Kent Robinson

Photos

https://lgbtran.org/Exhibits/Stoles/photos/original/Photo709.jpg
https://lgbtran.org/Exhibits/Stoles/photos/original/Photo710.jpg

Stole Text

Kent Robinson

Resigned from the session of Central Presbyterian Church, Kansas City, MO, after the 1993 General Assembly upheld a judicial decision against the ordination of gay elders, deacons and ministers.

Contribution Story

This is one of twelve stoles donated to the Shower of Stoles by Merrill Proudfoot on behalf of friends and colleagues.  The judicial case to which Merrill refers on this stole was the decision by the Permanent Judicial Commission of the Presbyterian Church (USA), the denomination's highest court, that barred Downtown United Presbyterian Church in Rochester, NY from installing Rev. Janie Spahr as one of their pastors.  This precedent-setting case caused an uproar in the denomination that has yet to die down.  It led to a remarkable surge in new support for LGBT Presbyterians, but this new support was met with a conservative backlash that came to a head in 1996 with the passage of an amendment to the church's constitution codifying anew the denomination's ban on LGBT ordination. 

Martha Juillerat
Founder, Shower of Stoles Project
2006

Archival Record

Stole Number: 114
Honoree(s): Kent Robinson
Donor(s): Merrill Proudfoot
Geography: Kansas City, Missouri (USA)
Faith Tradition: Presbyterian Church (USA)
Donation Date: 1995

Citation

“Kent Robinson,” LGBTQ Religious Archives Network, accessed April 18, 2024, https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/items/show/764.