95 20 2617 https://www.exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/628ac7227e161dc3b8c9be3b402e5330.gif c91cebb9cd84bcd9a889a44ca77a8529 Hyperlink A link, or reference, to another resource on the Internet. URL https://www.epilepsy.org.uk/about/richard-fox-obituary Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard Fox obituary Description An account of the resource Obituary of Richard Fox published on the web site of the British Epilepsy Association. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Shower of Stoles Description An account of the resource Items (stoles) for the Shower of Stoles exhibit Stole A stole in the Shower of Stoles exhibit Honoree The person honored by the creation of thestole. Richard H. (Donated by First Presbyterian Church, Ewing NJ) Stole Text RICHARD H. New Jersey Denomination Presbyterian Church (USA) Contribution Date 1998 Contribution Story This is one of sixteen stoles donated by First Presbyterian Church of Ewing, NJ on behalf of members or friends of the congregation. We have no other information about this individual. Martha Juillerat Founder, Shower of Stoles Project 2006 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 446 Title A name given to the resource Richard H. (Donated by First Presbyterian Church, Ewing NJ) Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Ewing, New Jersey (USA) Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource First Presbyterian Church New Jersey Presbyterian Presbyterian Church (USA) Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Shower of Stoles Description An account of the resource Items (stoles) for the Shower of Stoles exhibit Stole A stole in the Shower of Stoles exhibit Honoree The person honored by the creation of thestole. Richard Palleschi Stole Text RICHARD PALLESCHI First Presbyterian Church Ewing, New Jersey After hearing the preaching against homosexuality in the Roman Catholic church, leaving the church in my youth, and abandoning all faith and spirituality (as well as sexuality) in my twenties, I was finally able to come out to myself and others and found a church where all were truly welcomed. My faith and spirituality are mine again. My activity in the church surprises me: serving on a Presbytery Task Force, speaking to church groups, singing in choir. The church has given me personal strength and an understanding of homosexuality. I have watched my church's first openly gay Deacon take our church community to the next plane from "The Pines" to the church, I am reminded of what we all want and need from each other: compassion and understanding. Denomination Presbyterian Church (USA) Roman Catholic Church Contribution Date 1998 Contribution Story This is one of sixteen stoles donated by First Presbyterian Church of Ewing, NJ on behalf of members and friends of the congregation. As evidenced by this story from a former Catholic, First Presbyterian has a number of members who found themselves "exiled" from other churches and denominations. Martha Juillerat Founder, Shower of Stoles Project 2006 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 231 Title A name given to the resource Richard Palleschi Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Ewing, New Jersey (USA) Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource First Presbyterian Church Catholic New Jersey Palleschi, Richard Presbyterian Presbyterian Church (USA) Roman Catholic Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Shower of Stoles Description An account of the resource Items (stoles) for the Shower of Stoles exhibit Stole A stole in the Shower of Stoles exhibit Honoree The person honored by the creation of thestole. Richard Rossiter Stole Text Rev. Richard Rossiter My name is Richard Rossiter, and I am a former United Methodist pastor who served congregations for sixteen years in the Colorado and West Michigan Annual Conferences. I chose to relinquish my credentials on February 4, 1996. After serving nearly three years as an openly gay United Methodist Pastor in Coloma, Michigan, I needed to "let go" of my childhood church in love. The United Methodist Church would not honor my blessed relationship. During those difficult days, it felt like I continued to be part of an abusive relationship… it was time to let go and live authentically with myself, my life-partner and God. Today, I have reaffirmed my ordination with the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches (UFMCC) and am serving again as pastor! My spiritual gifts and talents are being used in a denomination that affirms and celebrates my gay soul and my relationship. What a blessing UFMCC is to the world! Today is the fourth anniversary of my choice to relinquish my United Methodist ordination. How appropriate that on this day I would write this letter and send this stole. I rejoice in the mystery of it all