Anonymous Students (McCormick Theological Seminary)

https://lgbtran.org/Exhibits/Stoles/photos/original/Photo374.jpg
https://lgbtran.org/Exhibits/Stoles/photos/original/Photo375.jpg

Dublin Core

Title

Anonymous Students (McCormick Theological Seminary)

Contributor

An Unknown Student at McCormick Theological Seminary

Identifier

698

Coverage

Chicago, Illinois (USA)

Stole Item Type Metadata

Honoree

Anonymous Students (McCormick Theological Seminary)

Stole Text

For the unnamed students at McCormick Theological Seminary
who live in silence...

May they know they are Beloved of God

Contribution Date

2001

Contribution Story

Over the years I made a number of trips to McCormick Theological Seminary, my alma mater.  With a longstanding commitment to diversity, McCormick is the only historically Euro-centric seminary in the Presbyterian denomination in which Whites are now in the minority.  This commitment to diversity has made McCormick a relatively safe place for LGBT students over the years, but that same diverse student body -- with large numbers of Koreans, African-Americans, native Africans and Hispanics  from a wide range of countries and religious backgrounds -- has kept the conversation lively around LGBT issues.  Some students have used these opportunities to come out and tell their stories; others have found it more difficult to do so in such an intense and intimate environment.

On this particular trip, about a dozen new stoles were dedicated on behalf of McCormick students.  Several were named, and included substantial stories.  A few, however, acknowledged those students who still struggled to find their voice.  The final line on this stole, itself created by an unknown donor, is both a declaration of faith and a compassionate prayer.

Martha Juillerat
Founder, Shower of Stoles Project
2006

Denomination

Presbyterian Church (USA)

Geolocation