Texas church launches program to help fund transgender kids’ healthcare

A Texas church has chosen a radically different path from many denominations nationwide. Instead of demonizing LGBTQ+ people, the Galileo Church in Fort Worth has opted to support and welcome the community.

The congregation is particularly disturbed by the state legislature’s recently enacted law that bans healthcare providers from treating trans kids and has launched a program to help families get their children the healthcare they need.

“Health care is a human right, and withholding necessary care for trans kids is state-sponsored cruelty. As neighbors to one another, we seek ways to help each other’s families flourish,” the church says on the website for the new program, the North Texas TRANSportation Network.

The church will assist families who need to travel out of state to get treatment for their children with a $1000 grant. Individual donors and organizations fund the group; no public money is used.

The not-for-profit doesn’t require religious beliefs or church participation from applicants. The only qualification is that families must live in the 19-county northern Texas area and have a trans or gender-diverse child.

“I’m a mother, I have three kids so and I have always been able to get the healthcare for my kids that they desperately needed,” Executive Director Cynthia Daniels told CBS News. “So to me it’s just being a good neighbor to a group of people who have been selected to not be able to receive their healthcare and to me that’s devastating.”

Grants are distributed as the funds become available.

Hotdogman,

Wait. Texas, church and help trans all in the same sentence. What the heck world did i wake up in today?

tissek,

There is a diversity of Christian denominations and some are (socially) progressive. But we seldom hear about them as angry evangelical ones scream mich louder. But they are there, doing their work as they always have making little news unless you look for it.

For example the Metropolitan Community Church has ordained LGBT clergy since 1968 and United Church of Christ since -72. So there are very socially progressive denominations out there, just wish their voices were heard louder. Or that media reported on them more.

Thinking of it I would like more Christian schisms to be prevalent.

orbital,
@orbital@infosec.pub avatar

Thank you for highlighting this fact. For another example, the Episcopal Church has LGBT clergy, and performs marriages for LGBT people. It strongly emphasizes welcoming everyone with no exceptions, and supports lots of social welfare programs. They even oppose legal restrictions on abortion. Liberal Christians are out there but they don’t make headlines in most cases.

BongRipsMcGee420,

My partner was telling me that Tammy Faye Bakker was a queer ally during the AIDS epidemic, gave a victim of AIDS a hug when people were scared to touch them, told christians to be ashamed of themselves for turning their backs, and had one on her TV show (by satellite because all the crew were scared so it wasn’t logistically possible). All these people are batshit crazy but like they say, even a broken clock is right twice a day

eestileib,

She certainly had the same taste in makeup as many queer performers.

Case,

This isn’t the first, shall we say open, church in Texas or even Ft. Worth, but actually assisting with funds is a first for me.

We aren’t all hateful assholes with big trucks and tiny dicks. There are just a lot of them, and boy are they loud.

DragonTypeWyvern,

A reminder that Texas went Red in 2020 52% to 46%.

There are no red or blue states. Its all purple and swings on a hair.

agent_flounder,

A very slightly better one than you thought you went to sleep In?

Credit where it’s due. I applaud the church for doing this and never thought I would read such a thing. Of course there’s a bit of an orphan crushing machine kind of thing going on. But I’ll take the microscopic ^^^^W

guriinii,

Isn’t Texas famously very rightwing? If so, this is great news!

DaCookeyMonsta,

Fort Worth is not as right wing, probably the influence of Dallas next to it which leans left.

cypher_greyhat,

Parts of Texas are. Overall it’s about 50/50 politically.

SuiXi3D,
SuiXi3D avatar

In general, the rural areas are red and the cities are blue. Austin, Dallas - Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio, all center to left leaning. Literally everywhere else is full of repuglicunts or ‘libertarians’.

A greater number of people in the state lean left rather than right, but a greater number of districts lean right rather than left. This is primarily because there are far more rural areas in the state than otherwise, but gerrymandered districts make the problem worse.

agent_flounder,

No state is homogenous in their political beliefs. Not any county, city, or street.

Bigger cities tend to be majority Democratic while rural areas are majority Republican but even in both places it isn’t unanimous.

Get enough decent people finding each other and you get acts of compassion that can fight against the tidal wave of bigotry and hate.

MossyFeathers, (edited )

From my anecdotal experience growing up, Texas used to be a lot more chill when it came to civil rights. It was a lot more common to hear, “I don’t agree with you, but it’s your right to do it” than it was to experience truly hateful people. They still existed, but the average person tended to get annoyed or offended by the outspoken, hateful people, even if their views aligned. Somewhere along the way it started going downhill (before Trump), and then Trump gave it a big shove which is why Texas is where it is today.