and pray often for the United Methodist Church. I live with my life-partner, the Rev. Perry Wiggins in Oak Park, Illinois. He and my children, Elizabeth and Matthew Rossiter, continue to be precious gifts to me. Denomination United Methodist Church Metropolitan Community Church Contribution Date 2000 Contribution Story Richard Rossiter and his partner, Perry Wiggins, were both ordained United Methodist ministers. Richard relinquished his ordination in 1996, and now serves as a pastor in the Metropolitan Community Church. In a poignant note, Richard mentions that this stole was made on the fourth anniversary of his relinquishing his ordination -- clearly this was the UMC's loss and the MCC's gain! In addition to his own stole, a Signature Stole honoring Richard was donated by Coloma, MI United Methodist Church, the last United Methodist church that Richard served (#635). Perry, who also gave a stole to the collection (#510), is attempting to retain his ordination in the UMC as retired clergy. This stole was given to us in advance of the 2000 General Conference of the United Methodist Church in Cleveland, OH. 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 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 511 Title A name given to the resource Richard Rossiter Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Oak Park, Illinois (USA) Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Richard Rossiter Clergy Activist Illinois MCC Methodist Ordination Reconciling Ministries Network (formerly Reconciling Congregation Program) Rossiter, Richard Theology United Methodist Church Wiggins, Perry Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Shower of Stoles Description An account of the resource Items (stoles) for the Shower of Stoles exhibit Stole A stole in the Shower of Stoles exhibit Honoree The person honored by the creation of thestole. Richard Rossiter Stole Text This stole is given and signed by members and friends of Coloma United Methodist Church in Coloma, Michigan. It honors the Rev. Richard T. Rossiter, who served as their pastor from 1992-1996. His last 2 1/2 years he served as an openly gay UM pastor. He relinquished his ordination on Feb. 4, 1996. In Honor of Rev. Richard T. Rossiter Denomination United Methodist Church Contribution Date 2000 Contribution Story Richard Rossiter and his partner, Perry Wiggins, were both ordained United Methodist ministers. Richard relinquished his ordination in 1996, and now serves as a pastor in the Metropolitan Community Church. This Signature Stole, donated by Coloma, MI United Methodist Church, was made to honor Richard. Colma UMC was the last United Methodist congregation that Richard served. In addition to this Signature Stole, Richard has given his own stole to the collection (#511). Perry, who also gave a stole to the collection (#510), is attempting to retain his ordination in the UMC as retired clergy. This stole was given to us in advance of the 2000 General Conference of the United Methodist Church in Cleveland, OH. 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 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 635 Title A name given to the resource Richard Rossiter Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Coloma, Michigan (USA) Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Coloma United Methodist Church Clergy Activist Methodist Michigan Ordination Reconciling Ministries Network (formerly Reconciling Congregation Program) Rossiter, Richard United Methodist Church Wiggins, Perry Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Shower of Stoles Description An account of the resource Items (stoles) for the Shower of Stoles exhibit Stole A stole in the Shower of Stoles exhibit Honoree The person honored by the creation of thestole. Richard Sprout Stole Text RICHARD MPC Denomination Presbyterian Church (USA) Contribution Date 1998 Contribution Story Richard Sprout is an ordained Elder at Montclair Presbyterian Church. His stole was sent to us along with a Signature Stole from Montclair (stole #417). Richard was active in the national leadership of Presbyterians for Lesbian and Gay Concerns, one of two organizations that merged to form More Light Presbyterians. Montclair Presbyterian Church has been a More Light church for twenty years, and for many years has been in the forefront of social justice work on behalf of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in the Presbyterian Church (USA) and in society. Martha Juillerat Founder, Shower of Stoles Project 2006 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 416 Title A name given to the resource Richard Sprout Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Oakland, California (USA) Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Richard Sprout and Montclair Presbyterian Church California Clergy Activist More Light