23 20 2500 https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/b3b13c406d332f7980b1fe65b208a1b5.pdf b828307f0d4a95fc0c4536cea76a3779 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Text Any textual data included in the document CONGREGATION BETH SIMCHAT TORAH ATTENTION THE DAYS OF AWE ARE APPROACHING OUR TORAH MUST BE PURCHASED THE TORAH FUND NEEDS YOUR CONTRIBUTION NOW WE CAN'T DO IT WITHOUT YOU As this second mailing has been sent to the entire membership, let each of us reflect whether the commitment we have made, or are about to make, represents our truest and most noble feelings. The Torah Fund Committee of Congregation Beth Simchat Torah Services & Oneg Shabbat every Friday at 8:15 pm-57 Bethune Street, NYC-Phone 212 929-9498 Mailing address: PO Box 1270 GPO-NEW YORK, NY 10001 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Bulletin from the Torah Fund at CBST Description An account of the resource For the Torah Fund, CBST appealed…"Let each of us reflect whether the commitment we have made, or are about to make, represents out truest and most noble feelings.” Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived CBST Archives https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/5bfe63031b6a0003fed39f8386bf228c.jpg ae2a3dfc15b1557bdeb04fcf2dbdef4c Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Historical Development of BIPOC Trans-spiritual Leadership Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Text Any textual data included in the document priest reading last rites to crucified indian Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Burning an Indian https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/e542495e79db68b5bf38b72fdac28354.jpg 99ee6bdedfe6773749f8061d7de16e47 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Bursary record 12-12-1959 Description An account of the resource Financial report from Keith Wedmore giving meeting expenses and travel costs for each participant--and showing balance in bursary. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Keith Wedmore Papers https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/dfcda2c36222427ead185b221f41f03b.jpg 28d952461a2c048347ed3e4cdb1d8d20 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Button worn by CBST marchers at the 1979 March on Washington Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived CBST Archives Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource LGBT Center Archive https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/a5444dc3144bf48ffa58851c703d7fca.jpg 2356fa6fa841ce819f40cb9afcde7dac https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/2c923d4335d55e1fd89b66eeb87aca89.jpg 5a2c8cd21bf5bd336a924a54dcbdefbb https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/e3a7ad5c94b36194d53b8d038920e9f6.jpg 5ad8b976c563b63fc69bd1c4eeac7467 https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/062fa0555b54c8744473277090c1b0fe.jpg 0e7612b1961c6fb1376dde16970eb3c0 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Shower of Stoles Description An account of the resource Items (stoles) for the Shower of Stoles exhibit Stole A stole in the Shower of Stoles exhibit Honoree The person honored by the creation of thestole. Byron Bray Stole Text BYRON BRAY There is a dentiny which names men brothers. No one goes his way alone. All that we send into the lives of others, comes back into our own. --Edwin Markham Denomination Presbyterian Church (USA) Contribution Date 1996 Contribution Story This is one of about thirty stoles donated to the collection over the years by the members of Rutgers Presbyterian Church in New York in honor of their lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender members, many of whom hold leadership positions within the congregation and in the Presbytery of New York City. Established in 1798 in lower Manhattan, Rutgers has a long history of involvement in social justice and community development issues. Rutgers is a More Light congregation, working for the full inclusion of LGBT persons in the life and leadership of the Presbyterian Church. Along with More Light Presbyterians, Rutgers is a sponsor of Presbyterian Welcome (an affiliate of That All May Freely Serve) and the Covenant Network in their common pursuit for the end of discrimination against LGBT persons in the Presbyterian Church. Martha Juillerat Founder, Shower of Stoles Project 2006 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 275 Title A name given to the resource Byron Bray Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant New York, New York (USA) Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Rutgers Presbyterian Church Bray, Byron Covenant Network of Presbyterians More Light Presbyterians for LGBT Concerns New York New York City Ordination Presbyterian Presbyterian Church (USA) That All May Freely Serve (TAMFS) https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/f6cdd80aa7c834fc126c034fbe5cc5ca.png 796c109eb4c142ff2859afdc1b94f4d8 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource California Hall (now the California Culinary Academy), Site of the New Year’s Day Ball 1965 Description An account of the resource Photo by Mark Bowman, January, 2005 https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/5b19e94202eef91dfbdfc619774f8881.jpg 151dc643ba43af28777a301cf82acdf4 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Historical Development of BIPOC Trans-spiritual Leadership YouTube Video A video hosted on YouTube. YouTube ID Eleven-character ID assigned by YouTube Sh4Pv10lFyc Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Call Me Malcolm (United Church of Christ documentary). Description An account of the resource A young white trans man enters the seminary and talks to a variety of people in his life about what it means to be trans. He also speaks to the mother of a local trans woman who was murdered. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sh4Pv10lFyc https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/e2818db469389114de6789abfbfecc14.pdf dc2c52bc6d4a3947ad6294cf60c799c5 https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/1b42ecba1a6bbb12883c16ad6630034d.pdf f23871dd4205f9dc7c94a69be4e28876 https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/3804e53f2ed253916af65a6128ec9a3b.pdf 5ab4abf83315f2e15c92c2db2c660b4c https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/1a9adf43669ed2a7e4919100e799de88.pdf 80b111b6d55373a20fbb5904e1ec9b77 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document CAMBRIDGE YOUNG FRIENDS (Quakers) 1955-56 Lent Term 1955 January 18-25 is the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Friday, Jan 20: Professor Reade and Father Gibbard S.S.J.E. Talk on Christian Unity, Mill Lane Lecture Room, 8.30 p.m. Saturday, Jan 21: Meeting for Worship at 7.30 am, followed by breakfast. Sunday, Jan 22: Herbert G. Wood, "Christian and other World Religion", 2.00 pm. Monday, Jan 30: Public Meeting, "Black and White?" with Lord Hemingford and Ranjit Chetsingh: Exam. Schools, 8.30 pm. Sunday, Feb 1: Richard Ullmann: "Quaker Ideals and the Reality of World Affairs", 2.00 pm. Friday, Feb 10: F.O.R. meeting, Henry Martyn Hall, 8.15 pm. Janet Rees: "Friends' Visit to China". Sunday, Feb 12: Janet Rees: Informal Talk: followed by a Concert and tea: Collection for Stepney F.S.U. Childrens' Camps. February 19-26 is the S.C.M. "Vocation Abroad" Week. Visiting Friends