Shower of Stoles at Central Christian, Indianapolis

Linda Patrick from Central Christian Church in Indianapolis, IN, shares with us these pictures from the Shower of Stoles. A portion of the Shower of Stoles was hosted at the church last month to mark the Week of Ministry.

Linda Patrick, who sent us these pictures, has also sent us her own story:

As a Closeted Lesbian, I served as a senior pastor of a mid-sized congregation and worked as a teaching pastor in the Indianapolis area. I had just received my Doctor of Ministry degree from Christian Theological Seminary when I came OUT in 2000.

Later that year, my judicatory “lost” my personal file, including my contact information and all documentation that I had ever attended seminary, been ordained, or served the church as a pastor. Curiously enough, the Seminary, located a block away from the Christian Church in Indiana headquarters, and the Pension Fund of the Christian Church never lost contact with me and could have, at any time, provided the Region with my information…

For years, I heard nothing from our Region. I had been in Search and Call, hoping to be called to a new parish, but communications quit coming. I gave up seeking a church as I had to make a living, and returned to my previous vocation as a registered nurse.

Finally, in 2010, it came to my attention that I no longer had Standing in Indiana. When I made this discovery and petitioned our Region for re-instatement, I was told that, now that I was OUT, I was not eligible to be re-instated as Clergy with Standing and, hence, barred from serving as clergy in any of our churches.

Three O&A Congregations petitioned, on my behalf for my reinstatement, among them, Central Christian Church, Indianapolis. Previous Professors and Pastors wrote letters as well. Finally, in 2013, when the Church in Indiana dropped the bar, ordaining LGBT persons, my Standing was reinstated.

Even though I had been effectively silenced for thirteen years at the height of my ministry, I have returned to church life. I am actively serving as a retired pastor, volunteering to lead a ministry team at Central Christian Church, where my wife and I are members. We are active members of GLAD.

– Rev Dr Linda Patrick

The Shower of Stoles is a collection of over a thousand liturgical stoles and other sacred items representing the lives of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people of faith. These religious leaders have served in thirty-two denominations and faith traditions, in six countries, and on three continents. Each stole contains the story of a GLBT person who is active in the life and leadership of their faith community in some way: minister, elder, deacon, teacher, missionary, musician, administrator, or active layperson.

This extraordinary collection celebrates the gifts of GLBT persons who serve God in countless ways, while also lifting up those who have been excluded from service because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. The collection bears witness to the huge loss of leadership that the church has brought upon itself because of its own unjust policies.

Don McCord at Central Christian wrote about this display:

Our congregation is marking the “Week of the Ministry” with a “Shower of Stoles.” There are dozens of clergy stoles, each from pastor forced from the ministry for being gay or lesbian, in churches or denominations where same sex unions were not tolerated. We, too, have seen many colleagues, with wonderful gifts, creative, beautiful spirits, cut off from the possibility of sharing because of narrow, prejudicial, intolerant and fearful leaders. To see the collection brings tears, to think of what the communities of faith has lost!

Our congregation has led the way in this cause, gaining recognition and acceptance for these persons in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Indiana, that, at least here, there will be no more stoles added to the collection from our denomination!

And Linda Patrick tells us more about the response at Central Christian to this collection of stoles and stories:

We knew it would be meaningful. Awesome. Amazing. After all, the Shower of Stoles had been to Indianapolis a few years back. But we didn’t realize how much the Exhibit’s visit to our own congregation would mean to us. People who knew it would be a good experience for others, came away, overwhelmed, by how much seeing the Stoles afresh meant for themselves.

The Stoles arrived on the Monday of “Week of the Ministry” and were flying by Tuesday. During the week, people stopped by individually to just spend some time ” alone with the Stoles”. They paused, reading and reflecting on each story. They prayed. They cried. They reached out to others saying, “Have you seen the Stoles?”

On Sunday, the Stoles encircled us in the gathering hall during fellowship time after worship. Most were hanging from hangers (dropped on monofilament line from the clerestory of the balcony above) so they appeared to be worn by some invisible and silent clergy-person, standing, mysteriously among us. Some stoles were laid out on tables. People of every age “heard” the stories; felt the loss to the pastors, rabbis and priests whose vocation had been cut off, as well as the loss to congregations of the faithful. The realization was tangible; sobering.

And new resolution took hold: “No more Stoles!” one of the visitors pleaded. At least not from Disciples in Indiana, “there will be no more Stoles added to this collection”. No more missed opportunities for ministry based on gender preference or sexual orientation.

I hope we’ll host the Shower of Stoles again. Not right away. But as soon, or before, we begin to forget. And if and when we do it again, I’d like to see us widen our welcome. Perhaps we’ll invite people from other faith communities to come and walk with us among the Stoles. This is a story which all of us need to share.