Pastor Rollie Severson

This stole is presented in honor and memory of Pastor Rollie Severson and his Partner, John Paul Fetterman. Rollie died of AIDS related causes in 1989, while serving as Campus Pastor at the University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida.

Rollie spent his life as a Lutheran Pastor afraid of being “discovered.” He was a good and faithful pastor. Prior to serving in Miami, he was Campus Pastor at the University of Minnesota.

A couple of weeks after Rollie’s funeral, John Paul came to me and asked if “a Jewish boy would be allowed to worship at Hope” (where Rollie was a member and where I served as Pastor). You see, Rollie would never bring John Paul to church with him, fearing he would be suspected of being gay. Now John Paul only wanted to come to church and sit in the pew where Rollie always sat, a treat that had been impossible while Rollie was alive.

Rollie loved the Lutheran Church and served it faithfully. I pray that this stole in the “For All the Saints” stole project will say to the ELCA, and to the world, that Rollie Severson was not just a good pastor, he was a gay pastor.

This stole is a testimony to his life, his goodness, and his God-given sexual orientation. I love you and miss you, Rollie and John Paul.

Pastor Paul Kruger

Holy Trinity Lutheran Church

Originally a part of the collection of stoles housed by ReconcilingWorks: Lutherans for Full Participation, this stole was donated by them to the Shower of Stoles Project in 2015.