include Robert Lander, Reginald Reynolds and William Sewell. Sunday, Feb 19: Ingle Wright: "Friends Service Unit in Korea", 2.00 pm. Sunday, Feb 26: Howard Diamond: "Vocation Overseas", 2.00 pm. March 3-4: Regional Conference, with Eric Savage. Saturday: "The Christian Faith in the Society of Friends: Apprehensions and Aberrations", 2.00 pm. Sunday: "Convictions, Creeds and Confessions", 2.00 pm. Sunday, March 11: General Meeting, 2.00 pm. MEETINGS FOR WORSHIP On Sundays at 11 am there is a Meeting for Worship in the Friends' Meeting House at 12 Jesus Lane, after which in Full Term there is a Young Friends' lunch. On Wednesdays at 1.30 pm, there is a midweek Meeting for Worship, in the Library, which last about half an hour. On Saturday evenings at 8.15 pm, four studies will be held on "Christian Doctrine Today: The Quaker Approach". Jan 21: H.G. Wood: "Christ's Mysticism and its Doctrinal Implications". Feb 4: Anna Bidder and Lucy Todd: "The Person of Christ". Feb. 25: Damaris Parker-Rhodes and a Young Friend:" Christ and Redemption". March 10: Howard Diamond and a Young Friend: "The Church and the Kingdom of God". All are welcome to every Young Friends' activity, including lunch, which is inexpensive. All meetings are held in the Friends' Meeting House. COMMITTEE Clerk: Michael Pittard, Caius Assistant Clerk: Basel Mogridge, Trinity Hall Treasurer: Paul Diamond Wendy Adars, Homerton Allan Brown, Emmanuel Richard Brown, St. John's Anne Palmer, Newnham Richard Wood, St. John's The Basis of Quaker Life and Practice is a conviction that there is something of God's spirit in us all; that every soul can have direct communion with Him. When Friends meet together for worship, they do not rely on priests, clergy or leaders. The meeting begins in living silence where we put aside the noise and confusion of everyday life, and can hear God's voice. Then we may be led through the silence, spoken prayer, ministry or Bible reading into real communion with God and with one another. Therefore Friends do not feel the necessity for the traditional sacraments. When we seek God consistently, we can with His help, at all times and in any place, find Him int he succession of ordinary events. This attitude can only be founded on the life and teaching of Jesus Christ. It involves an attempt to accept and obey the commandments to love God and one another. It compels us to refuse participation in war. It recognises evil, but counters it with that active love and service which outlasts and transforms it. This way of life may involve sacrifice and suffering. Our numbers are not large; approximately 180,000 in the world. In Great Britain there are about 21,000 Friends in some 400 Meetings. We welcome everyone to our meetings for Worship. Membership is open to those who find themselves at home in our worship and share our outlook. CAMBRIDGE YOUNG FRIENDS 1956-7 EASTER TERM 1956 Sunday, April 22: General Meeting 1.45 pm. Sunday, May 6: Visit of Oxford Young Friends, Talk by Charles Deakins, 2.00 pm. "The Vine and the Branches." Thursday, May 10: Ascension Day Free Church Intercommunion, 7.15 am, in Wesley Church, Christ's Pieces. Sunday, May 27: General Meeting, 1.45 pm. Saturday, June 2: Visit to Long Melford, Lavenham and Bury St. Edmunds. Sunday, June 3: Punt Party with London Young Friends, weather permitting. MEETINGS FOR WORSHIP On Sundays at 11 am there is a Meeting for Worship in the Friends' Meeting House at 12 Jesus Lane, after which in Full Term there is a Young Friends' lunch. On Wednesdays at 1.30 pm, there is a midweek Meeting for Worship, in the Library, which last about half an hour. All are welcome to every Young Friends' activity, including lunch, which is inexpensive. All meetings are held in the Friends' Meeting House. COMMITTEE Clerk: David Blamires, Christ's Assistant Clerk: Dora Pease, Newnham Treasurer: Paul Diamond Jane Barron Allan Brown, Emmanuel David Harper, Christ's Robert Johnson, St. John's Janet Southern, Girton Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Cambridge YF Cards 1955-57 Description An account of the resource Various societies at Cambridge published cards that listed their programme for each term. These cards are for the Cambridge Young Friends for the Lent Term 1955 and Easter Term 1956. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Personal papers of Colin & Janet Galbraith, Jesus Lane Meeting, Cambridge https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/5486f94455253185a4ed3f31fee9ba89.jpg fd06c61318c0987ea1da2c776cfa38aa Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Cambridge Young Friends 1956 Description An account of the resource Photo of some Cambridge Young Friends gathered in Anna Bidder's home, 1956. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Personal papers of Colin & Janet Galbraith, Jesus Lane Meeting, Cambridge https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/c415354d84660d0f48320703b1dc703b.jpg ed7454b205b8e05b40d3cd8ff83365da Person An individual. Text Any textual data included in the document Candy (Lorilyn) Holmes was born in 1956 in Washington D.C. into a family from Southern roots. Her grandparents had migrated to D.C. in the 1930s for economic opportunities. This was a second marriage for her parents—her mother was divorced and her father was a widower. Candy and her brother had three older brothers and a sister from the previous marriages. The family home (Salem) church was of Baptist background. While her parents were of a religious temperament, their lower-middle class status meant they spent most of their time working and raising the family. So they saw that Candy and her brother received religious instruction regularly. Named Lorilyn at birth, she was given the nickname Candy by her brothers because of her sweet temperament and appearance. During Candy’s formative years her uncle received a call to ministry and started a new congregation, New Image Baptist Church in southeast Washington, DC.. Candy’s parents and other relatives all became active in this congregation. Candy was the first child baptized there, when she was eight years old. Candy grew up in that church—ushering, singing in the choir, teaching other children. Her parents were prominent leaders in the congregation, so Candy was viewed as a Deacon’s kid. Seeing dysfunctions that happened behind the scenes in church led Candy to become disenchanted with the church life. Her interest in church was waning by the time she was in high school. Candy was active in athletics in school and competed in track and field and basketball. She was also musically gifted and sang in a number of different choirs and ensembles, ranging from classical to Gospel. She sang with the prestigious, citywide D.C. Youth Chorale, which traveled nationally and internationally. She joined the gospel choir at McKinley Technical High School because she was initially interested in the young man who played the piano. This choir sang in different churches in the metro area, giving Candy the opportunity to observe different religious expressions. The piano player was Seventh Day Apostolic and she enjoyed visiting his church. Candy’s parents supported her musical activities, making personal sacrifices so that she could have piano lessons, dance lessons and other training. They enrolled her in the Art Linkletter School of the Arts who provided training for young women in social graces and skills and the arts. Candy