angry

[Kari Lynn Franks]

well alot of you responded to my post about church.some gave the advice to talk to the paster first well there is this church that is non denominational around the corner from us that on there message it says our church is such a friendly church you will be proud to call it home.i lef a message for the paster to call because i had asome questions about the churchwell the pastor just called and i told him that me and my wife was looking for a church home i asked him if he thought they had a accepting congragation he said the were a very friendly church so i told him we was looking for a church that would except me a crossdresser guess what his responce was? are you a man or a woman i told him i just like to wear skirts and dresses and he coped a attitude with me he said i cant be both and he started preaching to me and i stoped him and point blank asked him would you except me or not his responce was to say it is wrong and that it would be confusing to the kids in the church i dont even have anything to do with kids anyway i told him not to waste his time preaching to me and hung up on him.
such hippocrits. im sorry it sso long just had to get it off my chest

[adelle]

funny how this works im not the smartest peanut in the packet but i feel if one goes to talk to some one about a problem or some thing that you would like to get of your mind? do you go for advice or a speach? i cant and wont understand why every body must preach and throw the wrong in front of some one and dont give the advice you came for. i think that is why a lot of us in this forum would rather talk to each other than to go to a minister or therapy. i want advice not a damm speach!!! thats why i joined this forum here i can talk ask and be a sister to some one in need. hugs to you all Adelle

[jaina]

Thats pretty much been my experience with christianity in 7 countries since I was 12 years old.

[cdisgood]

One phone call is not too much wasted time. Keep looking!

[JoAnnDallas]

Carrie Davis........see if there is a MCC church near you. You will find the pastor of a MCC church will accept your CD self with open arms. In fact CD/TG/TS/Gays were one of the reasons the MCC churchs came into being. They are in just about every major city all across the country.

If your not familar with a MCC church, do a search on the Net.

[janelle]

Sorry to hear your troubles dear. For me I was on the Praise team(music group) & when they found out OFF I go. I have only gone back there this last Easter with the family, instead I looked for I church I would be comfee in & then went. I did not call or even e-mail, just went & if they ever say anything I think I will just respond that God said love your neighbors. & as you know we are all neighbors.
Does this all hurt you bet but I believe for a time until this crazy world comes around thats part of our lot. I do what I need for me, what keeps me healthy for every part of my body & if that is wrong then there will be a lot more people in H--L then just us crossdressers or transsexual people. It seems to me, can not "" verse, but I know it says do not judge or you shell be judged by your standards. Well this is all just food for thought sweetie. Be selfish abit & think of your well being & just do what you need to. Good luck dear.
Hugs,
Janelle

[melisss2u]

Bet you he would take a contributions still LOL

[KandisTX]

"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you". Those words are supposed to be a model for how they live their lives, sadly so many of them (pastors and other leaders included) only have that switch turned on on Sunday morning during the sermon. This kind of thinking is exactly the reason my wife and I both left organized religions (i.e. going to church) many years ago. The hypocracy of it all just sickened me and these were supposed to be our "Spiritual Leaders" as we grew up.

I am sorry you are having such a tough time finding a church home. I wish you the best of luck in this search.

Kandis

[StephanieH]

[SIZE="3"]As for me, I'm very active with my church, but my dressing isn't something I want them to find out because I know most of them wouldn't understand - not sure I do, so how could I expect others to? My wife's okay with it, my faith's not shaken by it, but I don't feel compelled to dress going to church. There are some places I like to dress and I do wear undies under drab there, but I wouldn't wear a dress or heels to church. I don't live in San Fran or Boston, churches down here in Louisiana aren't that progressive.

Having said all that, it isn't up to the pastor to judge, nor is that the place of the congregation. I've never had any issues with dressing at my church because I don't dress there, but I do get extremely peeved when they throw in during sermons how terribly wrong homosexuality is and how apparently every gay person is going to bust hell wide open. I'm not gay, never have been, but like most of us, I have several gay friends and an unusually large number of lesbian friends - some of whom are quite spiritual. Is God going to condemn them because of their sexuality? Being the way I am, I cannot believe they had much of a choice in the matter, so I cannot accept this flawed doctrine based on a couple of Old Testament verses.

Every time I hear a preacher rant and rave about the evils of homosexuality, I want to remind them that greed and gluttony are listed as "deadly sins" and I've seen a lot of fat preachers - are they gonna' go to hell because they can't put the fried chicken down?

Keep your faith, somewhere you'll find a church you can be happy with. Christ isn't worried about your clothes, he's worried about your heart. Take care and God bless.[/SIZE]

[jaina]

but I do get extremely peeved when they throw in during sermons how terribly wrong homosexuality is and how apparently every gay person is going to bust hell wide open. I'm not gay, never have been, but like most of us, I have several gay friends and an unusually large number of lesbian friends - some of whom are quite spiritual. Is God going to condemn them because of their sexuality? Being the way I am, I cannot believe they had much of a choice in the matter, so I cannot accept this flawed doctrine based on a couple of Old Testament verses.

Every time I hear a preacher rant and rave about the evils of homosexuality, I want to remind them that greed and gluttony are listed as "deadly sins" and I've seen a lot of fat preachers - are they gonna' go to hell because they can't put the fried chicken down?

But you don't. You sit there comfortably and support them while they preach it.

[sissystephanie]

Carrie,

If your avatar is really you, why would you need to ask if you would be accepted? You are a very nice looking lady! Just put on your dress and go! God certainly does not care!

