It’s not always galas and fundraisers for the UEC staff: On November 20th many of our members attended a Transgender Day of Remembrance event held at Portland’s First Unitarian Church. Our founder, Shannon, was master of ceremonies for the service, which honored the all-too-many transgender women and men across the globe whose lives were taken from them this year. We were reminded that many men and women in the trans community live in fear of violence every day. The evening’s candlelight service was followed by a reception at which we heard members of many local LGBTQ organizations call for equality through compassion and action. At UEC we can answer this call through our education and training programs; we will continue to fight for the safety of the LGBTQ community.