Dan (Roanoke Presbyterian)

Dan

Raised a Presbyterian.
When the Nominating Committee of his Kansas City church proposed him for elder, homophobic persons mounted a telephone campaign and defeated him with a floor nominee.  Dan was later ordained Deacon in another Presbyterian congregation.

This is one of twelve stoles donated by Merrill Proudfoot in honor of friends and colleagues.  Dan and Merrill both attended Roanoke Presbyterian Church in Kansas City, MO. 

Roanoke was for many years very supportive of LGBT folk and counted many among their members and leadership.  This changed rapidly when a new, conservative pastor arrived and aggressively initiated a number of actions that created an openly hostile environment for the LGBT members who were still active in the church.  This activity reached a climax when Dan was nominated to be ordained an elder.  A small group in the congregation mounted an ugly, hate-filled phone campaign to have Dan defeated and replaced by a last-minute nominee.  Although their campaign was successful, the bitter fight surrounding this action split the church.  Dan left, and all of the other LGBT members, including Merrill, soon followed. 

Roanoke was located in the heart of a young, progressive, gay-friendly neighborhood in Kansas City, and was just down the road from the Kansas City campus of the University of Kansas.  Sadly, this church, which once had a bright future, with the opportunity to be in mission to a large unchurched population, soon gained a decidedly negative reputation in the area.  The church is now closed.

Martha Juillerat
Founder, Shower of Stoles Project
2006