There was a time in the Christian western world when the church was, quite literally, in the center of one’s community. In our world today, faith communities tend to be on the edge of most people’s communities. A large part of our society now knows little about the church – its history, beliefs and practices. The predominate view of Christianity (the one getting the most press) is in the form of the evangelical Christian right, a perfectly fine and faithful Christian faith tradition. But, not all churches fall into that category.

An example in our community of a different kind of Christian faith tradition is Edgewood Congregational Church. One of the things that set it apart from evangelical Christians and Roman Catholic Christians is its commitment to being an Open and Affirming (ONA) church within the United Church of Christ (UCC). For the uninitiated, ONA means all, including those who identify as LGBTQI, are welcome to worship and participate in the life of the church, which promises to love and support them as they are.

Because Edgewood Church has publicly stated its commitment to being ONA, it was approached at the beginning of January by a concerned parent, whose adolescent child was stating they were transgender. This parent felt scared and a little lost, because she knew so little about transgender sexuality. What is “transgender?” “Non-binary?” “Fluidity on the gender and sexuality continuum?” This parent wanted to know how to keep her child safe in the face of this great unknown.

Edgewood Church is responding to her concerns by offering a parent/caregiver of trans-youth support group beginning on Thursday, March 3, at 7:30 p.m. at the church, which is located at 1788 Broad St. in Cranston. This will be a recurring meeting on the first Thursday of each month. This group will be led by a professional counselor trained in trans health issues. In addition, Edgewood Church is also working on finding a counselor from the LGBTQ community to run a support group for trans-youth, ages 12-16. The support group will also meet in the Edgewood Church building. The plan is to have this group up and running by April.

For more information on these groups, please contact the church office – 401-461-1344 or office@edgewoodchurchri.org.