Transgender profiles: Marianne Dawson "Pick your battles," she advises, a phrase she says is a mantra for the transgender community. by Erika Prins "We know that God has a special place for each person within the body of Christ," reads the Spokane Christian Center's website. But when Marianne Dawson became transgender, she says church leaders asked her to leave the congregation. Her rejection from her long-time home church and several other subsequent churches she attended does not change her faith or her personal relationship with God, says Dawson. She knows of several local churches that do accept transgender attendees, but she wants shared faith to be reason enough for all Christians to welcome her. "I don't want to go where I'm readily accepted," she says. "I want to go where I please." She has found a group of Christians with whom to meet and has engaged with her community and worked to improve it by helping found Papillion, a local support network for transgender people. Through Papillion, she met her husband who supported her through every DAWSON continued next page www.qviewnorthwest.com | Q View Northwest - Spokane Edition | May 2009 | www.qviewnorthwest.com | Q View Northwest - Spokane Edition | May 2009 | photo by Steve Rodenbough