Chasing Queer and Trans Resilience

This study follows an ecumenical and interfaith Trans Day of Remembrance/Resilience (TDOR/R) service, which took place in Atlanta, GA. Based on participant observation, thick description, and one-on-one interviews with service leaders, I explore how the TDOR/R service reveals the complex spiritual lives and religious gatherings of local LGBTQ+ communities in response to violence and trauma. Throughout the service, the community engages in a variety of spiritual practices: care, flocking, lament, veneration, and repair (among others). Combining ethnographic description with pastoral-psychological analysis, I consider the psychospiritual functions and impact of these spiritual practices and the TDOR/R service more broadly on the mind-body-spirits of people and communities. Ultimately, I offer a descriptive account of queer and trans resilience as reclaimed ancestry and spirituality.