Since the murder of Rita Hester, a Black Transgender woman in November of 1998, the Transgender community has observed Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) on November 20th every year. Gwendolyn Ann Smith, a transgender Advocate, started TDOR in honor of her friend.

We encourage you and your communities of faith to observe TDOR, whether it’s something you’ve done before or something brand new. Seek out existing events or opportunities to collaborate with other members of your community, through your ecumenical or interfaith partnerships, educational institutions, and local LGBTQIA+ community leaders. Acknowledge the event during worship on Sunday, 11/17. Hymns from Songs for the Holy Other that would be appropriate are For those who suffered, I shall not leave from your side, Love’s rage and grief, or Rest in Power.

Available to all our congregations, ministers, and community partners, Room for All’s Guide for Transgender Day of Remembrance is free to download and print. The bulletin insert with the portraits of the 69 siblings we lost in the U.S.A. this year is available at full size here.

This year, we invite you to join us at the virtual prayer vigil hosted by our friends at Transmission Ministry Collective. Join them for a short virtual prayer service live on their YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/@

TransmissionMinistryCollective on Wednesday, November 20th at 5pm PT / 8pm ET. They will read the names and remember the stories of those who have died from interpersonal violence, and number them among the great cloud of witnesses who encourage us toward justice.

A copy of the list of names for all the lives lost this year is here, from the Remembering Our Dead project. The list of names has been simplified, but a comprehensive list is available through the ROD project that contains links to the profiles of each person. Visiting the project site will give you the details of each death, and may be disturbing.