Presbyterians for Lesbian and Gay Concerns Ordination Presbyterian Presbyterian Church (USA) Sprout, Richard https://www.exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/5d59d46307ba90cfced2ba2dfd06e6f6.png c589aa7bd39f6a33f29b242b242f11f4 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Queer Spirit Podcast Description An account of the resource Podcasts from WMPG.org and 90.9 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard Waitzkin Subject The topic of the resource Queer Spirit Podcast Description An account of the resource Richard Waitzkin is a psychotherapist and one of the founders of Portland’s new and terribly exciting Equality Community Center, which houses organizations serving the LBGTQ+ community, including Equality Maine, Maine TransNet, GLSEN, and SAGE Maine, as well as allied organizations, such as the Maine Commission on the Status of Racial, Indigenous, and Tribal Populations, the Maine Jewish Film Festival, Democracy Maine, and the Cambodian Community Association of Maine. A native of Ohio, Rich as a young adult served as a VISTA volunteer and teacher’s aide in California before moving east. In Massachusetts, he received two masters degrees, one in education and the other in social work. After moving to Maine, he worked on the frontlines in the early days of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, sat on the Governor’s commission on AIDS, attended the first regional training to provide HIV counseling and testing, volunteered as an AIDS buddy, and contributed to Maine’s first AIDS hospice facility. About his work as a psychotherapist, Rich writes, “As our lives unfold, we’re challenged mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually. Psychotherapy can provide a safe environment to focus on the growth and healing required of us to become the best we can be in all roles and aspects of our life. Over these many years in practice, I've found the work of healing, growth, and personal transformation to be a sacred process.” Rich lives in Portland, loves to work in his yard and on his old house, and dances in both public and private. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Marvin Ellison and Tamara Torres-McGovern Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Richard Waitzkin https://www.exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/df5abb334d593679ae6c14b8f34a8742.jpeg 31d1c7a3355bb1cd0ee1eeca84137d26 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Historical Development of BIPOC Trans-spiritual Leadership Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard Wright Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Biography https://www.biography.com/authors-writers/richard-wright https://www.exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/8ba80e9045413bf69bdd11a5c2006ca3.png deb81c385919ecb293f8ebec68d899af Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Upstairs Lounge Fire Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Text Any textual data included in the document June 28, 1973 AN IMPORTANT STATEMENT FROM THE RECTOR In view of the uproar caused by the Memorial Service at St. George’s on Monday night for the Rev. “Bill” Larsen and others who died in New Orleans worst fire Sunday night, I wish to point out the following: <ol><li>St. George’s is not a private club but the House of God.</li> <li>The Rector is given authority of the canons of the church to arrange services at all times.</li> <li> The group asked me for permission to hold their memorial service at St. George’s. In good conscience I could not turn them away. Do you think Jesus would have?</li> <li>Bill Larsen, a fine humble, devoted Christian and Minister of that group was trying to exercise his pastoral duty that night at the bar.</li> <li>The group asked us not to give the service any publicity and we in turn asked the press not to publicize this, but since they are always looking for stories for the public they paid scant heed to our request.</li> <li>The small chapel on Magazine Street used by this group could not begin to hold the 50 or 75 or more persons who attended the service.</li> <li>God’s Church exists to help all people, regardless of who they are or what they do.</li> <li>While there has been considerable criticism from some of our own members, and from a few outsiders, most of which has been relayed not to me but to several ladies of our parish (who are not the authority), there is a mounting number of people in the community, both clergy and lay persons, who are voicing their entire agreement that the memorial service was a very Christian thing for St. George’s to permit, and the question again comes up, “Would Jesus have barred these grief-stricken people from His Church, or would he have welcomed them?”