Solidarity Stole (St. James Lutheran Church)

In December of 1997, at our congregational meeting, St. James voted to become a Reconciling in Christ congregation. We framed that vote within the context of a broader welcoming statement that began, “St. James Lutheran Church holds ‘Welcoming’ in high esteem. The doors of our building and the hearts of our members are open to the wide variety of travelers which God might see fit to have pass our way. St. James is a welcoming congregation.”

The statement went on from there to list the varieties of people we welcome. The list includes people of color, of diverse economic backgrounds, those whose background is not specifically Lutheran, and people with varying physical disabilities.

This statement is part of the welcoming statement: “We welcome gay and lesbian members as a part of our congregation. To that end we say that gay and lesbian persons share with all others the worth that comes from being a unique individual created by God; that gay and lesbian people are welcome within the membership of this congregation upon making the same affirmation of faith that all other people make, and that as members of this congregation, gay and lesbian people are expected and encouraged to share in the sacramental and daily life of the congregation.”

Pastor Jane Ralph’s resignation from her congregation, King of Glory, hit members of St. James hard because Pastor Ralph had served this congregation as an associate minister. The council wrote a letter of protest submitted to the Central States Synod Assembly as a resolution in June of 1998.

Parishioners were invited to sign this stole in the weeks prior to the 1999 Central States Synod Assembly and it was displayed in a hospitality room there, as an unofficial part of the Assembly. We, at S. James, are proud to have the stole sent on to the Churchwide Assembly in Denver and again reaffirm our support for gay and lesbian clergy and the dignity of all homosexual persons.

Originally a part of the collection of stoles housed by ReconcilingWorks (formerly known as Lutherans Concerned), this stole was donated by them to the Shower of Stoles Project in 2015.