Anonymous (Donated by Dumbarton United Methodist Church, Washington DC, on behalf of bisexual woman who served as a "US-2" missionary)

My story:  Anonymous

My love for the United Methodist Church runs deep.  My faith was nurtured from my baptism in my father's hometown church, through summers at UM church camps, Sunday school classes, conference youth leadership positions and a vibrant college ministry program.  Many individuals, both gay and straight have demonstrated the love of God in my life through the steps of my journey.  After graduating from college, I chose to spend the next two years in UM mission service as a US-2.  My "call" to ministry became undeniable during my time as a US-2.  As I worked in an organization serving immigrants and educating local churches, I realized that my love for people and my passions for social justice and spirit-filled life could be united completely in ordained ministry as a UM Deacon in Full Connection.  What a wonderful discovery!

But because I identify myself as a bisexual woman, I am unable to pursue such a vocation in the United Methodist church at this time.  I have completed the first part of the study process for ordination candidates, and I find myself at a crossroads.  Should I even go to seminary?  Will I pursue my calling and my passion for ministry and social justice in the church, only to be rejected by the very same church that has loved and supported me so strongly until now?

My church taught me that I am a beloved child of God who possesses many gifts and skills to share with the world.  My church taught me to speak out against injustice and to live in love.  To be able to use my gifts, to work for justice and to serve the world through the UM Church would be a great blessing in my life.  I believe that my church will change.  Until it does, I will live out my ministry in other ways.

The Stole:
The tree on the right side of this stole symbolizes both the offering of myself in ministry, and the nurture and growth the church has provided in the lives of many GLBT young people.  We are like leaves springing forth from this sturdy trunk, offering our gifts, our skills and our youthful enthusiasm to the church and to greater society in love and service.

This stole honors LGBT US-2's who have served the UM church through the US-2 young adult mission program and have also been "called"  into ministry within the UM church.  IN giving two years of our lives to volunteer mission service in the UMC, we have already responded to our call.  As a result of our church's exclusionary stance on homosexuality, we are forced to choose between fulfilling our call to ministry in the church in silence, or being open about our God-given gift of sexuality and thus being unable to serve.

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.  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