</li> </ol>Therefore, if any considerable number of St. George’s members still feel that our church is to minister only to the select few, and not to the whole community, then I should seriously consider resigning as your Rector in the near future, so the Bishop and the Vestry can look for someone else. (signed) William P. Richardson, Jr. P.S. I love you all, even if you violently disagree with me. But remember, we must try not to be Pharisees, thinking we are better than others. At all times I try to follow what I believe to be the Lord’s Will, and the Christian attitude. Upon returning from India the last of July, I shall decide what course of action to take. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richardson Circulates Statement to Congregation Description An account of the resource In an open letter to the congregation, Richardson states pointedly his reasons for permitting the memorial service at St. George’s and offers to resign if opposition is too great. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived St. George’s records by Rev. Richard Easterling. https://www.exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/964358068ace2fcf7a8e5b43b9c480d6.jpg f1b5902b3b0d30ec9adb3aa00a925ada Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Upstairs Lounge Fire Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Text Any textual data included in the document To the Editor: Thank you for the spring 1991 issue. It is excellent. I have a some additional information for you concerning your article, “Closeted Gay Bishop Dies of AIDS.” In 1971 I attended a summer seminar at General Theological Seminary on “Homosexuality, Women’s Liberation and Communal Living.” I returned home to St. George’s Church in New Orleans where I was rector, determined to do all in my power to support lesbians and gay men. The local Metropolitan Community Church met in our chapel for some months. Then they found their own small church. From time to time I attended their afternoon service, and I came to know their minister, Rev. Bill Larsen, quite well. He often came to see me regarding their scrambled liturgy and what to do about it. The night of June 24, 1971 some 30 or more members of the MCC group and friends were at an upstairs bar. A man who was drunk fire-bombed the stairs. The windows had iron bars over them. As a result, nearly all those there were burned to death. My phone rang at 3 a.m. telling me of this. I was grieve greatly, for included among those who burned to death was Bill Larsen, my friend. The next morning a member of the MCC called to see if they could have a memorial service that evening at St. George’s. I agreed, providing they would not make a big splash over it. The Rev. Troy Perry flew in that evening and assisted with the service. Some 80-90 persons attended. I warned the TV people not to take pictures, and asked the reporters to play it low-key. They did. Bishop Iveson B. Noland, who was later killed in a plane crash in New York, phoned me early the next morning. He said, “Bill, this is the Bishop. Have you read the morning paper?” I said, “Yes, Bishop, I have.” “Is it true that the service was at St. George’s Episcopal Church?” “Yes, Bishop, it was.” “Why didn’t they have it at their own church?” he asked. I replied, “For the simple reason their small church holds about 18 persons. Without any publicity we have over 80 present.” “What am I to say when people call my office?” I replied, “You can say anything you wish, Bishop. But do you think Jesus would have kept these people out of His church?” I heard later the Bishop had a hundred calls, and I got hate calls and letters. Only one member of our vestry supported me. Later, I was stopped by many people on the street for doing such a Christian thing. Later that week I was asked if we could have another memorial service the next Sunday afternoon at St. George’s. I had to decline for I was just leaving for a month’s trip to India to visit friends, and I knew I would have to be present for such a service. It was then that the late Bishop Finis Crutchfield offered the Rampart St. Methodist Church for that service. I am still very active in lesbian/gay affairs, though our Integrity group eventually folded. I have spoken several times before our City Council and before our Diocesan Convention regarding lesbian/gay issues, but to little avail. But I’m not giving up! Cordially, (The Rev.) William P. Richardson, Jr. New Orleans, LA Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richardson Recalls Memorial Service Backlash Description An account of the resource Richardson writes a 1991 letter to the Voice of Integrity, newsletter of the national LGBT Episcopal group, telling the story of the June 25th memorial service and its aftermath. