William D. "Chip" Aldridge, Jr.

In honor of Chip Aldridge and his ministry

The Rev. William D. (Chip) Aldridge, Jr.

I declared myself as a Candidate for Ministry in the United Methodist Church when I was 16 -- it was not until I  was 33 that I was actually ordained.  It was a journey I followed diligently and with discernment.  I take great joy in my corporate life at Dumbarton UMC and my home life with a partner of more than 15 years.  And I find much fulfilling in my ministry at Wesley Theological Seminary.  I am haunted by the question of where my ministry might have taken me, what I could have done for God and the UMC -- if there was not always an impending threat that could be used against me or the church-related institution in which I work.

My stole was made by three current students at the Wesley Theological Seminary.  Purple -- in Mardi Gras traditions is the color for Justice (Gold for power and Green for faith).  Purple is also the color in our church season of Lenten "Preparation."  It has the logo for the Reconciling Congregation Program -- and acknowledges my ministry at Wesley Theological Seminary.

This is one of thirteen stoles given to us by Dumbarton UMC in advance of the 2000 General Conference of the United Methodist Church in Cleveland, OH.  Dumbarton is a Reconciling congregation, working for the full inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people into the life and leadership of the United Methodist Church.  Chip Aldridge, Director of Admissions at Wesley Theological Seminary, has been active in the Reconciling movement for many years, both locally and nationally.

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