MLP Celebrates the 10th Anniversary of the Shower of Stoles Project

Monday, September 26 2005 @ 11:57 AM

The National Board of Directors of More Light Presbyterians recognizes and celebrates the 10th Anniversary of the Shower of Stoles Project this month. We offer this recognition with mixed emotions because this marks the 10th Anniversary of the birth of the project wherein its founder, Martha Juillerat set aside her ordination as a Minister of the Word and Sacrament in the Presbyterian Church (USA).

Martha and her spouse, Tammy Lindahl, met at a clergywomen's retreat when they were serving churches in rural Missouri. Martha and Tammy faithfully responded to the call from the PCUSA General Assembly to come out and participate in 1993-95 National Dialogue and Study on Human Sexuality. Martha set aside her ordination in 1995 in Heartland Presbytery rather than have it removed. Tammy was one of six out LGBT Commissioners to the General Assembly in 2001. A judicial complaint was filed Tammy and as a result the Twin Cities Presbytery lost a capable and experienced pastor. Tammy's ministry continues as a hospice social worker.

Photo: Martha Juillerat and Tammy Lindahl

The Presbyterian Church (USA) has lost the gifts and ministries of these two remarkably faithful clergywomen because of its anti-gay policies and practices. We honor Martha and Tammy's moral courage and faithfulness in creating and offering the Shower of Stoles Project out of their own experience of prejudice and discrimination. The collection, numbering over a 1,000 stoles, has indeed become a witness to countless LGBT persons and families in our Church and more than two dozen denominations and faith traditions.

Ironically, at the same time as the Shower of Stoles Project marks its 10th Anniversary, our Church is celebrating anniversaries of the Ordination of Women. There are presently those who call for "more study" with a moratorium on justice that hinders the welcome and affirmation of LGBT persons in the Church. However, the extravagant love and welcoming embrace of God continues to call all of us into the Gospel which is good news for all persons, not just some.

The mission of the Shower of Stoles Project is "to end religious discrimination against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people." The National Board of Directors of More Light Presbyterians commends this mission and this historic 10th Anniversary. Moreover, we remain absolutely committed to ending such discrimination against LGBT persons and their families by building a Church for all God's people.

A Brief History of the Shower of Stoles Project
As told by Martha G. Juillerat, Project Founder

The Shower of Stoles Project did not begin as an organization or program. It began as a witness, a spontaneous outpouring, and it remains a great witness of faith to this day.

In 1993 the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) called for a three-year period of dialogue on the issue of human sexuality. The church called upon gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Presbyterians to “come out” and tell their stories to the church. At the time my partner, Tammy Lindahl and I were both ordained ministers, serving churches in rural Missouri and carefully hiding our relationship. After much consideration and careful planning, we decided to join the dialogues. A few months later, Tammy came out in a dialogue on the floor of Heartland Presbytery, effectively ending both of our careers in parish ministry. Only one other openly gay minister in our area, Merrill Proudfoot, was able to commit himself to this work. Over the next two and a half years the three of us participated in dozens of dialogues throughout the central states.

With so few of us able to share our stories with churches in our region, it was easy to dismiss us. One minister said that although he supported gays in the church, it wasn’t much of an issue because “we’ve already driven all the gay folk out.” We began seeking ways to share the anonymous stories of those who were closeted and still serving the church in a wide variety of capacities.

In 1995, no longer able to work in the church, I chose to set aside my ordination. It was important for Tammy and I to impress upon our presbytery the fact that we were only two of hundreds of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people of faith who were active in the life and ministry of the church. At the annual meeting of Presbyterians for Lesbian and Gay Concerns that summer, we asked g/l/b/t friends and colleagues to send us a stole, that we might hang them in the church where our presbytery would be meeting on the day that I was to set aside my ordination. We were hoping to receive a couple of dozen stoles; instead we received 80 stoles almost overnight.

After that presbytery meeting the stoles kept coming, along with cards and letters. By the following spring we had 200. We bought suitcases at thrift stores and took the stoles to a meeting of the More Light Churches Network in Rochester, New York. Seven weeks later we had over 350 stoles. By now we realized we had a sacred trust, and we committed ourselves to creating a project that would allow us to share this collection – and all of these stories – with the church.

The Shower of Stoles Project has expanded greatly in recent years. The collection now contains over one thousand stoles from gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people in twenty-four denominations. The collection is displayed approximately 150 times a year at sites throughout North America. It has become a vital part of the broader welcoming church movement, providing education, advocacy and public witness programs on behalf of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people of faith everywhere.

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