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The Voice of Integrity, Volume 1, Number 2 Summer 1991. https://www.exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/51fc452f1a02e3227b8fec68d40793fc.jpg 1c6d7394ec34f63b8a5c221f33c54b0f https://www.exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/1f5a64c4b0a759cbcdeeae8ec3393549.jpg 255baeb02508eb9ede276b5a919628f8 https://www.exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/ef79dac7a8398a0e23b65d38690d19f7.jpg f0e404866bafb1d926cd32d62bc7c084 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Shower of Stoles Description An account of the resource Items (stoles) for the Shower of Stoles exhibit Stole A stole in the Shower of Stoles exhibit Honoree The person honored by the creation of thestole. Rick (Church of the Covenant, Boston MA) Stole Text RICK Denomination Presbyterian Church (USA) United Church of Christ Contribution Date 2001 Contribution Story This is one of 52 stoles donated to the Shower of Stoles collection by members and staff of Church of the Covenant. Although each of the stoles is unique, all of them are tied together by the inclusion of a piece cloth from a common bolt of blue and ivory material somewhere in the stole. Rick's stole includes colorful images of stained glass windows, buttons in the shape of animals, and cross formed from round buttons. Covenant is both a More Light and Open and Affirming Congregation. Their strong and public advocacy on behalf of LGBT persons in the life and leadership of the church has drawn many LBGT persons to become a part of the Covenant church family. Their 52 stoles represent the largest subset of stoles given to the collection by any one congregation. Church of the Covenant, a federated United Church of Christ and Presbyterian Church, is steeped in history. Located just off the Boston Commons, the Gothic revival building erected in the mid-1800's was one of the first churches built in the Back Bay area. In the 1890's the sanctuary was completely redecorated by Tiffany Glass and Decorating Co., including the creation of an extraordinary set of Tiffany stained-glass windows and a chandelier that is said to be the first electrified light installed in a public building by Thomas Edison. Covenant's history of social justice and human rights work is equally rich. When I visited Covenant, I was intrigued to learn that the church was a designated stop along the "Boston Women's Heritage Trail." One of Covenant's members, Abbie Child, was the head of the Women's Board of Missions of the Congregational Church in the late 1800's. Another member, Dr. Elsa Meder, was one of the first women ordained as an elder in the Presbyterian Church. Elizabeth Rice and Alice Hageman, ordained in 1974 and 1975 respectively, were the first women to serve as pastors at a Back Bay church. When they were joined by Donna Day Lower, the church became the only one in the United States with three women clergy. Since opening the "Women's Lunch Place" in 1982, the church has served as a haven for poor women and their children. It is fitting, then, that one of the Tiffany windows is "Four Women of the Bible," including Miriam, Deborah, Mary of Bethany, and Dorcas. Covenant remains on the forefront of work for equality and justice, and is active in the LGBT Welcoming movement in the Boston area and beyond. Martha Juillerat Founder, Shower of Stoles Project 2006 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 769 Title A name given to the resource Rick (Church of the Covenant, Boston MA) Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Boston, Massachusetts (USA) Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Church of the Covenant Boston Clergy Activist Feminism Massachusetts More Light Presbyterians for LGBT Concerns Open and Affirming in the UCC (ONA) Ordination Presbyterian Presbyterian Church (USA) Theology United Church of Christ Women and Religion https://www.exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/00ecbe469382113399a78ce61746e0aa.jpg ba533152eb24ad6e612678a2438ed467 https://www.exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/17bca3c0c1ea6c7ec110b5755bcc9167.jpg aa4030b83acfcc76c7289f171c057c5b Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Shower of Stoles Description An account of the resource Items (stoles) for the Shower of Stoles exhibit Stole A stole in the Shower of Stoles exhibit Honoree The person honored by the creation of thestole. Rick (One of a group of eighteen Lutheran college students in New York) Stole Text RICK ELCA NY Denomination Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Contribution Date 2001 Contribution Story This is one of eighteen stoles made by an group of LGBT Lutheran college students in NY; sixteen are members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and two belong to the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS), a far more conservative branch of American Lutheranism. All eighteen stoles have been patterned identically out of rainbow colored felt; each