Advertisement
First Unitarian Universalist Society of Syracuse, New York, was one of the very first congregations to be designated a Welcoming Congregation by the Unitarian Universalist Association, in 1990. The Welcoming Congregations Program was created so that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people are embraced as full members of UU faith communities.
Today, the Syracuse congregation, although in a state that’s not facing overt anti-trans legislation, recognizes the hostility that many LGBTQ+ UUs throughout the faith are experiencing in their lives. Since 2017, the congregation has hosted Building Beloved Community Beyond the Binary, an annual conference that seeks to support our trans, intersex community.
Each year, this multiplatform conference hosts a keynote speaker with workshops offered by local community members. A cascading schedule, created by Congregational Life Staff, reflects different activities for different time zones, and a time when all participants come together for the keynote. Because the conference is offered both online and in person, attendees from congregations nationally and globally can participate in many aspects of the gathering that is happening live at the Syracuse Congregation. Congregations gathering in their own spaces to participate remotely are also encouraged to invite their State Action Network or other community partners to provide specialized programming that is relevant to their location. The conference invites a different keynote speaker every year, and notable previous speakers have included Kate Bornstein and S. Bear Bergman.
Drag king Buck Wylde at the pulpit delivering the keynote address during the 2024 Building Beloved Community Beyond the Binary event at First Unitarian Universalist Society of Syracuse, New York.
In 2024, the keynote address was given by Latinx drag king Buck Wylde, from Dallas, Texas, who was voted Best Drag King by Dallas Voice and Dallas Entertainment Awards two years in a row. Wylde has traditionally performed in secular environments and also teaches a course about drag in local universities in Texas. His Beyond the Binary keynote address and subsequent workshop marked his first time speaking and teaching in a spiritual community.
Wylde’s workshop at the conference taught the art of drag king makeup, and it was in this space that Wylde met AK Myers, a young trans adult and member at First UU Syracuse. Myers volunteered to be Wylde’s model for the day, learning how to do makeup that was tailored to Myers themself.
“I expected to be more anxious or self-aware being on stage with so many folks watching us, but I ended up feeling like I was just getting ready with a friend or an older sibling,” says Myers. “I learned new skills and got to reinforce some things I already knew. However, the most valuable thing I got out of that experience was a connection to a drag elder, to Buck.” When it came time to choose a drag name, Myers asked to adopt Wylde as their drag surname, too, and thus Ryder Wylde was born.
This day was influential for Buck Wylde as well. “I ran into [Ryder] later that evening in town with some friends and he was still proudly wearing his mustache and totally commanded the room! I was so happy for him, living in the moment and without fear,” Buck Wylde says. “It was inspiring. I think about that moment often. The connection we made that day through Beyond the Binary, and the inherent spirituality of drag, will be something that I always carry with me in my heart. Unitarian Universalism has shown me what religion could be, creating community is a large part of UU faith.”
The Beyond the Binary conference was the brainchild of Executive Director of Congregational Life Tina Lesley-Fox, congregational bookkeeper Melissa Lesley-Fox, and Minister Emerita Rev. Jennifer Hamlin-Navias. “Their collective dream is so much of what’s carried this forward,” said First UU Syracuse’s minister, Rev. Molly Hammerhand, who is also deeply involved in hosting and supporting the event.
In 2024, the congregation, blessed by Hammerhand, generously extended the welcome and magic that Beyond the Binary has created over the years to include congregations in the Southern Region, where there is the largest number of attacks on bodily autonomy, and then this year to all UU congregations nationally, where threats are rising in multiple ways.
Despite these concerns, or because of them, a few of the primary anchors and members of First UU Syracuse on the planning team of Beyond the Binary are ever more determined to continue this life saving ministry. When asked why they keep showing up, Melissa Lesley-Fox states, “We do this work because this is the UU church we want to see.”
To find out more about how to get involved with this year’s Building Beloved Community Beyond the Binary conference, read your regional newsletter, or email your region for more info.