was aware that she had an affinity for women since she was 11 (junior high school) but didn’t know exactly what that meant. In the turbulent 1970s, her musical activities provided Candy with a diversity of experiences that cut across racial and religious boundaries. Her parents grew increasingly concerned about her interest in other religious experiences. They sat her down to insist that her religious practice would continue in the family Baptist church as long as she lived i. Their home. Candy realized she was a spiritual seeker so she had to secretly explore other religious experiences. A turning point Candy remembers vividly during a high school choir engagement at Antioch Baptist Church in D.C., she recalls being enveloped and embraced physically by the presence of the Holy Spirit during an altar call and prayers. She literally felt on fire. It was the most intense feeling of love she had ever experienced. She then felt a tap on the shoulder—her father had arrived to take her home. Though disappointed to have that experience eclipsed, she found that she was able to relive this experience through prayer -- the presence of the Spirit would return to her hands and the crown of her head. This experience led her to study more about the gifts of the Spirit. She began to realize that this was a gift of healing that God was bestowing upon her. She could not talk to her parents about this. As she was completing high school Candy started thinking of becoming a doctor, to use her gifts of healing. She received an academic scholarship to study at Wheaton College in Norton, Mass., about 40 miles from Boston. Enrolling in all-women’s school that was predominately White was a huge culture shock from life in D.C. where she interacted mostly with Black persons. The school had 1,200 students of whom around 40 were persons of color. She quickly tried to identify other students with whom she could connect. Though painfully shy,Candy made friends with a group of 6-7 Black women who participated in a new church in Boston. In addition to the culture shock, Candy’s counselor had encouraged her to enroll in upper-level classes because of outstanding academic work in high school. This meant that her first two years there were very difficult academically. In the midst of this personal tumult, the church in Boston, Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ of the Apostolic faith, became a comfortable and safe place. As Candy immersed herself in that faith community she discovered there were many rules and limitations for living, largely related to wardrobe and social interactions. She didn’t have money to buy new clothes, so borrowed clothes from friends. She also had to be rebaptized in the Apostolic tradition - in the name of Jesus. She was expected to “tarry” for the Holy Ghost, to weekly pray with others to invite the presence of the Holy Spirit. This took the form of chanting, calling on Jesus’ name again and again. The expectation was evidence of the indwelling Spirit would eventually be demonstrated with speaking in tongues. It took months for Candy to receive the Holy Ghost and this glossalalia experience. The Apostolic tradition was more orthodox and stricter than other black Pentecostal traditions, particularly related to gender roles. Im the Apostolic tradotion, women could not preach or teach. Women sat behind the men in church. Women were to marry and have children. The man was head of the household. Women were expected to date only men for short stints. Premarital sex, dancing, worldly music, playing cards, make up, jewelry, and movies were all off- limits so this severely limited the life opportunities for college students like Candy. Back in Washington, D.C. Candy’s mother was becoming quite ill with diabetes. She could no longer work outside the home, which put pressure on the family finances. Candy asked her parents if she should come home to help out. While they didn’t ask her to come, she felt it was her duty as the oldest daughter. So Candy left college after her second year and went back to D.C. to help out with the family. She got a job in the federal government and resumed college. She became active in an Apostolic Church in D.C - Newborn Church of God and True Holiness which was even more strict that the church in Boston. In addition to the dogma of the previous church tradition, this church's dogma expected members to keep a distance from family members who were not also “saved.” This led to strains in the family. Candy, always a passionate person, became a zealot in the faith, making life with her family even more challenging. She continually admonished other family members to “get saved” and to join her in the Apostolic church. Her family remained in the Baptist church. Through these years Candy seriously dated and was engaged to a number of men from the Apostolic tradition. She also had a strong affection for a woman in the Boston and DC church. This emotional attachment to a woman seemed “natural” for her and was not new. In D.C. a woman in the church who was a few years older became Candy’s friend and mentor. That emotional attachment deepened over time. Even though Candy had become indoctrinated in the Apostolic tradition, there remained an underlying conflict between the affirmations of her gifts and the values Candy received from her mother and the strict practice of the church to put women in subservient roles. So Candy started asking questions about that. Candy sang with the choir in the D.C. church and as her gifts emerged she became the choir director. The choir grew under her leadership. She found that singing melded her musical gifts with her spiritual gifts. It was when she was singing that she experienced the Holy Spirit coming down upon the congregation and bringing healing. It was also during this time that Candy started hearing preaching condemning homosexuality. She never imagined that it might apply to her, but thought it might be directed toward the piano player who was married, but had effeminate mannerisms. As her affinity with her friend and mentor grew even stronger, Candy was called into a meeting with all the church women from the church who “undressed” her to try to pressure and ostracize her. She was told that she was possessed with the devil, evil spirits, and needed exorcism. She was pressured to get married in order to overcome her unnatural inclinations. Candy was mystified and hurt by this talk. She couldn’t figure out what was “unnatural” about what who she was and how she was she…this was the way she had always been. She could not understand why the other church women were turning on her and tried to continue as best she coulid. But it was hard. The level of tension only increased. A national convocation of churches and choirs was happening in New York City. Candy had prepared her choir to sing there and travelled there. After arriving a group of church and choir leaders, some of whom were driends, intercepted her as she approached the venue to tell her that she was “unfaithful” and would not be directing the choir. Candy tried appealing to the bishop, but to no avail. Candy cried her heart out in the bathroom, and then went into the sanctuary and sat in the audience. The choir was not aware what was happening. Ironically, the woman who was Candy’s friend and mentor and with whom she had an affinity stood in as choir director in her place. She had bowed down to the