Anonymous (Rainbow Sisters and Brothers)

This stole is sent to honor two of my lesbian sisters who are currently serving the church, from closets that are killing their very spirits and compromising their very beings.

YES!  Presbyterian Church, wake up, we are here with you, whether you know it or not, and it's OUR church, too.  I pray for the day when no stole will have to be anonymous and all God's people, including my beautiful rainbow sisters and brothers, will truly be able to freely serve.

So be it!

Lainey Rathgeber
8/20/95

This stole was one of the original 80 stoles that were on display on Sept. 16, 1995 when I set aside my ordination before Heartland Presbytery (see stole #1 for details).

By June 1996, just months after that original display, the collection had already grown to 350 stoles. We decided to pack them up and take them to the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Albuquerque.  We had no display space, so we handed out all 350 stoles to friends and allies, and told them, "Please be our display."   And they did -- wearing the stoles in meetings, on the street, on buses, in hotels and everywhere else.  As fate would have it, that General Assembly was the one that made the denomination's informal ban on LGBT ordination permanent, voting to make it part of the church's constitution.  The stunning impact of that vote made the presence of the stoles even more poignant; for weeks afterwards we received letters from people sharing with us how the wearing of the stoles had changed their lives.  Letters also started coming from people who had seen the stoles in Albuquerque and wanted to know if there was a way they could share some of these stories with their home congregations.  My partner, Tammy and I, were overwhelmed -- suddenly a spontaneous "display" had become a national movement.

In the November-December issue of the More Light Update, Lainey Rathgeber shared her thoughts about the Albuquerque General Assembly, including her experience of wearing a stole:

"Throughout the week, we all had many encounters and chances to share our stories and the lives represented on the stoles we wore. It was a sacred act, an honoring of the names and faces and lives represented on those beautiful pieces of cloth. I wore Katie Morrison's stole all week. And it was both an honor and a privilege. By the end of the week, I was exhausted from telling her story, and only then, as her loving friend, do I think I truly felt even one tiny part of the pain she has experienced from this church. She and I have laughed and cried and screamed together over this church and shared many anguished hours wondering if she will ever be able to truly serve in the PCUSA as an out lesbian. But it wasn't until I wore her stole all week that I could even begin to comprehend the pain she lives with on a daily basis. And I couldn't help but think of the hundreds of others whose names marked the stoles that filled the assembly hall. I hope and pray Martha and Tammy know how much we all appreciate their hard work and commitment to the stole project. It was a powerful witness and will continue to be, throughout the church, wherever it is displayed This is why we do what we do. This is why we came to Albuquerque. This is why we go back home and continue our work -- educating and sharing our lives, telling our truth, demanding inclusion, screaming for justice. Let us remember, let us never forget. We want to see the Promised Land. We had a glimpse of it in Albuquerque and it's time to experience it fully. We're tired of dreaming, it's time to live it! So let us remember always, we are not alone in this movement. And this is about all of us. Let's pray for the day when we will truly walk hand in hand and the doors will burst open for all to enter and to serve. So be it!"

Martha Juillerat
Founder, Shower of Stoles Project
2006