Edit: also, something a lot of people forget is how massive Texas is as a state. Any single European country can comfortably fit inside of Texas with room to spare. There’s a reason why Texans tend to talk about distance in terms of minutes or hours instead of yards or miles.

aeternum,

you think that's big. My state can fit texas in it 4 times.

DragonTypeWyvern,

Pretty sure all Americans do that. A result of a car based society.

uis,
@uis@lemmy.world avatar

Nah, in Europe same thing except minutes are different. 15 minutes means about 1 kilometer.

afraid_of_zombies,

I have heard people talk like that in NYC.

Chetzemoka,
Chetzemoka avatar

Yeah it's because miles are meaningless when you're encountering traffic along the way.

afraid_of_zombies,

I remember once being just out of walking distance of a place I wanted to go to, the mass transit “distance” being well over an hour, and the taxi “distance” being about ten minutes.

Something is far when it takes me a while with loads of effort to get to it. Something is close when I can get to it quickly and easily. Western PA is further from me than London is. One involves a single flight and one train, the other involves a 10 hour drive with traffic, PA drivers, and PA roads.

uis,
@uis@lemmy.world avatar

the mass transit “distance” being well over an hour, and the taxi “distance” being about ten minutes.

How? They use same road. Assuming there are 10 between each for one minute(which is a lot, usually it’s 10-15 seconds), it would add 10 minutes.

For example my route from home to uni takes 45-100 minutes driving, 50 minutes with two changes or 65-70 minutes with one change.

afraid_of_zombies,

Oh because there wasn’t a direct bus or train route from where I was to where I wanted to go. It was Long Island.

Bitrot,
@Bitrot@lemmy.sdf.org avatar

Listen to George HW Bush, from Texas, talking about immigration in a debate with Reagan (who also talks about “an open border both ways”). Reagan ruined a lot of things, but it still used to be different. youtu.be/YsmgPp_nlok

BonesOfTheMoon,

Hey that’s very cool.

Mdotaut801,

I usually shit on faith due to hypocrisy but this is how it’s supposed to be! My sister is trans, she came out this year at the age of 29. I can’t even imagine how she felt all of those years, she’s just so much fucking happier now, it’s absolutely incredible. A group like this would have been amazing if it were around back then in the red ass state we grew up in. Keep it up, folks.

PR_freak,

When I hear about trans kids I get goose bumps

randon31415,

I just want to know if this is common and we are just now seeing it due to the demonization decreasing, or if this is being caused by something modern like estrogen used to make cows produce more milk is getting into the ground water and affecting gender identity development?

viking,
@viking@infosec.pub avatar

Yeah. I wonder how many of them are just confused and need help.

Honytawk,

Too many of em get disowned by their families and kicked on the street for being trans, while being underaged

viking,
@viking@infosec.pub avatar

Sounds illegal where I’m at. Until 18 years old, nobody can be kicked out. Parents have a duty of care.

Mirshe,

Parents do here as well, generally speaking. Guess how well that’s enforced? Moreover, these kids who get kicked out often would face persecution, abuse, or possibly even death if they had to go back, state-enforced or not.

Armen12,

There’s plenty of churches who have been doing food drives since forever, the one down the street has been around ages and has done them since before I was around, and I’ve never known a real shelter to ever turn someone down no matter who they are. Maybe other peoples stories are different though

Saltblue,

“Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;

42for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink;

43I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’

44Then they themselves also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?’

45Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’

46These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

sebinspace,

those on His left

And idiots will take this “left” to mean what it means now, failing to realize John Overton wasn’t born until 1960.

Spendrill,

Your actual point is correct and I agree with it but:

The terms “left” and “right” first appeared during the French Revolution of 1789 when members of the National Assembly divided into supporters of the Ancien Regime to the president’s right and supporters of the revolution to his left.[6][7][8] One deputy, the Baron de Gauville, explained: “We began to recognise each other: those who were loyal to religion and the king took up positions to the right of the chair so as to avoid the shouts, oaths, and indecencies that enjoyed free rein in the opposing camp”.

Sauce

sebinspace,

Today I learned! Thank you :)

reverendsteveii,

This is the first Christian church I’ve ever seen that has been willing to respond to the violent rhetoric of other churches with something strong than “Oh, well, everyone is entitled to their beliefs”. They need and deserve our critical support.

