'We See You': Michigan Church Embraces Trans Teen Through Baptism Reaffirmation

Okemos Presbyterian Church offers powerful moment of affirmation for transgender youth

Published: May 27, 2025 | Last Updated: June 18, 2025

When 16-year-old Zach Nawyn-Hellinga stood before the congregation of the Presbyterian Church of Okemos in January, he wasn’t just reaffirming his baptism — he was claiming his name, his identity and his place in the church. The congregation stood and said in unison, “We see you.”

Rev. Lisa Schrott, the pastor of the church, said the service was an act of love for both Nawyn-Hellinga, a trans teenager, and the congregation.

“For Zach, we wanted him to know that he was valued and loved and cared for by this congregation and that he was created in the image of God and that the congregation recognized that,” Schrott said. “We also wanted the congregation to understand what that can mean to utter the words that we are all created in the image of God — and what that really means is that we make sure everybody feels seen and included in the congregation.”

The idea originated during Nawyn-Hellinga’s confirmation classes. Rebecca Mattern, who was then coordinator of pastoral care and youth ministry at the Presbyterian Church of Okemos, said they were covering baptism and its meaning.

Mattern approached Schrott to discuss that Nawyn-Hellinga had been baptized with his dead name and whether it would be appropriate to have a reaffirmation before he was confirmed. It was brought before the church’s governing body and everyone expressed enthusiasm.

Others in the faith community have had similar moments of affirmation. Claude Johnson-Perry found acceptance from the late Father Bill Lugger. Johnson-Perry converted to Catholicism in 2019 after transitioning. Lugger welcomed him and stressed that the church baptizes souls, not genders.

While Johnson-Perry was originally pushed out by the person offering the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA), he returned after a more supportive person was put into the position — someone who referred to him with his correct name and pronouns and was respectful to him as a person.

“It struck me that it really didn’t matter what gender you were because God welcomes you all the same, and so did Father Bill,” Johnson-Perry said.

Claude Johnson-Perry's baptismal service with Father Bill Lugger. Courtesy photo

While the worldwide Catholic Church does not offer the affirmation of trans individuals that this particular Lansing church did for Johnson-Perry, the national Presbyterian Church (USA) is committed to welcoming all in the LGBTQ+ community.

“There’s a narrative of ‘love the sinner and hate the sin’ — it’s not like that [with us],” Mattern said. “We love you for who you are, and I hope that [Nawyn-Hellinga] will carry that with him for the rest of his life.”

The Presbyterian Church’s theology is that a person is baptized once, but reaffirmations are part of their practice.

“He was baptized with a different name, but he’s the same person,” Mattern explained. “We change throughout our whole lives, and we aren’t rebaptized every time we have a new revelation about ourselves. We still honor that original baptism, and we also wanted to honor that the name doesn’t fit anymore.”

On Jan. 12, Nawyn-Hellinga was joined by his family at the front of the congregation where Mattern, Schrott and the Clerk of Session asked him the questions of his reaffirmation and led the congregation in a responsive liturgy.

“The congregation just resoundingly said, ‘We see you,’” Mattern noted. “They said it loud and with confidence, and several of the members of the congregation had tears in their eyes. If I hadn’t processed it and cried before I got there, I would have been crying, because we are in a time where there is a concerted effort to erase trans people. They’re being told that they don’t exist, that they’re predators. Their parents are being told they’re grooming. It is the job of the church, and the calling of the church, to say to those who are in the margins, 'We see you and we love you.' No matter what the world says, you are a beloved child of God.”

Schrott said they added their Clerk of Session because they wanted it to be clear that it was an action of the church, not a rogue pastoral choice.

Nawyn-Hellinga was baptized as a baby at the Presbyterian Church of Okemos in 2009. His mother, Stephanie Nawyn, explained that the family was living in Istanbul, where she was on a Fulbright fellowship, when Nawyn-Hellinga began expressing interest in identifying as a boy or gender fluid. He was in kindergarten.

“One of the things I’ve learned through this process is that sometimes you can be surprised where you find acceptance,” Nawyn said. “Turkey is a very gender binary culture. For a kid in kindergarten, he was in an unusual space.”

When they returned home, his Sunday school teacher at the Okemos church, whom Nawyn estimated was 88 years old, approached Nawyn and said that she’d noticed her child seemed to be struggling with gender identity and asked whether there was anything she could do to support him.

Nawyn described the church staff as approaching the reaffirmation in a very careful and intentional manner. They offered several options, including just updating his baptismal records with his current, legal name. They explained that a reaffirmation could be an official, formal introduction to the church community, even though most of the congregation already knew Nawyn-Hellinga was trans.

“They were sensitive to all the different ways this could be a risk that Zach and our family is taking,” Nawyn-Hellinga said. “There was a recognition that it requires bravery to do this. All these places that you think might not be accepting were incredible.”

Nawyn-Hellinga said he has been lucky to have never faced ridicule for being trans, but that the church has gone the extra mile in allowing him to be himself.

“With the church, it was like with a snap of my fingers, I could immediately be my true self, surrounded by people who were affirming,” Nawyn-Hellinga said. “And with the reaffirmation, I’ve felt a bit more connection with my spirituality and religion. It’s been a nice place to grow up.”

He is quick to point out his experience is not one all trans youth share. It is one reason he wanted to reaffirm his baptism.

“A lot of parts of Christianity seem to be against people in the queer community,” Nawyn-Hellinga said. “I felt like this would show that it’s not all of Christianity. I thought it would be really helpful to just show some light that there is support from the church to the queer community. Also, with a new presidency, I’m worried about my rights getting taken away and having some hope like this really, really helps.”

Schrott is cognizant of the political climate.

“There had already, during the election, been a lot of really hostile and ugly language toward the LGBTQ community, especially transgender individuals,” Schrott said. “While we did not do it as a political statement, we did it as an affirmation that we as a church love everyone in our congregation — we see everyone in our congregation, and other people’s political viewpoints weren’t going to stand in the way.”

“It was important for us to make that statement that all are loved.”

When Nawyn-Hellinga stood before the congregation on the Baptism of the Lord Sunday, Schrott said he was greeted with eagerness and anticipation.

“People were tearing up, and it was just really beautiful,” Schrott recalled. “The answer to the questions for the congregation — I don’t want to say they yelled their support, but they were enthusiastic. And after the worship service, everybody just wanted to greet him and tell him how proud they were.”

The pastoral staff searched for liturgy that had been developed for this situation and presented Nawyn-Hellinga with three options. He chose the one where the entire congregation says, “We see you, Zach.”

“Some people have described it as giving them hope,” Nawyn said. “Lots of people are feeling anxious and fearful about the attacks that are happening right now on trans people, on queer people and immigrants. The congregation was really excited and really proud to do this. People thanked us afterward.”

Nawyn-Hellinga hopes that his story can bring comfort to others.

“It’s important to remember that not everyone is against you,” he said. “There are people out there who will support you for who you are. You might have to search around to find your place, but there are people there, and it might be in places where you might not think it would be.”