Earlier this month, the Rev. Gwen Fry, priest of the Episcopal Diocese of Maine and TransEpiscopal Steering Committee member, testified at a Judiciary Committee hearing in opposition to eight bills now before the Maine legislature that would roll back trans civil rights protections. These bills emerged in the wake of the February National Governors Association confrontation between the President of the United States and the Governor of Maine over the state's nondiscrimination protections. Read Equality Maine’s information for taking action on the proposed legislation here and the ACLU’s account of the legislative hearing and its political backdrop here.

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The Rev. Gwen Fry
Brunswick, Maine
May 8, 2025

Senator Carney, Representative Kuhn, and Honorable Members of the Judiciary Committee. Thank you for the opportunity to address the Committee regarding the human rights of transgender Mainers.

I am The Rev. Gwen Fry. I’m a resident of Brunswick. I am an Episcopal Priest who also happens to be transgender. I’m currently serving St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Waterville as their Priest in Charge and I am here on behalf of the Episcopal Diocese of Maine and the transgender community.

I rise in opposition to the bills before the committee today because I have personally experienced the devastating effects of not having the basic rights and protections afforded most people. 

I came out and socially transitioned in Little Rock, Arkansas 11 years ago. I have experienced being ignored by people working in restaurants and department stores. I have been the recipient of hateful speech and death threats. I have been stalked by a person in my neighborhood. I didn’t reach out for help because the trans community has learned that it is not safe to get the authorities involved because of the abuse and assaults perpetrated on trans people, particularly transgender women, by those in authority. That is a major reason why I left the state of Arkansas and relocated to Maine. I saw that the trans community was protected from discrimination under the nondiscrimination laws here in our state. 

It is also here in the Diocese of Maine that I have been able to return to serve a parish after eight years of not being able to serve a congregation because of discrimination for being my authentic self. Because of the expansive theology of The Episcopal Church, I found a home here in the Diocese of Maine. I have been given the opportunity to exercise my ministry because of the inclusion of gender identity and gender expression in the Episcopal Church’s non discrimination canons. I believe this inclusion is an extension of the church’s baptismal vow to respect the dignity of every human being. I am honored to serve in a church that feeds the hungry and affirms and celebrates the outcast. 

My church and now my state protects the trans community. I no longer live in fear to leave my house like I did in Arkansas because of the protections afforded me here in Maine. If these eight bills pass, I fear we will be taking giant steps backwards and my small community will experience the same discrimination and oppression I fled by moving to Maine.

As Episcopal Bishop Mariann Budde preached in January, “In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now.”  I ask that the state I have chosen to call home choose mercy over oppression and discrimination against a small, extremely vulnerable, population. I ask that you respect the dignity of all of us in the transgender community. All of these anti-transgender bills are solutions in search of a “problem” that doesn’t exist.

If this bill passes, Maine will be on the fast track to mirroring the oppression and ostracization of transgender people – just like Arkansas has. We are not Arkansas. We are a state who prides itself on the adage of live and let live. In the name of the One who fearlessly and wonderfully created me just as I am, I urge you to vote “Ought not to Pass” on these bills.

Thank you for the opportunity to share my perspective and experiences with the Committee.

The Episcopal Church’s triennial General Convention is starting in Austin, Texas this week, and for the fourth General Convention in a row a small team from TransEpiscopal will be there, supported from afar by our Steering Committee. General Convention has much in common with the U.S. Congress. It considers and votes on legislation in two houses—the House of Bishops (elected by their dioceses) and the House of Deputies (with elected lay and ordained people from each diocese of the Church). Although our team mainly consists of non-deputies, anyone is able to attend and testify at a resolution hearing, and we look forward to doing that for legislation we are particularly following. That includes:
 
• a commitment to safeguard the access of trans and non-binary people to physical spaces and  activities within the church (C022)

• a call for the Convention to oppose legislation in the wider world that would limit our access to restrooms and other gender-marked facilities (C022)

• a new Book of Occasional Services that includes a (trans and non-binary inclusive) renaming rite (A064)

• making certain that church records accurately and respectfully reflect our names and genders and protect our privacy (A088)

• the creation of gender expansive language in our worship (C031 – originally from the Diocese Connecticut) and the revision of the Book of Common Prayer (A068)

• a call for the collection and publication of employment and compensation statistics on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation (resolution number TBD) as is already collected on the basis of gender for non-transgender people, and building upon resolution D005 which calls for the collection of such data on the basis of race and ethnicity 

* a call for equity in clergy hiring and appointment (A091) which would add new canonical nondiscrimination language (including gender identity and expression) that would extend beyond access to ordination and lay participation in church governance (which are already addressed) to cover the hiring and appointment of clergy. 

• support for trans and non-binary youth in the Episcopal Church, particularly in our schools and camps (C006)
 
Our team on the ground includes the Reverend Iain Stanford of the Diocese of Oregon, the Reverend Gwen Fry of the Diocese of Arkansas (and newly elected President of IntegrityUSA—congratulations!), and the Reverend Cameron Partridge of the Diocese of California. We are so glad to have as our floor leader Deputy Sarah Lawton, co-chair of the Diocese of California Deputation, strong trans ally, and longtime TransEpiscopal member. The Reverend Deacon Vicki Gray of the Diocese of California will be joining us later in the week, and as in years past we look forward to making new friends on the ground at Convention. Trans and nonbinary people are much more present in the Episcopal Church than many people realize, and General Convention provides a key opportunity to both lift up that reality and build it up within the wider church. The Episcopal Church has much work still to do to fully embrace trans and nonbinary people at all levels of its life, and we are at General Convention to help the church move forward in that process.

An update to yesterday's statement:

Integrity USA and TransEpiscopal were saddened to learn that the Rev. Gwen Fry is no longer the Priest in Charge of Grace Episcopal Church in Pine Bluff, AR. We pray for healing for the Rev. Fry, for Grace Church, for the Diocese of Arkansas, and the wider LGBT community in the coming days and months. 

​We remain clear and confident that the wider family of the Episcopal Church and the Episcopal Diocese of Arkansas – including the Rt. Rev. Larry Benfield— embraces, supports, and is confident in the leadership of the Rev. Fry. We look forward to hearing about the next ordained position into which she will step in the Episcopal Diocese of Arkansas.

The events of this week point to the need for continued conversation and education on transgender leadership throughout the Episcopal Church. To aid in this process, IntegrityUSA and TransEpiscopal stand ready to offer a wide range of resources, including the short film Voices of Witness: Out of the Box.

This weekend Transfiguration Sunday will be observed across The Episcopal Church. We will hear the story of how Jesus walked up a mountain and was transfigured beside Moses and Elijah before three bewildered disciples. Only in Matthew’s gospel does Jesus bend down, touch them, and say, “Get up, and do not be afraid.”

This message could not be more timely today. As we stand together on God’s holy mountain, may we be strengthened to walk together through the challenges that lie before us, confident that in the process we will be changed into Christ’s likeness from glory to glory.