We had all said
brief hellos and over the first two hours engaged in short conversations interspersed with longer times of
silence. I’m not sure how this conversation got started, but I overheard one of
the male ministers ask the transwoman if he could ask her some questions
because he really wanted to understand her world. My ears opened as did the
other people in the car. She responded, “Certainly. I don’t mind at all. I actually would like it. And don't worry you can't ask me anything I haven't been asked before.” He responded, "But please reserve the right to not answer anything you don't want to answer." I am
not going to share specifics as I truly believe the conversations we had were
personal and sacred and deserved to be preserved for the people in the
conversation. But I would like to share some things.
We all gathered
around and began talking, questioning, and most importantly listening. There was
a lot of conversation, questions, explanations, and long silences. We began
sharing perspectives from our different denominations, our own experiences, and
culture. We talked about how the past and current administration and their
policies impacted our lives on a daily basis. One question I was asked, “How is
it impacting you sharing your faith with me a man who serves in a denomination
that doesn’t recognize women’s ordination?” Instantly I responded, “Sad.” His reply, “Me too.”
These conversations
went on for over 3 hours. As we were beginning to pull into the station where
all but 2 of us were getting off, the car became silent, and I saw a
notification come across my phone. A woman who has been a friend for many years
and who went to high school with my husband has a son who after surgery had a
complication and was being transported to Children’s Hospital ICU. She was
asking for prayer.
I looked up at everyone and read her post. No words were spoken as we all stood up and clasped hands. And then we began to pray.
So no, the
gathering of these particular people in this particular dining car at this
particular time wasn’t the start of a bad joke. It wasn't a joke;
it was a glimpse of the
Kingdom of God.