I am a convert, many years ago, to the Catholic Faith and very active in my Church. Granted, I don't flaunt my crossdressing at Church or in Church activities. But I do underdress almost all the time. What I wear is my business! BTW, I have spoken to more then one Priest about crossdressing and all 3 told me it was NOT a sin. In their learned opinion, the biblical quotation that is most often mentioned refers to totally different circumstances that occurred in ancient times. Men and women were separated in the Temple, and were never supposed to be together. Some would dress like women so as to gain access to that part of the temple, and vice versa. What we as crossdressers do is totally different, unless of course there is male to male sex involved! We are not women!!

Sissy/Stephanie

Lady on the ouside, but man underneath!

[Butterfly Bill]

Do a Google search for
["Welcoming and Affirming" church Austin]

I found more than one Episcopal church and even a Baptist one (University Baptist) in a cursory clicking of some of the links that came up. And there is also an MCC church there.

"Seek, and ye shall find..."

[TGMarla]

Disclaimer: This is only my opinion. It is not meant to denigrate any organized religion.

Here's some news: You don't need to go to church to learn about and be one with God. In fact, churches are often poor conduits to the truth about God. Ask yourself this question: Why would an omnipotent being even care about how I dress and whether I go to church or not. Those who crave worship are uneasy about their station in the universe. A truly omnipotent being wouldn't care about organized worship.

If you believe that God is omnipotent, then going to church doesn't matter, unless you're just looking for a place to dress up and look nice.

[SweetCaroline]

Wasn't Jesus the one who dined with tax collectors and prostitutes?

I thought he was the one who was was supposed to be all about accepting people for who they were, and forgiving their flaws.

[lu-bunny]

You may also check out UCC, United Church of Christ, they are a very liberal church, although it depends on each church on how liberal... my dad is going to school to become a UCC minister and he's met a few post-op TS women that are very active in their churches and a couple that are looking for churches to be ministers at

[victoriamwilliams1]

Wasn't Jesus the one who dined with tax collectors and prostitutes?

I thought he was the one who was was supposed to be all about accepting people for who they were, and forgiving their flaws.

The answer is yes!

As stated I too am a Christian and I keep my CD lifestyle out because it will not be accepted. My recommendation is if you wish to worship enfem or not try MCC or UCC churches or visit Gender Tree for more information.

[TGMarla]

Here's another "No Offense!" statement.

I find it amazing how many people are willing to accept a faith that will not accept them completely, but profess to others that they would never accept a SO that would not accept them completely.

Just an observation.

[sterling12]

Your relationship with God, has little or nothing to do with what, (if any) church you attend. Even a Celebrated Agnostic like me understands that idea.

So, be rid of these narrow-minded fools who reject you. If you can find a church that is accepting and you want the social rewards that it brings, that is your choice. But, if you can't find what your looking for, be assured that tolerance and acceptance HAVE to be part of any rational concept of God. In other words, it's between you and your creator; not what some moron tells you to think and do!

Peace and Love, Joanie

[Stephanie Scott]

I'm somewhat reluctant to wade in here, because I frequently get excoriated for discussing the issues of my faith here. I am a conservative Christian. That sometimes makes me a "misfit among misfits" here, if you will.

I'll say this about the issue. Jesus loves you; Jesus does not care at all about what you wear (unless what you're wearing tempts you to do something you shouldn't -- e.g., commit adultery, spend money irresponsibly to the detriment of the family, etc).

NOT going to church would not be a viable option, I wouldn't think. Corporate worship in the context of your Christian faith is not only desirable; it is essential. Scripture discusses its importance.

If being able to crossdress in church is very important to you, the challenge is to find a church where you can acceptably crossdress but does not compromise the essentials of your faith JUST so you can crossdress. It can be done. Others on this forum have discussed it and done it.

I have found that TG issues are just largely misunderstood by many churches. Doesn't make em bad, evil, or even hypocrites -- just misinformed or ignorant. The great thing about our faith is that there is room at the cross for everyone of all kinds of flavors. The first perfect church I find, I'm going to join it and ruin it!!

Do not let the judgmental anti-Christian bigotry that sometimes exists in the CD/TG world discourage you from pursuing your faith and being involved of corporate worship of the Lord. He welcomes us w/open arms -- warts and all.

[Angie G]

This is why I don't go to church.
Angie

[lu-bunny]

This is why I don't go to church.
Angie

I'm the opposite... i dont go to church because i might have to wear a dress

[Patti Girl]

First of all, you need to recognize that many pastors are conservative people. Also, many do not understand crossdressing. People fear what they do not understand.

Why should this one pastor understand crossdressing? When you read the board here, you will see that many of us don't understand it either, but we've learned to live with it.

I'm going to guess that his view of crossdressing is some tranny on the street looking to provide sex for some man. Of course, many conservative pastors would be afraid of inviting that image to their church.

Keep looking. Depending on where you live (rural conservative vs. some place like SFC or NY), you may find what you need.

hugs,

Patti

[TxKimberly]

Carrie,

There is a TG group in our area (Austin) called "TACT". Perhaps you should consider asking them?
In fact, as long as I was thinking about it, i went ahead and just made a post there asking - I'll let you know what I find out. ;-)

[Charleen]

Gandi put it well. He said, "I like your Christ, I don't like your Christians as they are so unlike him."

[Holly]

Interesting... so many of our members upset at the intolerance shown to the transgendered community and yet have no problem showing intolerance to people of faith... curious, indeed.