Rev. Elena Kelly joins the BJUnity Board
November 19th, 2012
http://bjunity.org/confronting-hatred/rev-elena-kelly-joins-the-bjunity-board/ (http://bjunity.org/confronting-hatred/rev-elena-kelly-joins-the-bjunity-board/)
On Wednesday, November 14, 2012, by unanimous vote of the Board of Directors of BJUnity, Rev. Sr. Elena Kelly , Bob Jones University's first "preacher girl," the foundress of an interfaith convent, and transgender activist, became the newest member of BJUnity's board of directors, representing the interests of the trans+ members of our BJUnity community. Since her pre-transition ordination by Bob Jones, Jr. in the mid-1980s, Sister Elena's ministry has been characterized by love and inclusion wherever she has worked. Since her transition, which she began in 2008, Sr. Elena has been a vocal advocate and activist for the LGBT+ community in California's Central Valley, where she lives and works, and she is frequently asked to speak on issues of gender identity and faith at conferences around the country. In 2010, her Salon.com article "I always knew I was a girl" detailed her personal journey from childhood to her 2008 realization, while watching the film La Vie en Rose, that who she has always known herself to be was someone she could embrace fully. In addition to her advocacy experience, she brings a wealth of not-for-profit management experience to BJUnity's board.
Sr. Elena's appointment to the BJUnity board could not come at a more crucial time. Tuesday, November 20, 2012 marks the sixth annual International Transgender Day of Remembrance, in which the entire world is asked to remember and reflect on the lives of those transgender individuals throughout the world — including the USA — who lost their lives in the past year to horrifying violence, simply for living as who they are. On Saturday, November 17, one of BJUnity's own transgender individuals was profiled in an article for Truth Wins Out, having very recently lost her job and previous close ties with her family after announcing her intention to transition.