has a first name in block letters on one panel, and either "ELCA" or "LCMS," and "NY" on the second panel. The eighteen students represented by these stoles came to know each other by meeting at an ecumenical event, and they decided to keep meeting together informally. The students were particularly concerned with providing support for one of their two new LCMS friends. Although this young man was not "out" to anyone outside the group, he had been mercilessly abused by his family and his church on the mere suspicion that he was gay, and he feared for his life. Almost all of the other students are "out," but instead of simply trying to push their friend out of the closet, out of his church or away from his family, they chose instead to "sit with him," to be patient, offer their friendship and support, share in Bible study, and provide a listening ear until the young man's fears subsided and he could "find his own way." These stoles were given to me when I directed a display of stoles at the Tang Museum on the campus of Skidmore College in 2001. One of the ELCA students drove to Saratoga Springs, NY to deliver the stoles and tell me their story. As an act of solidarity with their one friend, all eighteen chose to put only their first names on the stoles. The student who delivered the stoles talked with me for quite awhile, but he, too, chose to tell me only his first name and he left no contact information. Although I don't know these students beyond the bit that they chose to share with me, I am touched by their story and impressed with the bond of faith and friendship they have formed. When I asked how their friend was doing, the student smiled and said, "He's getting his spiritual life back." And, he added, "He has changed our lives, too." Martha Juillerat Founder, Shower of Stoles Project 2006 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 817 Title A name given to the resource Rick (One of a group of eighteen Lutheran college students in New York) Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant New York (USA) Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource A Group of Lutheran College Students Evangelical Lutherans of America (ELCA) Lutheran New York https://www.exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/d813a411b7abf84eb78e7633ef627f59.jpg 0ddcfdc92eb16e82ca82e3ae85b254ce https://www.exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/3d522386f01b934797cb12842eb54ecc.jpg bef17866915dc63f6412c41603716425 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Shower of Stoles Description An account of the resource Items (stoles) for the Shower of Stoles exhibit Stole A stole in the Shower of Stoles exhibit Honoree The person honored by the creation of thestole. Rick Fisher Stole Text RICK FISHER DIRECTOR OF MUSIC Rick Fisher, who lost his position as a full-time church musician after "coming out" to the church's pastor, dedicates this stole "On behalf of the many gay musicians who serve and have served the church." Denomination Presbyterian Church (USA) Contribution Date 1995 Contribution Story 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). Rick Fisher was the well regarded full-time Director of Music at a large church in New Jersey when he came out to the church's senior pastor; he was fired shortly thereafter. This devastated Rick, a man of great talent, immense integrity and deep faith He was unemployed for a time before finding work in Missouri. He managed to keep his sense of humor, though. That Christmas he and his partner, Randy Hite, sent their friends a letter with several photos of either Rick or Randy standing next to the "Wecome To..." sign for every state they crossed driving from New Jersey to western Missouri, including a couple of unflattering shots taken in the middle of the night for which one or the other had been rousted from nap. Rick's artistic talents and business acumen have been welcomed in Kansas City. He is now the Executive Director of the Heartland Men's Chorus, one of the most highly respected smaller-city choruses in the United States. Rick's stole has a unique place in the Shower of Stoles collection for several reasons. Shortly after being fired from his New Jersey job, Rick sent us a stole of the sort that would be worn with a choir robe. It was the first stole received from someone who was not an ordained pastor or elder. It is significant that Rick chose not only to represent himself with this stole but also to dedicate it to all gay musicians who have served the church. Because it is obviously the stole of a musician it has caught the eye of other musicians; as a result the collection now has over two dozen stoles from professional church musicians. Martha Juillerat Founder, Shower of Stoles Project 2006 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 57 Title A name given to the resource