Dublin Core
Title
Contributor
Identifier
Coverage
Stole Item Type Metadata
Honoree
Stole Text
BERYL DEAN HOKEL
Minister
This is a stole given to me by the church I had previously served as a lay person, for my ordination as an Elder in the United Methodist Church. I powerfully and effectively served the United Methodist Church for twenty-six years. Eighteen of those years I understood myself to be a gay man. Fifteen of those years I hid my spouse. On September 15, 2002, I was installed as a United Church of Christ minister. It is with great joy that I serve a denomination that accepts me for who I am.
Contribution Date
Contribution Story
Beryl Dean Hokel, like so many others, has taken a wealth of talent and a lifetime of experience away from a denomination that was more concerned with his sexual orientation than his gifts for ministry, and found a welcome embrace elsewhere. Once again, it is the United Methodist Church's loss and the United Church of Christ's gain.
Martha Juillerat
Founder, Shower of Stoles Project
2006