this effort. This is where my Christian faith “does something” more than lift my spirits up for an hour on Sunday. Even mentioning it LGBT circles risks some discomfort but it does bring my faith down to street level. A little bit of personal challenge is all that it really takes to make a noticeable difference and that is all I am advocating here. Every one of us can make things a little bit better for someone else.

What is important now is working together; getting known, building networks and visibility within our community and finding ways to build bridges between different groups of people, cultures and preferences. Bringing my abilities to the table and sharing the load with people who have different needs and experiences is what I try to do and encourage others to do now that I have found the freedom to be myself.

I was pleased to have a few moments to speak with Harvey Stern of the Golden Rainbow Senior Center (Palm Springs) the other day after the LGBT Mental Health Task Force Meeting in Perris. They are reaching out beyond the traditional limits of what one would define as a “senior” center and they are accommodating many groups at their center now that others centers in the area have been forced to close. (Thanks, Harvey, for your efforts and the wonderful example you are for us all).

We – Harvey and I – agreed that we are down to the bare necessities of survival these days. He deals with this every day at the Center and I feel the pinch daily; I can barely afford the basics every month. I can’t afford a car or a place of my own to live and I struggle to find adequate and appropriate health care, even food sometimes. But I can push the limits of my abilities and means to build up and help to homogenize our community. I encourage you all to do the same.

Hugs and Blessings,
Eva-Genevieve! Scarborough
Human
Christian
Transgendered
Freelance Advocate for Human / Civil-Rights and Faith without Prejudice
evagenevieve@yahoo.com

"Stand with anybody that stands right, stand with him while he is right and part with him when he goes wrong." A. Lincoln

Things Happening This Month

Greetings Friends,

Maybe I will run into you at one of these events in Southern California...

Starting October 3rd (and repeating every Saturday) in West Covina:

Safe Haven Community Christian Church Opens In-Home Neighborhood Ministry Center

This Saturday, October 3^rd 2009 at 2:00 PM

Safe Haven Community Christian Church will dedicate an In-Home Neighborhood Ministry Center at 3931 S. Ellesford Avenue, West Covina, CA. We will serve the San Gabriel Valley and outlying areas.

Safe Haven is an independent and non-denominational Christian Church. The church serves all Christians, and encourages all people of faith, and those who are seeking, to come and worship together in a spirit of, “Faith without Prejudice” towards all humankind. Safe Haven calls us all to set aside bigotries and prejudices. This is the ethos of this church; that all people have equality and full human rights.

We are a Christian Church that has its arms open wide, as would Jesus, to welcome all who wish to come and worship in peace and love. This inclusive invitation includes G.L.B.T.I.Q. brothers and sisters, their families and friends.

Contact: Rev. Renee Painter - RevRJPainter@aol.com - for more information.

October 10th at White Park in Downtown Riverside, CA:

http://riversideIEpride.org

October 15th at the University of Redlands:

The Trans/Giving Film Festival is on Tour!

first stop, University of Redlands

Host:	Trans/Giving
Type:	Music/Arts - Performance
Network:	Global

Date:	Thursday, October 15, 2009
Time:	5:00pm - 9:00pm
Location:	University of Redlands
Street:	Pride Center and ASUR Gender Affairs
City/Town:	Redlands, CA
	View Map

Email:

transgiving@gmail.com

Web: http://www.transgiving.com

October 17th at Occidental College in Eagle Rock, CA:

www.modelsofpride.org

Put a Pin in the Map for the Inland Empire

Greetings friends,

I hope you are all well.

After the pause I took away from things in August to get a little rest, the moment I stuck my head up and looked around I found myself right back in the thick of the Marriage Equality Movement. I am helping to organize the effort in the Inland Empire (and I have several other irons in the fire too - a couple of them are in earlier posts. At the moment I am sitting in The Lark -- an LGBT club -- in San Bernrdino recruiting people to help with the campaign effort. Tonight we had 26 more people that want to help sign up. While I'm here I'm posting this to my blog since Verizon has the DSL screwed up at home. So here is the post about our first "field work" event in a place everyone has been saying is insignifigant. Well guess what - I refuse to be insignifigant and so do a whole bunch of folk out here - stay tuned...