Rick Fisher Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Kansas City, Missouri (USA) Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Rick Fisher Fisher, Rick Hite, Randy Missouri Presbyterian Presbyterian Church (USA) Theology https://www.exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/58420ca4232cd3768d88b5823e02cfe6.jpg bb0bf2f1452b9e0f8fa4fab7d31f881f Person An individual. Text Any textual data included in the document Dr. Rick Huskey, M.D., D.Min., M.Div., a co-founder of Affirmation: United Methodists for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Concerns, was born May 19, 1950 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Rick grew up in southeast Minneapolis, in the University of Minnesota community. At the beginning of junior high school, Rick's family moved to suburban Golden Valley. Rick's mother, a third-generation Methodist Christian, lead the family into attending the Golden Valley United Methodist Church, where Rick and his brother were confirmed. He attended the Robbinsdale School District, graduating from Robbinsdale Senior High School in 1968, with honors. Rick received a scholarship to attend St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, where he majored in religion, with minors in classics, philosophy and urban studies. He served as a secretary for the student body government. While an undergraduate student at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, Rick helped organize the Northfield Gay Liberation Front in 1971. After graduating cum laude from St. Olaf in three years, he began seminary studies at Garrett Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois. He completed the course work for his Master of Divinity Degree in two years. While attending the United Methodist General Conference in Atlanta in May, 1972, as part of a seminary class, Rick met openly gay minister Gene Leggett from Texas. Rick and Gene quickly became colleagues and lobbied for acceptance of gay and lesbian clergy there. That General Conference adopted the infamous "we do not condone..." clause in the waning hours of the conference. Back at seminary in the fall of 1972, Rick was instrumental in the formation of Chicago Gay Seminarians and Clergy, along with fellow seminarians John Yoakam (Chicago Theological Seminary), David Sindt (McCormick Theological Seminary), David Blix (University of Chicago Divinity School) and Bill Krick (Garrett Theological Seminary). The following spring Huskey and Leggett traveled the East Coast together (in Huskey's Dodge Dart) and began building a network of gay and lesbian United Methodist clergy. After receiving an M.Div. degree from Garrett and a D.Min. degree from Chicago Theological Seminary in 1974, Rick returned to Minnesota where he served as associate pastor at Good Samaritan UM Church in Edina. The following May, during a conversation about pastoral appointments with Bishop Wayne Clymer, Rick informed the bishop that he was gay and asked to begin a ministry with gay and lesbian Christians in Minnesota. Huskey understood that his ministry was following in the footsteps of John Wesley, Methodism's founder, who in 1732 ministered to the "homosexual" Tommy Blair in Oxford's Bocardo Jail. This ministry was documented in Wesley's Oxford Diaries and confirmed by the diaries of other "Holy Club" members. Among the diary listings are John's private visitations, running errands, teaching religious catechism, and serving as legal defense in young Blair's "buggery" charge. The bishop removed Huskey from his parish position, placing him on "voluntary location." Two years later, the Minnesota Annual Conference voted to put Huskey on "involuntary location," thereby ending his ministerial career in the church. Over 100 gay men and lesbian from the area participated in a "kneel-in" demonstration protesting Huskey's "de-frocking" during the ordination service at the conference session. During this time, Rick continued to organize gay and lesbian United Methodists. In the summer of 1975, he, Steve Webster (Madison, Wisconsin), Ernie Reagh (New York) and Gene Leggett convened the first national meeting of gay and lesbian United Methodists. During this meeting at Wheadon UM Church in Evanston, this group named itself The United Methodist Gay Caucus. In the spring of 1976, Huskey and other members of the UM Gay Caucus met in Oklahoma City to make plans for a presence and participation in the 1976 General Conference in Portland, Oregon. During the General Conference, Rick was editor of "Blair's Blurbs" the daily newsletter of the Caucus and participated in discussions with delegates and visitors to the Conference as well as demonstrations and witnesses. In the summer and fall of 1977, Huskey was one of the lead organizers of demonstrations against Anita Bryant's campaign to repeal the St. Paul (Minnesota) ordinance