pressure and expectations. Candy entered a very difficult period of her life. As she tried to discern what was happening with her sexuality, she began to push religion and spirituality out of her life. She got to know a lesbian who was from the Apostolic tradition. However Candy had been so totally immersed in the tradition that she could not divest herself of the understanding that as a lesbian she would go to hell. How could God allow this to happen to her? She ended up being estranged from church and God for seven years. During this time she tried going to interfaith places where she would not find God’s judgement. She had to hit bottom in order to rebuild her heart, her life and her spirit. As she came to terms that she was a lesbian, she could not integrate spirituality with that. In the late 1980s, Candy was part of a Black Lesbian Support Group in DC. Another woman there ( who would later become her best friend), learned of Candy’s musical background and invited her to come to her church which was seeking gospel choir members. It took Candy quite a while to get up the nerve to go. The congregation met in a house. For her first visit, she noted it was crowded with predominately white men, a few women and persons of color. However, Pastor Larry Uhrig’s sermon touched her heart deeply. Service after service, she was watched with amazement the deeply spiritual intimacy of Communion. She continued attending periodically and cried through the whole service each time. This Metropolitan Community Church of DC congregation slowly wooed her back into a life of faith and brought healing to her life. It was a while longer before she was able to bring her gifts of music. When the need emerged for a gospel choir director. And there she was again, agreeing to help out. Slowly, Candy began to learn that her spirituality and sexuality were intertwined and were indeed gifts of God. Candy proceeded to rebuild her life bit by bit. She entered her first real and somewhat out Lesbian relationship. She could not tell her family about her relationship and did not take her partner to the family home. Candy’s mother was becoming increasingly ill and asked questions trying to understand what was happening in Candy’s life—even encouraging her to “live her life.” Candy was still too scared to come out. Her mother died during the period when this first relationship broke up—her heart was broken in two ways. Candy’s father was in fairly good health, but getting older and still needed care, so she became his caretaker. Throughout this time Candy was thriving professionally in her work in the federal government, at the Government Accounting Offfice (GAO). She moved up in the management ranks. But she did not come out at work. Always careful to not talk about her personal life at work. The gospel choir at MCC-DC grew tremendously under Candy’s leadership. The choir was invited to sing at major public engagements: Human Rights Campaign Fund dinner, Washtington Vathedral, National March on Washington, as backup to national performers. Candy was finding healing through music and, in turn, discerned that she had gifts for healing ministry. As she pondered how to respond to this call to ministry, she decided to pursue vocational training in an interfaith setting—at The New Seminary for Interfaith Studies in New York. She became certified and ordained as an Interfaith Minister there in 2001. As her ministry developed and expanded she was ordained in MCC in 2008. She also received her M.Div. degree from Episcopal Divinity School, Cambridge, Massachussetts, in 2011. Even with her growing ministry in MCC, Candy kept that separated from her professional life. Then Proposition 8 which eliminated the right of same-sex couples to marry passed in California in 2008. While Candy had never planned to get married because she thought she couldn't, this campaign pierced her heart. Not long thereafter it was Diversity Month at the GAO and the LGBTQI employees group decided to post pictures of their families in a photo display in the lobby to showcase our families. Candy talked with her partner, Rev Elder Darlene Garner, who agreed to have their photo displayed. When Candy first walked by the assembled display she saw their picture had been enlarged on a large scale and placed in the center of the display, surrounded by smaller pictures of white families. Candy felt a sense of pride for this witness. Almost immediately thereafter. she received a call at her office desk for “Rev. Holmes.” Wondering who would address her this way at work, she learned the call was from the White House. Where she was being invited to stand with President Obama as he signed the Presidential Memorandum granting federal benefits to same-sex domestic partners of federal employees in 2009. Because of policies restricting employees of other federal departments from visiting the White House, she had to go through numerous procedures to get permission to do this. At the signing ceremony, the President took the time for conversations with each person present. Upon her turn Candy thanked the President for all he had done to support LGBTQ people and surprised herself by adding that there was more for him to do. She held his hand, looked sqarely in his eyes and asked for his help. He said he would and encouraged her to go back to her community and ask them to make him do support the LGBTQI community. And that is what Candy did. Candy had unexpectedly and perhaps reluctantly, moved into the role of public advocate. Gollowing on there would be ongoing requests. She was asked to give testimony on behalf of the Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act to the House of Representatives Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, Postal Service and District of Columbia in July 2009. She became a spokesperson on behalf of marriage equality with the Human Rights Campaign. When the Civil Marriage Protection Act came before the Maryland state legislation in 2012 she testified in both the state Senate and House of Representatives. This legislative was defeated at the polls the first time. Candy and others noted that the campaign had not drawn upon faith leaders more openly and more broadly. When the proposed law was brought forward a second time, the campaign did put more faith leaders, allies and persons of color into the public spotlight—and it passed. Candy and her wife Rev Darlene were also part of the justice work for marriage equality in Washington DC. And were one of the first five couples and the first black clergy, same-gender couple to be married in Washington DC. (This biographical statement written by Mark Bowman from an interview with Candy Holmes and edited by Candy.) Biographical Text Candy (Lorilyn) Holmes was born in 1956 in Washington D.C. into a family from Southern roots. Her grandparents had migrated to D.C. in the 1930s for economic opportunities.  This was a second marriage for her parents—her mother was divorced and her father was a widower.  Candy and her brother had three older brothers and a sister from the previous marriages.  The family home (Salem) church was of Baptist background.  While her parents were of a religious temperament, their lower-middle class status meant they spent most of their time working and raising the family.  So they saw that Candy and her brother received religious instruction regularly. Named Lorilyn at birth, she was given the nickname Candy by her brothers because of her sweet temperament and appearance.        