Mimi Goodwin

MIMI GOODWIN
ALASKA

BROKEN COVENANT STOLE

Spirit Dove sits and weeps on a weathered Baptismal font.
We put our hope in the Lord; who inclines towards us and heeds our cry.
Our God lifts us out of the miry pit.
Our God sets our feet upon a rock, steadies our legs and makes our footing sure.
Our God gives us firm places to stand and makes our steps secure.
Our God puts new songs in our mouths, songs of praise to our God. Many will see it and stand in awe, and trust in the Lord.

adapted from Psalm 40

I believe it is God's grace and wisdom that guides many followers of Christ to commonly baptize infants. For as we gaze into the eyes of a child, all of our being celebrates seeing a sacred, precious little one created in the divine image of God. It is with joy that we celebrate being in covenant with each baptized child.

The vote on Amendment B in the Southeast Alaska Presbytery was 20 in favor and 21 opposed. At this time, I was serving as an ordained Deacon with the Presbyterian Church in Alaska. I was also in a discernment process concerning ordained ministry. As with others, I had many questions. Part of this process is with which denomination to serve. Do I stay with the Presbyterian Church or do I return to the United Church of Christ in which I was raised? Alaska is currently the only state without a UCC congregation. I see denominations as vessels holding our lay and ordained ministries. Divisions in denominations around "the issue of homosexuality" are cracking and breaking the unity of being One Body. It is with celebration, joy, honor, integrity and sorrow that the United Church of Christ is again my home denomination. I am grateful for the welcome I find here as a Lesbian. I am currently in seminary.

"Broken Covenant Stole" is sewn one stitch at a time in solidarity with all people who do justice, love kindness and walk humbly (and boldly) with our God. As we gaze into the eyes of all God's peoples, may we cherish and celebrate for we are, with a sacred and precious one, created in the divine image of God. Amen.

Mimi Goodwin, Spring 1999

"Broken Covenant Stole" has traveled with the Shower of Stoles since the spring of 1999, when it was dedicated at the United Church of Christ in New Brighton, MN during our celebration of five years being Open and Affirming.

(Note: "Amendment B" refers to the measure passed by the 1996 General Assembly and a majority of presbyteries in the Presbyterian Church (USA), which made the church's ban on the ordination of "self-avowed, practicing homosexuals" a binding measure in the church's constitution.)

Mimi Goodwin's gifts and calling lie in the fields of creative worship and liturgical arts, areas in which she displays great talent. It is no surprise, then, that her stole is an extraordinary work of art. Most of the materials used to create the stole are from Alaska; the material is hand woven, and the branch in the dove's beak is made from thin braided strips of bark from a tree that is found only in the area around Mimi's home town of Sitka. It is also reflective of the pain and inner conflict Mimi faced in leaving her denomination for one that is more welcoming; silver beads form tears falling from the dove's eyes, filling the font to overflowing.

Martha Juillerat
Founder, Shower of Stoles Project
2006