Dozzi92,
@Dozzi92@lemmy.world avatar

Eh, there are Christian denominations in my area flying pride flags and BLM flags. Granted, I live in a liberal area. But they’re not all bad. And I say this being very turned off by the idea of religion in general.

reverendsteveii,

but are they willing to go so far as to condemn the others? when someone gets behind a pulpit and says that we need to be murdered in the street, do they say “that man is not a christian” or “my brother and I don’t agree on everything”? those are the ones I’m talking about, the people that believe what they believe, but find it more important to avoid conflict than to do what’s right.

chiliedogg,

Yes, they absolutely do. But it’s the backlash that people see.

The United Methodist Church just had a schism because the bigots were butthurt by being called out, so they went and started their own denomination (Global Methodist) with hatred of gay people as a foundational principle.

uis,
@uis@lemmy.world avatar

Sooooo Texas has universal healthcare?

Snowpix,
@Snowpix@lemmy.ca avatar

Christians, this is the way. Jesus would be proud.

orbital, (edited )
@orbital@infosec.pub avatar

As a progressive, liberal Christian, I wholeheartedly agree!

NABDad,

Imagine a world where Christians actually believe in love.

This reminds me of a story I heard in a podcast about the Clergy Consultation Service on Abortion (CCS).

They were a group of clergy who felt that they were called to help women who were in need of abortion prior to Roe v. Wade.

time.com/4758285/clergy-consultation-abortion/

NOT_RICK,
@NOT_RICK@lemmy.world avatar

Some people actually walk the walk. This is why I try not to judge people until I get to know them.

JokeDeity,

If they’re legitimately doing good for anyone (doubt), another Christian will surely burn the church down.

Potatos_are_not_friends,

What a strange perspective. Why promote peace, love, and acceptance? What about supply side Jesus?

kersploosh,
@kersploosh@sh.itjust.works avatar

Link to the Gospel of Supply Side Jesus for those who aren’t familiar.

Son_of_dad,

I don’t think I want a church to know I’m transgender in case they do a heel turn and this is all a con

Bitrot,
@Bitrot@lemmy.sdf.org avatar

This is the kind of church that evangelicals love to hate, starting with women leadership and continuing with their use of “no bullshit” on their site.

If you or your family needed the money and they were offering, you might feel differently. Not sure what the point of the con would be, Texas isn’t trying to prosecute people who leave Texas yet.

eestileib,

Yeah this is exactly it. All it takes is one parishioner turning from Matthew to Romans and suddenly they’re all outed to Ken Paxton.

Ryantific_theory,

“Finally, some good fucking news.”

jerome,
@jerome@lemmy.world avatar

Who the fuck would down vote this?

Ryantific_theory,

Maybe someone who hoped for a more negative Friday morning? 🤔

toxicbubble, (edited )

churches don’t pay taxes and contribute to hatred & ignorance worldwide. it’s a puppet show to convert ppl to their cult & doesn’t solve the underlying issue of healthcare costs

assassin_aragorn,

Most? Yes. But I’ve met some people who truly believe in the message of loving everyone and helping the poor. They tend to not be as loud.

WindyRebel,

Yes, a lot do, but there are also gems in the darkness.

DoucheBagMcSwag,

Hexbears

reagansrottencorpse,

Why would communists down vote this? Are you stupid or something?

DragonTypeWyvern,

Do you think the Hexbears are in the room with him right now?

gmtom,

You’re really living up to your username.

DarthBueller,

People who are sick of Christian hegemony, who would like to see a functioning social democracy in the USA instead of religious welfare with Jesus Strings attached.

cricket97,

religion is not a denominate political force anymore. be real

DarthBueller,

I didn’t downvote. Just saying why people might. Where is religion not a dominant political force? At least 25% of the US GOP base is evangelical and as a bloc has immense power. Church handouts are big marketing and many conservative church goers are quite open in research polls that the church, not government, should be doing the welfare.

mrnotoriousman,

I wish this were true

eestileib,

On the national level, I invite you to Iook at who controls the Supreme Court and the House of Reps.

On the state level, look anywhere that has a Big 12 or SEC college.

c0mbatbag3l,
@c0mbatbag3l@lemmy.world avatar

You have no idea how intertwined Republican/Conservative ideology and Christian religious belief is, do you?

The foundation of the right is religious and has been since at least Reagan.

cricket97,

There are a lot of non religious republicans.

DarthBueller,

Yes. But the politicians’ evangelical dog whistles are extremely loud because a full fucking quarter of the base is fundie. “God and Country” folks might not be churchy that often, but they definitely use Evangelical/fundamentalist Christianity as a moral polestar for fucking with literally everybody who’s not.

gmtom,

I mean its still kind of Orphan Crushing Machine material.

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