During Candy’s formative years her uncle received a call to ministry and started a new congregation, New Image Baptist Church in southeast Washington, DC..  Candy’s parents and other relatives all became active in this congregation.  Candy was the first child baptized there, when she was eight years old. Candy grew up in that church—ushering, singing in the choir, teaching other children.  Her parents were prominent leaders in the congregation, so Candy was viewed as a Deacon’s kid.  Seeing dysfunctions that happened behind the scenes in church led Candy to become disenchanted with the church life.  Her interest in church was waning by the time she was in high school.    Candy was active in athletics in school and competed in track and field and basketball.  She was also musically gifted and sang in a number of different choirs and ensembles, ranging from classical to Gospel.  She sang with the prestigious, citywide D.C. Youth Chorale, which traveled nationally and internationally.  She joined the gospel choir at McKinley Technical High School because she was initially interested in the young man who played the piano. This choir sang in different churches in the metro area, giving Candy the opportunity to observe different religious expressions.  The piano player was Seventh Day Apostolic and she enjoyed visiting his church.   Candy’s parents supported her musical activities, making personal sacrifices so that she could have piano lessons, dance lessons and other training. They enrolled her in the Art Linkletter School of the Arts who provided training for young women in social graces and skills and the arts.  Candy was aware that she had an affinity for women since she was 11 (junior high school) but didn’t know exactly what that meant.  In the turbulent 1970s, her musical activities provided Candy with a diversity of experiences that cut across racial and religious boundaries.  Her parents grew increasingly concerned about her interest in other religious experiences.  They sat her down to insist that her religious practice would continue in the family Baptist church as long as she lived in their home.  Candy realized she was a spiritual seeker so she had to secretly explore other religious experiences.  A turning point Candy remembers vividly during a high school choir engagement at Antioch Baptist Church in D.C., she recalls being enveloped and embraced physically by the presence of the Holy Spirit during an altar call and prayers.  She literally felt on fire.  It was the most intense feeling of love she had ever experienced.  She then felt a tap on the shoulder—her father had arrived to take her home.  Though disappointed to have that experience eclipsed, she found that she was able to relive this experience through prayer -- the presence of the Spirit would return to her hands and the crown of her head.  This experience led her to study more about the gifts of the Spirit.  She began to realize that this was a gift of healing that God was bestowing upon her.  She could not talk to her parents about this.  As she was completing high school Candy started thinking of becoming a doctor, to use her gifts of healing.  She received an academic scholarship to study at Wheaton College in Norton, Mass., about 40 miles from Boston.  Enrolling in all-women’s school that was predominately White was a huge culture shock from life in D.C. where she interacted mostly with Black persons.  The school had 1,200 students of whom around 40 were persons of color.  She quickly tried to identify other students with whom she could connect.  Though painfully shy,Candy made friends with a group of 6-7 Black women who participated in a new church in Boston.  In addition to the culture shock, Candy’s counselor had encouraged her to enroll in upper-level classes because of outstanding academic work in high school.  This meant that her first two years there were very difficult academically.  In the midst of this personal tumult, the church in Boston, Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ of the Apostolic faith, became a comfortable and safe place.  As Candy immersed herself in that faith community she discovered there were many rules and limitations for living, largely related to wardrobe and social interactions. She didn’t have money to buy new clothes, so borrowed clothes from friends.  She also had to be rebaptized in the Apostolic tradition - in the name of Jesus. She was expected to “tarry” for the Holy Ghost, to weekly pray with others to invite the presence of the Holy Spirit.  This took the form of chanting, calling on Jesus’ name again and again.  The expectation was evidence of the indwelling Spirit would eventually be demonstrated with speaking in tongues.  It took months for Candy to get recieve tje Holu Ghost and this glossalalia experience. The Apostolic tradition was more orthodox and stricter than other black Pentecostal traditions, particularly related to gender roles.  Im the Apostolic tradotion, women could not preach or teach. Women sat behind the men in church.   Women were to marry and have children.  The man was head of the household.   Women were expected to date only men for short stints.  Premarital sex, dancing, worldly music, playing cards, make up, jewelry, and movies were all off- limits so this severely limited the life opportunities for college students like Candy.    Back in Washington, D.C. Candy’s mother was becoming quite ill with diabetes.  She could no longer work outside the home, which put pressure on the family finances.  Candy asked her parents if she should come home to help out.  While they didn’t ask her to come, she felt it was her duty as the oldest daughter.  So Candy left college after her second year and went back to D.C. to help out with the family.  She got a job in the federal government and resumed college. She became active in an Apostolic Church in D.C - Newborn Church of God and True Holiness which was even more strict that the church in Boston.  In addition to the dogma of the previous church tradition, this church's dogma expected members to keep a distance from family members who were not also “saved.”  This led to strains in the family.   Candy, always a passionate person, became a zealot in the faith, making life with her family even more challenging.  She continually admonished other family members to “get saved” and to join her in the Apostolic church. Her family remained in the Baptist church. Through these years Candy seriously dated and was engaged to a number of men from the Apostolic tradition.  She also had a strong affection for a woman in the Boston and DC church.  This emotional attachment to a woman seemed “natural” for her and was not new.  In D.C. a woman in the church who was a few years older became Candy’s  friend and mentor. That emotional attachment deepened over time. Even though Candy had become indoctrinated in the Apostolic tradition, there remained an underlying conflict between the affirmations of her gifts and the values Candy received from her mother and the strict practice of the church to put women in subservient roles.  So Candy started asking questions about that.      Candy sang with the choir in the D.C. church and as her gifts emerged she became the choir director. The choir grew under her leadership.  She found that singing melded her musical gifts with her spiritual gifts.  