Presbyterianism

Since Martha Juillerat and Tammy Lindahl were both proud inheritors of the Presbyterian tradition, the Presbyterian Church greatly shaped the development of the Shower of Stoles. Their agreement to commit to dialogues about human sexuality and theology within their beloved Presbyterian Church contributed profoundly to the Church's eventual reconsideration of its stance on homosexuality. 

You may click here to watch the first part of So Great a Cloud of Witnesses, the National LGBTQ Task Force's documentary about the Shower of Stoles. 

David Bailey Sindt was also a foremost leader in the journey toward full LGBT+ inclusion in the Presbyterian church. His uncle, grandfather, and great-grandfather had all been ordained ministers within the Presbyterian tradition, and David chose to follow in his forebears' footsteps. In 1965, he was ordained in St. Paul, Minnesota, after obtaining his Master of Divinity degree. After serving several congregations, he returned to school to study for a Master's degree in social work, which he received by 1970.

Just four years later, in 1974, Sindt attended the General Assembly of the UPC (a national gathering of Presbyterians). While there, he came out to his fellow Presbyterians by standing on his chair, holding a hand-made sign that read, "Is anyone else out there gay?"

Sindt's bravery triggered the commencement of a movement toward LGBT+ Presbyterian inclusion. Bill Silver, a gay seminarian, soon began to pursue ordination as an openly gay Presbyterian. The City of New York Presbytery, flabbergasted by this unexpected turn of events, asked for "definitive guidance" determining if an "avowed homosexual" like Silver might be permitted to serve in ministry. Sadly, Silver's bid for ordination would not be successful, but his attempt sparked a wider conversation about human sexuality in the context of theology.

Also in 1974, Chris Glaser founded the organization which would eventually become the Gay/Lesbian/Straight Coalition in Yale Divinity School. He, like Silver and Sindt, became an early actvist striving toward greater inclusivity within Presbyterianism, and, like Silver, was denied ordination due to being out as a gay man. 

The organization within Presbyterianism dedicated to greater LGBT+ inclusivity was named More Light Presbyterians, as Chris Glaser was responsible for editing a quarterly magazine entitled More Light. 

Their good work has been carried on through this very day. Indeed, very recently, in 2011, Rev. Scott Anderson became the first openly gay man to be ordained under a more inclusive Presbyterian policy. His ordination was particularly poignant as, in 1995, Anderson had donated his ministerial stole - given to him after completing his first year of service as a minister - to the Shower of Stoles project. At Rev. Anderson's ordination, David Lohman, then the director of the Shower of Stoles project, returned Rev. Anderson's stole to him with these words: "Today, for the first time in the life of this collection, a stole is being returned, and in so doing, it is transformed from a symbol of loss to a symbol of hope."