Mission Yearbook: Presbyterian Church of Okemos, Michigan, reaffirms baptism vows for a boy named Zach, a beloved member and transgender youth

On Baptism of the Lord Sunday, Presbyterian Church of Okemos, Michigan, engaged in a memorable and meaningful reaffirmation of baptism vows for one of its beloved members, Zach, a transgender boy originally baptized at the church as a female.

“It wasn’t a rebaptism. We were acknowledging he was baptized with a different name. The renaming ceremony was an important part of it,” said the Rev. Dr. Lisa Schrott, the church’s pastor since 2021.

Presbyterian Church of Okemos, Mich., held a service reaffirming the
baptism ofZach, a beloved member and transgender boy. (photo courtesy
of Presbyterian Church of Okemos)

The congregation “was uniformly supportive and loving for Zach. So many people expressed what it meant” in the life of the church, Schrott said. “The church has been with Zach throughout his whole journey.”

“You were first brought to the waters of baptism with a different name, and we return today to remember God’s promises continue with you throughout all of your life,” Schrott told Zach that day. “We gather around these waters as a community to mark your name change. By what name shall you be known?”

“He was baptized in the same church as a baby with the name his father and I gave him when he was born,” Zach’s mother said, “and he reaffirmed that baptism with the name he chose for himself.”

Baptism is “about becoming part of a community and being embraced by that community,” Schrott explained during the service.

The Rev. Dr. Lisa Schrott

“From the moment my son started his transition to becoming a boy over 11 years ago, our church family has embraced him just as he is, with their whole hearts and without hesitation,” Zach’s mother said. “When our congregation said in unison, ‘We see you,’ I thought my heart would burst.”

For the reaffirming liturgy, Schrott sought help from the Rev. Dr. David Gambrell, associate for worship in the PC(USA)’s Interim Unified Agency. Gambrell sent several possibilities, and Zach picked the one in which the congregation would affirm to him, “We see you.”

“That nailed it for him. It hit on the whole theme that Pastor Lisa was preaching about, that baptism is not just an individual thing — it’s a relationship with the community,” Zach’s mother explained. “The liturgy was really good at expressing that community.”

Rebecca Mattern, the church’s coordinator of pastoral care and youth ministry, said that during the service and afterward, “I was filled with a sense of the Holy Spirit, an expanded heart for what the church can look like and how welcoming and loving this church has been.”

One example: A youth flipping through a church photo album noticed a picture with captions containing Zach’s former name. “The wrong name is here. What do we do about that?” the youth asked. The captions are being updated with the permission of Zach and the family.

Zach told Mattern after the service how grateful he was, especially because his older brother was home from college to share the experience. “I was surprised the decision [to participate in the service] was made as quickly as it was,” Mattern said. “I had put the bug in his ear a few weeks before and told him and his mom, ‘You have all the time you want to make this happen.’ Within hours, the family said, ‘Yes, we want to do this.’”

Rebecca Mattern

Mattern was taken by the volume with which the congregation delivered the “We see you” line.

“It wasn’t a shy, ‘We see you.’ It was a ‘Yes! We see you,’” Mattern said. “People were paying attention, and the way people said it was meaningful for them.”

“I wonder for those in the congregation who have experiences in their families, how this affects them and their acceptance and ability to articulate it for persons who identify as trans and LGBTQIA+,” Mattern said. “What a witness to say, ‘God sees you and loves you, and the church does too.’”

Zach’s mother said the family “wanted to share this deeply personal moment because right now the world is a frightening place for transgender people. Trans people are being vilified, their right to exist attacked, and many of those attacks are originating from within churches.”

“We share the reaffirmation of his baptism to show a different way forward, one that embraces instead of excludes, celebrates instead of vilifies, expresses love instead of hate.”

Mike Ferguson, Editor, Presbyterian News Service (Click here to read original PNS story)

Let us join in prayer for:

• Steffan Johnson, Virtual YAV, Young Adult Volunteer, World Mission, Interim Unified Agency
• Emma Johnston,  Mission Specialist, Office of the Middle East & Europe, Interim Unified Agency  

Let us pray:

Good and gracious God, we pray that you would continue to show your face to us as we step out in faith to see what you have for us. We pray that you will make us good stewards of your good gifts. Amen.