It was when she was singing that she experienced the Holy Spirit coming down upon the congregation and bringing healing.   It was also during this time that Candy started hearing preaching condemning homosexuality.  She never imagined that it might apply to her, but thought it might be directed toward the piano player who was married, but had effeminate mannerisms.  As her affinity with her friend and mentor grew even stronger, Candy was called into a  meeting with all the church women from the church who “undressed” her to try to pressure and ostracize her.  She was told that she was possessed with the devil, evil spirits, and needed exorcism.  She was pressured to get married in order to overcome her unnatural inclinations.      Candy was mystified and hurt by this talk.  She couldn’t figure out what was “unnatural” about what who she was and how she was she…this was the way she had always been.  She could not understand why the other church women were turning on her and tried to continue as best she coulid. But it was hard.  The level of tension only increased.  A national convocation of churches and choirs was happening in New York City.  Candy had prepared her choir to sing there and travelled there.  After arriving a group of church and choir leaders, some of whom were driends, intercepted her as she approached the venue to tell her that she was “unfaithful” and would not be directing the choir.  Candy tried appealing to the bishop, but to no avail.  Candy cried her heart out in the bathroom, and then went into the sanctuary and sat in the audience. The choir was not aware what was happening.  Ironically, the woman who was Candy’s friend and mentor and with whom she had an affinity stood in as choir director in her place.  She had bowed down to the pressure and expectations. Candy entered a very difficult period of her life.  As she tried to discern what was happening with her sexuality, she began to push religion and spirituality out of her life.  She got to know a lesbian who was from the Apostolic tradition. However Candy had been so totally immersed in the tradition that she could not divest herself of the understanding that as a lesbian she would go to hell.  How could God allow this to happen to her?  She ended up being estranged from church and God  for seven years.  During this time she tried going to interfaith places where she would not find God’s judgement.  She had to hit bottom in order to rebuild her heart, her life and her spirit.   As she came to terms that she was a lesbian, she could not integrate spirituality with that. In the late 1980s, Candy was part of a Black Lesbian Support Group in DC.  Another woman there ( who would later become her best friend), learned of Candy’s musical background and invited her to come to her church which was seeking gospel choir members.  It took Candy quite a while to get up the nerve to go.  The congregation met in a house.  For her first visit, she noted it was crowded with predominately white men, a few women and persons of color.  However, Pastor Larry Uhrig’s sermon touched her heart deeply. Service after service, she was watched with amazement the deeply spiritual intimacy of Communion. She continued attending periodically and cried through the whole service each time.  This Metropolitan Community Church of DC congregation slowly wooed her back into a life of faith and brought healing to her life.  It was a while longer before she was able to bring her gifts of music.  When the need emerged for a gospel choir director. And there she was again, agreeing to help out.  Slowly, Candy began to learn that her spirituality and sexuality were intertwined and were indeed gifts of God.   Candy proceeded to rebuild her life bit by bit.  She entered her first real and somewhat out Lesbian relationship.  She could not tell her family about her relationship and did not take her partner to the family home.  Candy’s mother was becoming increasingly ill and asked questions trying to understand what was happening in Candy’s life—even encouraging her to “live her life.”  Candy was still too scared to come out.  Her mother died during the period when this first relationship broke up—her heart was broken in two ways.  Candy’s father was in fairly good health, but getting older and still needed care, so she became his caretaker.  Throughout this time Candy was thriving professionally in her work in the federal government, at the Government Accounting Offfice (GAO).  She moved up in the management ranks.   But she did not come out at work.   Always careful to not talk about her personal life at work. The gospel choir at MCC-DC grew tremendously under Candy’s leadership.  The choir was invited to sing at major public engagements: Human Rights Campaign Fund dinner, Washtington Vathedral, National March on Washington, as backup to national performers.  Candy was finding healing through music and, in turn, discerned that she had gifts for healing ministry.  As she pondered how to respond to this call to ministry, she decided to pursue vocational training in an interfaith setting—at The New Seminary for Interfaith Studies in New York. She became certified and ordained as an Interfaith Minister there in 2001.  As her ministry developed and expanded she was ordained in MCC in 2008.  She also received her  M.Div. degree from Episcopal Divinity School, Cambridge, Massachissetts, in 2011.   Even with her growing ministry in MCC, Candy kept that separated from her professional life.  Then Proposition 8 which eliminated the right of same-sex couples to marry passed in California in 2008.  While Candy had never planned to get married because she thought she couldn't, this campaign pierced her heart.  Not long thereafter it was Diversity Month at the GAO and the LGBTQI employees group decided to post pictures of their families in a photo display in the lobby to showcase our families. Candy talked with her partner, Rev Elder Darlene Garner, who agreed to have their photo displayed.  When Candy first walked by the assembled display she saw their picture had been enlarged on a large scale and placed in the center of the display, surrounded by smaller pictures of white families.  Candy felt a sense of pride for this witness.  Almost immediately thereafter. she received a call at her office desk for “Rev. Holmes.”  Wondering who would address her this way at work, she learned the call was from the White House.  Where she was being invited to stand with President Obama as he signed the Presidential Memorandum granting federal benefits to same-sex domestic partners of federal employees in 2009.  Because of policies restricting employees of other federal departments from visiting the White House, she had to go through numerous procedures to get permission to do this.  At the signing ceremony, the President took the time for conversations with each person present.  Upon her turn Candy thanked the President for all he had done to support LGBTQ people and surprised herself by adding that there was more for him to do. She held his hand, looked sqarely in his eyes and asked for his help. He said he would and encouraged her to go back to her community and ask them to make him do support the LGBTQI community. And that is what Candy did.    Candy had unexpectedly and perhaps reluctantly, moved into the role of public advocate.  