Transgender religious leaders are convening the first-ever Transgender Religious Summit at the Pacific School of Religion this weekend in Berkeley.

Religious leaders, academics, and policymakers are meeting January 19-21 to focus on how people of faith can respond to discrimination and hatred against transgender people within their congregations and communities.

"It's important to mobilize progressive people of faith who want to see more justice for transgender people in their own communities," said Justin Tanis, a graduate of Harvard Divinity School and program director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, who helped organize the summit.

The conference, while not open to the general public, is open to people of all faith traditions. The conference is being held in part to examine those of the religious right who are sometimes the only people speaking in opposition to legislation that would protect transgender people.

"We don't believe that they represent the full spectrum of people of faith. The progressive voices of faith believe in equality for all people and they are not being heard," added Tanis.

Bernard Schlager, outreach director of the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies in religion and Ministry, said a goal is to create positive change of transgender people within faith communities and within seminary institutions.

The conference has drawn 60 participants from around the country representing various religious faiths and levels of interest in religion bringing the summit to capacity.

"The hope is that as a result of this conference that religious leaders around the United States will begin to understand and notice that there are many gifts that transgender people have to offer to faith groups, communities, and society at large," said Erin Swenson, one of the few ordained transgender ministers who was able to retain her status in the Presbyterian church after her transition. She also helped organize the conference. "The rhetoric against people has done spiritual damage."

One of the goals of the conference is to begin providing tools to religious leaders who want transgender people as well as gay, lesbian, and bisexual people to feel welcome in their synagogues, mosques, and churches. Beyond creating a welcoming atmosphere within religious communities, the conference also aims to tap into communities of faith's connection to social justice and how it impacts policies.

"There are bills coming up to protect transgender people from employment and housing discrimination to hate crimes and the primary opposition tends to be from conservative religious people," said Tanis. "At the same time there are progressive people of faith who want to see more justice for transgender people in their own communities and in the public realm. This is an opportunity for them to learn skills and get ideas of how to do that."

Building and strengthening alliances in the religious community is an important strategy that previously has been the domain of the religious right. The Bush administration has repeatedly blurred the line between the separation of church and state. Progressive communities of faith recognize the necessity to speak out on behalf of queer people.

Increasingly, communities of faith are embracing queer people seeking a spiritual community.

There is a concert featuring Tracy Rice on Saturday, January 20 that is open to the public.

Following this weekend's summit the progressive Jewish community is holding its own conference, "Finding Our Voice: The Conference for Progressives Constructively Addressing Anti-Semitism," on January 28, which will have a panel "LGBT Inclusiveness: Keeping Blue and White Part of the Rainbow" moderated by Karen Erlichman, executive director of Jewish Mosaic's San Francisco office.

To learn more about the Transgender Religious Summit visit www.clgs.org or the Finding Our Voices conference visit www.events.org/findingourvoice.