Wednesday evening the Inland Empire (Region 9) team of the statewide Restore Equality 2010 campaign started recruiting efforts for the coming petition signing work. Five volunteers met last Saturday to coordinate this regional effort and have hit the ground running. We were met by a surprising amount of enthusiasm in downtown Riverside.

Armed with fliers for our upcoming strategy meeting on Oct 3 we talked to many people at three prime locations – Back to the Grind, The Menagerie and Worthington’s Tavern – and we were overwhelmed at the positive response. Once we explained that we were preparing to hit the ground running when the petitions are in hand come November not one person balked at the idea of a 2010 effort. Most said they were glad that we are already organized and working to win this battle now instead of later and got excited that they could help and really make a difference – I hope that sentiment becomes infectious!

The owners and staff of the places we “worked” were awesome and totally supportive too. I would estimate that in the 2 hours we were there three of us spoke with at least 40 individuals and groups of people. We now have 9 more people signed up to help. We passed out the few “Repeal Prop 8 2010” and “:I DO…” signs I had kicking around and almost 100 fliers.

Friday we will be at the Lark in San Bernardino around 9 PM. We will be at The VIP on the 30^th and back to Downtown Riverside on Oct 2^nd. We are now looking to get out into Palm Springs and a few other key areas in October – follow this link to the Region 9 page of the Restore Equality 2010 website.

If we were not on the map last November here in the IE this time we will be. And we will make a big difference!! Please come out and help us if you can.

Where ever you are located in California you can help – go to Restore Equality 2010’s web site and select the link for your region and contact the volunteers shown for your region to find out how you can make a difference locally and nationally too.

Hugs and Blessings,

Eva-Genevieve! Scarborough

I Think...

...that it is time to have a good laugh.

Have a great day!

Hugs, Eva-Genevieve!

Taking on New Projects

Greetings friends and associates,

I am helping, along with Safe Haven Community Christian Church, EQIE’s Transgender Issues Committee, and other nearby transgender and allied community members, to put together a Transgender 101 panel and presentation. Our purpose is to help educate and enlighten those whose jobs or personal ethos calls them to serve society and be in contact with the full diversity of it. We are already in contact with two major Civic entities interested in and seeking out this kind of help so they can better serve the traditionally under-served portions of society. Riverside's Department of Mental Health is one, thanks to Elder Benita Ramsey's and others work on the LGBT Mental Health Task Force, and the other is the LAPD. I expect that there will be many more worthwhile leads to follow very soon. The US Census Bureau as a follow-up to the 2010 Census may be one of these.

I was approached by an Officer in the LAPD Community Relations Office last Sunday at San Gabriel Valley Pride, and she inquired whether I would be willing to be a part of Chief Bratton’s farewell Forum Summit community meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 09 from 6 -8 p.m., at the Police Administrative Building (150 N Los Angeles St, in the Auditorium). We had a lengthy conversation about what they hoped to accomplish and we have agreed to discuss future Transgender (and the LGBT… inclusive) community involvement with them, such as an educational panel presentation like what we are already preparing for Riverside.

So, what I am asking for here is twofold…

First, I am extending the LAPD’s invitation to the Forum on the 29^th to the entire LGBT community and urging as many of you as possible to come out for it. I’ll see you there.

Second, I am seeking transgender individuals that are willing to participate in an ongoing speakers panel – and this includes individuals of all areas of transgender and those in any stage of transition, even those that are sex-workers or other highly at risk members of our community. We hope to be very inclusive and very open in this project to tough questions posed by the professionals - social service workers, medical and mental health providers, safety and law enforcement personnel and etc. So you would need to be serious about helping and willing to commit to being open and honest about the needs and feelings of the area of the community you represent as well as with your personal experiences.

For me, going back down to Parker Center in LA will be a bit of a traumatic challenge, because the last time I was there I was incarcerated and I must again face painful ghosts of my sordid past. But I believe both the Forum and our future presentations will very well be worth the effort. Please search your hearts and see if there is room for you to take on another important commitment too.

Please contact myself (evagenevieve@yahoo.com) or Rev. Renee Painter (RevRJPainter@aol.com) if you are interested in helping us with the TG 101 Project.

(We will also be needing some moderate financial support to see this project become a reality – Safe Haven Community Christian Church is a non-profit 501 (c) (3) institution – contact Rev. Painter for more info).

Thanks and Warm Regards,
Eva-Genevieve! Scarborough