Gollowing on there would be ongoing requests. She was asked to give testimony on behalf of the Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act to the House of Representatives Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, Postal Service and District of Columbia in July 2009.  She became a spokesperson on behalf of marriage equality with the Human Rights Campaign.  When the Civil Marriage Protection Act came before the Maryland state legislation in 2012 she testified in both the state Senate and House of Representatives.  This legislative was defeated at the polls the first time.  Candy and others noted that the campaign had not drawn upon faith leaders more openly and more broadly.  When the proposed law was brought forward a second  time, the campaign did put more faith leaders, allies and persons of color into the public spotlight—and it passed.   Candy and her wife <a href="http://exhibits.lgbtran.org/exhibits/show/rolling-the-stone-away/item/1412">Rev Darlene</a> were also part of the justice work for marriage equality in Washington DC. And were one of the first five couples and the first black clergy, same-gender couple to be married in Washington DC. (This biographical statement written by Mark Bowman from an interview with Candy Holmes and edited by Candy.) Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Candy Holmes Apostolic Baptist Candy Holmes MCC Metropolitan Community Church Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Historical Development of BIPOC Trans-spiritual Leadership YouTube Video A video hosted on YouTube. YouTube ID Eleven-character ID assigned by YouTube Iw-ud3odriM Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Capturing Hate: Analyzing Videos of Violence Against Transgender People in the U.S. Subject The topic of the resource Just how frequent and varied in the growing intensity of anti-trans violence? Description An account of the resource A 2017 survey of the forms of violence being displayed on social media that consuming users regard as entertainment. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iw-ud3odriM Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Witness https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/367010061f645f4a832ff5f688438014.jpg 5e99d0f624bc4515fe85c1e40c23ef4b Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Historical Development of BIPOC Trans-spiritual Leadership YouTube Video A video hosted on YouTube. YouTube ID Eleven-character ID assigned by YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iw-ud3odriM Embed Code The html embed codes for this object. Iw-ud3odriM Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iw-ud3odriM https://library.witness.org/product/capturing-hate-report/ Title A name given to the resource Capturing Hate: Eyewitness videos provide new data on prevalence of transphobic violence Description An account of the resource A report showing advocacy groups and the media how to effectively and ethically use eyewitness videos to document and report on violence affecting the LGBTQ community. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Witness Media Lab medialab@witness.org Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Brooklyn, New York Ethics Gender-Based Violence Informed Consent Storytelling transgender https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/3d456749a810b90899fba37de17145fe.jpg 8b7b791a9517f1ea63ee6a8c69b64010 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Carl Bennett carrying the Torah on Hoshanah Rabbah, 1975 https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/4218f00ef5bd34abf9d5c3bf7a501e9d.jpg c4772f11101ce1b0151d2e13f37e3303 https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/cf368ed91b02b604018f6ba47c3f98e5.jpg ef129e4950379f23df89bb795cdec353 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Shower of Stoles Description An account of the resource Items (stoles) for the Shower of Stoles exhibit Stole A stole in the Shower of Stoles exhibit Honoree The person honored by the creation of thestole. Carl Bisson Stole Text CARL BISSON JESUS DIED FOR ME TOO Denomination Presbyterian Church (USA) Contribution Date 1996 Contribution Story This is one of about thirty stoles donated to the collection over the years by the members of Rutgers Presbyterian Church in New York in honor of their lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender members, many of whom hold leadership positions within the congregation and in the Presbytery of New York City. Established in 1798 in lower Manhattan, Rutgers has a long history of involvement in social justice and community development issues. Rutgers is a More Light congregation, working for the full inclusion of LGBT persons in the life and leadership of the Presbyterian Church. Along with More Light Presbyterians, Rutgers is a sponsor of Presbyterian Welcome (an affiliate of That All May Freely Serve) and the Covenant Network in their common pursuit for the end of discrimination against LGBT persons in the Presbyterian Church. Martha Juillerat Founder, Shower of Stoles Project 2006 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 270 Title A name given to the resource Carl Bisson Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant New York, New York (USA) Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Rutgers Presbyterian Church Bisson, Carl Covenant Network of Presbyterians More Light Presbyterians for LGBT Concerns New York New York City Ordination Presbyterian Presbyterian Church (USA) That All May Freely Serve (TAMFS) Theology https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/607725d76b10bd7d1497d60daab39bc6.jpg d9d9b7b58ada5ab0ace88a6c11fb57ed Person An individual. Text Any textual data included in the document carl@rollingthestoneaway.org A web developer by day and a musician by night, Carl Foote has been with LGBT-RAN since the beginning. Biographical Text <a href="mailto:carl@rollingthestoneaway.org">carl@rollingthestoneaway.org</a> A web developer by day and a musician by night, Carl Foote has been with LGBT-RAN since the beginning. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Carl Foote Carl Foote RTSA Conference Staff https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/8e94b9f578a6b35ce36ec0832f656d25.jpg d23a3ec26adaed59531d1ab57f32e0aa https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/13ec7846a494a5dcc03c986610e1b3b3.jpg 78c5582ed344cd6fc10c37e0406c2db6 https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/bf8d3515b1e3412338816e7a09f720a3.jpg 7daf032d6d7bee787de96f11047d8e23 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Shower of Stoles Description An account of the resource Items (stoles) for the Shower of Stoles exhibit Stole A stole in the Shower of Stoles exhibit Honoree The person honored by the creation of thestole. Carl Rosenblum Stole Text The Rev. Carl Rosenblum New York City Denomination Presbyterian Church (USA) Contribution Date 1995 Contribution Story Given to us in the fall of 1995; we have no other information about Rev. Rosenblum. Martha Juillerat Founder, Shower of Stoles Project 2006 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 83 Title A name given to the resource Carl Rosenblum Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant New York, New York (USA) Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Carl Rosenblum New York New York City Presbyterian Presbyterian Church (USA) Rosenblum, Carl Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Shower