Pew

This unsettling novella examines the choices and motivations of an insular and god-fearing community in the American south after they find a voluntarily mute stranger of ambiguous race and sex sleeping on a pew in their church. It raises questions around identity, conformity, fear of the unknown, and the need to control and categorise our environments. Reminiscent of The Lottery by Shirley Jackson.

Summary: After finding an individual of ambiguous racial and gender identity sleeping on a church pew, members of the church in their small town in the American South begin taking turns playing host to the individual who, because they have not spoken a word (including their name) since being found in the church, is given the name “Pew.” As Pew moves from house to house, they become witness to both the community’s efforts to prepare for the mysterious Forgiveness Festival and to the inner lives of individuals in the town who begin sharing their innermost selves with them.

Got halfway and then skipped to the end because I couldn't take the pace. Heavy foreshadowing, building suspense? Felt like it was dragging.  The author was skillful in demonstrating all the ways a close knit conservative, religious community can also be intensely narrow-minded and hypocritical, but that doesn't feel like new information. The cult-like aspects, perhaps. Still on the lookout for agender rep as main plot. 
⚠️reference to religious based transphobia, hate crime (racist murder)