St. Mark’s Shows Up for Trans Youth

On Sunday, March 15, community members gathered at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto to show up for trans youth in our community. The event, titled Sacred Lives: An Interfaith Community Vigil of Solidarity for Palo Alto’s Beloved Trans Youth with the Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto, was jointly hosted by UUCPA, St. Mark’s, First Presbyterian Palo Alto and First Congregational Church Palo Alto. St. Mark’s participation was led by organizers Sigrid Pinsky and Diane Guinta and involved the contribution of homemade baked goods from many in our congregation, a tangible representation of our care and presence.

The interfaith statement about the event is as follows:

As people of faith, we are coming together to unite our voices in the following affirmations and encouragements for LGBTQIA+ youth, especially for trans and nonbinary youth.

We love and support you unconditionally with no exceptions.

We know that gender, gender identity, and sexual orientation are diverse, expansive, and complex and we encourage you to be kind, gentle, and patient with yourself as you seek to understand and express yourself in ways that are authentic and true to who you know yourself to be.

In our traditions we understand the necessity of love and support in the form of families of origin or chosen families, and we know how painful and lonely it can be when these are lacking.

We welcome you to reach out to any of the leaders of our faith communities who are committed to loving you, supporting you, encouraging you, advocating for you, and walking with you on your journey.

And if a faith community is not for you, we commit to helping you find a community of loving and supportive people that aligns with your beliefs and values.

Further, we seek in our own lives to know our limits and set healthy boundaries. Our value is not in our achievements. Our value is being who we are. So we commit to creating a world where this is always true for you.

Please know and remember this always:
You are valued.
You are enough.
You are celebrated.
You are loved unconditionally for exactly who you are.
And we will fight for you.

The St. Mark’s children and teens, supported by Lily Dodge and Cheryl Miller, baked over five dozen orange chocolate cookies, sending them along with a handmade sign showing their support and love.

Parishioner Sigrid P. with Rev. Cat Boyle of UUCPA and the cookies and sign from St. Mark’s youth

The cookies baked by children and youth along with the sign they decorated to go with them. We made so many cookies that the leftovers from the vigil were enjoyed by the women staying at the Heart & Home Shelter.

The recipe for the cookies is as follows:

Step One: Melt the Chocolate Chips

1. In a microwave safe bowl, measure out 1 cup of chocolate chips.
2. Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave by heating them for 15 seconds at a time and stirring between.
3. Once the chocolate is melted, add 1 teaspoon of orange extract.
   Tip: You can use raspberry extract, peppermint extract, or any other flavor too!

Step Two: Cream the Butter & Sugar

1. In a large bowl, add 8 tablespoons of butter and 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar.
2. Use the hand mixer to cream them together until it looks light and creamy.
3. Add one egg and mix it in.
4. Add one more egg and mix it in.

Step Three: Mix the Dry Ingredients

1. In a large bowl, combine:

• 1 cup flour
• ⅓ cup cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt

Step Four: Combine Together

1. Add the dry ingredients and the melted chocolate into the sugar mixture
2. Use the hand mixer to mix them and stop right away as soon as everything is combined.
   Tip: it helps to have one person using the mixer while another person slowly pours in the ingredients.

Step Five: Chill the Dough

1. Cover the bowl with saran wrap and place it in the fridge.
2. Leave it in the fridge for at least two hours. Overnight is best!

Step Six: Roll and Bake the Cookies

1. Using a spoon or ice cream scoop, scoop out enough dough to roll into a roughly 1-inch diameter ball.
2. Roll the dough between your hands until it is a smooth ball.
3. Roll the ball in powdered sugar. Shake excess sugar off.
4. Lay the sugar coated balls on a baking sheet covered in parchment paper. They will spread out, so leave lots of space!
5. Bake at 350 degrees for about 13 minutes.
6. Cookies will still be very “gooey” when removed from the oven – let them cool on the tray for a while and they will develop more structural integrity.

Step Seven: Bless and Share the Cookies

1. Say a prayer of blessing over the cookies.
   Together, we lifted up a blessing that the people who eat these cookies would feel loved, happy, and know that they belong. We told God that we are doing this work because inclusion matters to us and because we want our trans community members to know that we are thinking about them.
2. Share the cookies with people you care about!

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