This is a rough transcript of a presentation I gave to the Penn State Faculty-Staff Christian Fellowship in March 2017, entitled Transgender People and the Body of Christ. This talk was (of course) inspired by Eli/Miriam’s life, which is why I am reproducing it on this memorial site. I’m grateful to the group (which skews relatively conservative) for inviting me and for paying attention to what I had to say. Continue reading “Transgender People and the Body of Christ”
This is an op-ed piece that we (Liane and John) wrote for our local newspaper, the Centre Daily Times. It was published on October 21, 2016, under the headline “Events seek to build bridge between LGBTQ and faith communities”.
It does indeed publicize the events that we planned for the year, and our hopes for them – but it also seeks to tell a bit of Eli’s story, and thereby help others understand something about his life as a trans* person, with all its hopes, dreams, and struggles. Continue reading “Eli’s Story”
This beautiful image (the logo for this site) was created by Eli. It was for a tattoo he hoped to get at some future time.
He explained to me that it was a stylized representation of Seneca Rocks, viewed by starlight. We visited Seneca together several times and camped at the National Forest campground. On a clear light the stars shine brightly over the iconic cliffs where we used to climb together.
I have written elsewhere about out first trip to Seneca. We returned several times over the years and had more than one adventure.
For me, Seneca has always felt like a center of vital energy – of inspiration to reach for the stars. Perhaps Eli’s choice of this image signified that the place, or the time we spent together there, had a similar meaning for him.
I don’t know. But I do know that his short life was an inspiration to many other people. I hope our logo may signify that to you too.
Image source: Charleston Daily Mail/Pinterest
