To say it’s a strange time to be a queer and trans person in America is an understatement. Reconciling the current cultural and political moment in the United States with faith, which to me is all about hope, isn’t easy.

Living in Portland, Ore., I’m mindful that the city offers a bubble of safety in a country where I am frequently under threat. While anti-2SLGBTQ policies are on the rise in general, the attack on transgender people in the United States has been particularly focused and harmful. In 2025, 616 anti-2SLGBTQ bills were moving through state governments. This includes anti-trans bills that would deny access to health care, remove legal recognition on identification and restrict access to public bathrooms. I recently had to surrender my own passport, which had an X gender marker on it. U.S. authorities forced me to exchange it for a passport with an F, matching my birth certificate.

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I grew up very religious outside of Portland, Ore., a complicated mix of Catholic and Lutheran,  but journeyed away from organized religion in my 20s and 30s, feeling like there wasn’t a place for me in the church. A couple of years ago, in my 40s, I joined Westdale United in Hamilton, Ont., where a close chosen family member, Rev. Evan Smith, is a minister. I mostly attend via livestream, except when I’m visiting Canada.

As a professional queer artist and journalist, I live a very public life. Even in queer spaces, I stand out with my blue hair, facial piercings and heavily tattooed body. On the........

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