Signature Stole (Wesley United Methodist Church, Minneapolis MN)

Wesley United Methodist Church
We the people of Wesley United Methodist Church of Minneapolis, MN declare in unity with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, that we oppose the language that excludes anyone in any way from God's Church or God's Calling.

Founded in 1852, the historic Wesley United Methodist Church in downtown Minneapolis was the first United Methodist congregation established west of the Mississippi River and boasted the first pipe organ in the city of Minneapolis.  In September, 1940 Wesley hosted the first state meeting of the Women's Society of Christians Service (WSCS) with 1,000 women in attendance; WSCS was a forerunner of today's United Methodist Women.  In 1986, Wesley became the first Reconciling congregation in the state of Minnesota, and is counted among the first ten churches in the nation to declare themselves part of this new movement to work for the full inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people into the life and leadership of the United Methodist Church.

This stole was given to us in advance of the 2000 General Conference of the United Methodist Church in Cleveland, OH.  (Note: A “signature stole” is one that is covered with the signatures of both gay and straight members of a congregation, denominational governing body, or other organization.  These stoles serve the dual purpose of showing support for LGBT persons, while also protecting their anonymity by including their names as "one among many".)  In 1999, the Reconciling Ministries Network (RMN) inquired about the possibility of having a display of the Shower of Stoles at the General Conference the following April.  At the time, there were only around twenty United Methodist stoles in the collection.  We decided to introduce the Shower of Stoles to the Reconciling community by bringing the twenty UM stoles and about a hundred others to RMN’s Convocation in Denton, TX over the Labor Day weekend.  Stoles started to trickle in during the fall, and by February they began coming in droves.  In all, we received 220 United Methodist stoles – the vast majority of them arriving within eight weeks of the Conference.  Thanks to a monumental effort by a number of volunteers who pitched in to help record, inventory, sew labels and make last-minute repairs, all of the new stoles were present in Cleveland.  Twenty more people brought stoles directly to Cleveland, bringing the total number on display to 240.

 Towards the end of the General Conference, twenty eight lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender United Methodists and allies stood on the Conference floor in silent protest over the Conference’s failure to overturn the ban on LGBT ordination – a profound witness and act of defiance for which they were later arrested.  As these twenty eight moved to the front of the room, another 200 supporters stood up around the balcony railing, each wearing one of the new United Methodist stoles.  Hundreds more stood in solidarity as well, in the balcony and on the plenary floor, wearing symbolic “stoles” made from colorful bands of cloth.  A group of young people from Minneapolis, members of a Communicant’s Class, had purchased bolts of cloth the preceding evening and stayed up all night cutting out close to a thousand of these “stoles”.  In less than eight months, a handful of stoles had grown to become a powerful, visible witness to the steadfast faith of LGBT United Methodists nationwide.

 

Martha Juillerat

Founder, Shower of Stoles Project

2006