The sixth Transgender Day of Remembrance service in Columbus honoring transgender individuals who have lost their lives in the past year will be Saturday.
The 7 p.m. service at First Presbyterian Church, 512 Seventh St., is being planned by members and clergy of First Presbyterian, Unitarian Universalist Church of Columbus and North Christian Church. People of all faiths and non-faith traditions are welcome, with refreshments following the service.
Transgender Day of Remembrance was set aside to memorialize transgender individuals who have been killed due to hatred or prejudice. The event is conducted in November to honor Rita Hester, whose murder on Nov. 28, 1998 began the “Remembering Our Dead” web project and a San Francisco candlelight vigil in 1999. Hester’s murder has yet to be solved.
A former church member initiated the local observance of Transgender Day of Remembrance, said Julia Stumpff, chairwoman of the Open & Affirming Committee at First Presbyterian.
“Even though she has moved out of Columbus, we are grateful that she returns each year to help us memorialize members of the transgender community,” Stumpff said.
