Chuck Collins

CHUCK COLLINS
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH (USA)
Bettendorf, Iowa

This stole was made for Chuck Collins
by his wife, Becky Miller, for his
ordination by Des Moines Presbytery
in 1979.  Chuck served First
Presbyterian Church, Sioux Falls
as Minister of Christian Education
before coming out and moving to
Rochester, New York.  After years of
teaching and working in industry,
Chuck sought and was granted
permission by South Dakota Presbytery
to seek a call, but was unsuccessful
in his search.

In 1995, Chuck submitted a purple Advent stole to the Shower of Stoles Project with the letters INRI embroidered on it in gold.  The original stole had only his name on it, with no narrative.  In March, 2005 Chuck asked us to replace the original stole with a new one.  This second stole, a green one, had special meaning for Chuck, having been made by his wife for the occasion of his ordination to the Presbyterian ministry.

After coming out and leaving the ministry, Chuck moved to Rochester, NY and joined Downtown United Presbyterian Church.  DUPC is a More Light congregation and home of That All May Freely Serve, two organizations working for the full inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons in the life and leadership of the Presbyterian Church (USA).  There he found a place of welcome and strong support, which over the years gave him the inner strength and spiritual clarity to pursue his call to ministry anew.  After much struggle, his home presbytery in South Dakota eventually granted Chuck permission to seek a call, allowing him to apply for ministerial positions.  As an openly gay man, however, he was never able to find a church that would consider him.  Chuck remains committed to his call and to the church, and I suspect that his three-decade long search will never be completely over.

Martha Juillerat
Founder, Shower of Stoles Project
2006