of Stoles Description An account of the resource Items (stoles) for the Shower of Stoles exhibit Stole A stole in the Shower of Stoles exhibit Honoree The person honored by the creation of thestole. Carla Pridgen Stole Text Carla Pridgen Minister Cherokee Presbytery Denomination Presbyterian Church (USA) Contribution Story First Transgender Stole Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 362 Title A name given to the resource Carla Pridgen Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Anonymous Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Unknown Presbyterian Presbyterian Church (USA) Pridgen, Carla Transgender activism United States Women and Religion https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/53a3a1971fa964c42ab8d74d4f4217f3.jpg e02010fd6f0d3d35124221006fa470d8 https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/a58a7af6cfa2b27449a59941cff98575.jpg ee13fff730a1c9da5d077d03a17bce68 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Shower of Stoles Description An account of the resource Items (stoles) for the Shower of Stoles exhibit Stole A stole in the Shower of Stoles exhibit Honoree The person honored by the creation of thestole. Carol Calenberg Stole Text Carol Calenberg Deacon Denomination Presbyterian Church (USA) United Church of Christ Contribution Date 2001 Contribution Story This is one of 52 stoles donated to the Shower of Stoles collection by members and staff of Church of the Covenant. Although each of the stoles is unique, all of them are tied together by the inclusion of a piece cloth from a common bolt of blue and ivory material somewhere in the stole. Covenant is both a More Light and Open and Affirming Congregation. Their strong and public advocacy on behalf of LGBT persons in the life and leadership of the church has drawn many LBGT persons to become a part of the Covenant church family. Their 52 stoles represent the largest subset of stoles given to the collection by any one congregation. Church of the Covenant, a federated United Church of Christ and Presbyterian Church, is steeped in history. Located just off the Boston Commons, the Gothic revival building erected in the mid-1800's was one of the first churches built in the Back Bay area. In the 1890's the sanctuary was completely redecorated by Tiffany Glass and Decorating Co., including the creation of an extraordinary set of Tiffany stained-glass windows and a chandelier that is said to be the first electrified light installed in a public building by Thomas Edison. Covenant's history of social justice and human rights work is equally rich. When I visited Covenant, I was intrigued to learn that the church was a designated stop along the "Boston Women's Heritage Trail." One of Covenant's members, Abbie Child, was the head of the Women's Board of Missions of the Congregational Church in the late 1800's. Another member, Dr. Elsa Meder, was one of the first women ordained as an elder in the Presbyterian Church. Elizabeth Rice and Alice Hageman, ordained in 1974 and 1975 respectively, were the first women to serve as pastors at a Back Bay church. When they were joined by Donna Day Lower, the church became the only one in the United States with three women clergy. Since opening the "Women's Lunch Place" in 1982, the church has served as a haven for poor women and their children. It is fitting, then, that one of the Tiffany windows is "Four Women of the Bible," including Miriam, Deborah, Mary of Bethany, and Dorcas. Covenant remains on the forefront of work for equality and justice, and is active in the LGBT Welcoming movement in the Boston area and beyond. Martha Juillerat Founder, Shower of Stoles Project 2006 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 760 Title A name given to the resource Carol Calenberg Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Boston, Massachusetts (USA) Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Church of the Covenant Boston Calenberg, Carol Feminism Massachusetts More Light Presbyterians for LGBT Concerns Open and Affirming in the UCC (ONA) Ordination Presbyterian Presbyterian Church (USA) United Church of Christ Women and Religion Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Shower of Stoles Description An account of the resource Items (stoles) for the Shower of Stoles exhibit Stole A stole in the Shower of Stoles exhibit Honoree The person honored by the creation of thestole. Carol Scherfenberg Stole Text Carol Scherfenberg United Methodist Los Angeles, CA This stole, and many like it, were given to participants at the United Methodist Church World Conference in Fort Worth, Texas in April, 2008, by the Parents Reconciliation Network. I wore this stole during Soulforce’s prayer vigil for full inclusion of LGBT people. The vote of the assembly did not go in our favor. Denomination United Methodist Church Contribution Date 2009 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 1151 Title A name given to the resource Carol Scherfenberg Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Los Angeles, California (USA) Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Carol Scherfenberg California Clergy Activist Los Angeles Methodist Ordination Reconciling Ministries Network (formerly Reconciling Congregation Program) Scherfenberg, Carol Soulforce United Methodist Church Women and Religion Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Shower of Stoles Description An account of the resource Items (stoles) for the Shower of Stoles exhibit Stole A stole in the Shower of Stoles exhibit Honoree The person honored by the creation of thestole. Carol Scott Stole Text CAROL SCOTT Park Slope United Methodist Church Brooklyn, New York I am so much more than a lesbian Methodist. This process of analyzing and justifying my full participation in the UMC is very painful. I am a child of God. Nothing more should be said. Denomination United Methodist Church Contribution Date 2000 Contribution Story This is one of thirty one stoles from Park Slope United Methodist Church included in a display of UM stoles at the 2000 General Conference of the UMC in Cleveland. All are made from identically sized pieces in turquoise, lavender and purple cotton batik. With only 200 members, Park Slope has donated the largest number of stoles to the collection from a single United Methodist congregation. A diverse community, Park Slope's creed is: Hand in hand, we the people of the Park Slope United Methodist Church -- black and white, straight and gay, old and young, rich and poor -- unite as a loving community, in covenant with God and the Creation. Summoned by our faith in Jesus Christ, we commit ourselves to the humanization of urban life and to physical and spiritual growth. A scrappy congregation utterly committed to putting their faith into action, Park Slope has been unrelenting in its pursuit of justice for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in the UMC. 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 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 558 Title A name given to the resource Carol Scott Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Brooklyn, New York (USA) Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Park Slope United Methodist Church Clergy Activist Methodist New York New York City Ordination Reconciling Ministries Network (formerly Reconciling Congregation Program) Scott, Carol Theology United Methodist Church