that banned discrimination in employment and housing. Huskey continued his involvement in Affirmation, as the UM Gay Caucus was later renamed, and the Reconciling Congregation Program (founded in 1984) in the years following, including participating in the decision of his home church (Wesley UM. Church in Minneapolis) to become a Reconciling Congregation. However, more of his energy was poured into beginning a new ministry career--in medicine. He studied medicine in the Dominican Republic from 1978-1981 and did his clinical rotation at the University of California in San Francisco in 1980-81. Subsequently, Huskey did post-graduate research and training at the University of California Davis Medical Center (1982-83), Hennepin County Chest Clinic and Minneapolis Indian Health Board (1984-87), the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania (1987-1991) and Albert Einstein Medical Center and The Philadelphia Geriatric Center, affiliated with Temple University Hospitals in Philadelphia (1991-93). In 1993, he began a geriatric medical practice in Washington, D.C., and worked in several clinics and hospitals there. In 2002, he became the Associate Medical Director and Chair of Geriatric Medicine at the Medlink Hospital and Nursing Center in Washington, D.C., and after three terms as Chair of the DC Board of Nursing Home Administration, he became the Emeritus Chairperson. In 1988, Huskey arranged for the beginning of a United Methodist Gay and Lesbian Archives by donating his collection of papers and documents to the United Methodist Archives at Drew University. He has actively campaigned and worked to get the papers of other early United Methodist gay and lesbian leaders added to this collection. In the mid 1990's, Huskey was named historian for Affirmation. In 1998 Huskey helped establish the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force's National Religious Leadership Roundtable. He represented Affirmation in the organizing and initial meetings. In spring 2000 Dr. Huskey was editor of Affirmation's newsletter at the General Conference, "Table Manners," and was the medical contributor on aging gay men's health issues in "The Coming of Age," in Men Like Us: the GMHC Complete Guide to Gay Men's Sexual, Physical and Emotional Well-Being. Rick lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia, and commutes to his practice in the District. He is the attending physician for over 200 seriously ill nursing home patients. Dr. Huskey cares for patients in their final, end-of-life status. He cares for the sickest elderly in the community, and incorporates home care visits into his practice. He yet expects to be ordained an Elder in the United Methodist Church as an open gay man with a call to ministry. (This biographical statement was written by Rick Huskey with assistance from LGBTRAN staff Mark Bowman.) Biographical Text Dr. Rick Huskey, M.D., D.Min., M.Div., a co-founder of Affirmation: United Methodists for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Concerns, was born May 19, 1950 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Rick grew up in southeast Minneapolis, in the University of Minnesota community. At the beginning of junior high school, Rick's family moved to suburban Golden Valley. Rick's mother, a third-generation Methodist Christian, lead the family into attending the Golden Valley United Methodist Church, where Rick and his brother were confirmed. He attended the Robbinsdale School District, graduating from Robbinsdale Senior High School in 1968, with honors. Rick received a scholarship to attend St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, where he majored in religion, with minors in classics, philosophy and urban studies. He served as a secretary for the student body government. While an undergraduate student at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, Rick helped organize the Northfield Gay Liberation Front in 1971. After graduating cum laude from St. Olaf in three years, he began seminary studies at Garrett Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois. He completed the course work for his Master of Divinity Degree in two years. While attending the United Methodist General Conference in Atlanta in May, 1972, as part of a seminary class, Rick met openly gay minister Gene Leggett from Texas. Rick and Gene quickly became colleagues and lobbied for acceptance of gay and lesbian clergy there. That General Conference adopted the infamous "we do not condone..." clause in the waning hours of the conference. Back at seminary in the fall of 1972, Rick was instrumental in the formation of Chicago Gay Seminarians and Clergy, along with fellow seminarians John Yoakam (Chicago Theological Seminary), David Sindt (McCormick Theological Seminary), David Blix (University of Chicago Divinity School) and Bill Krick (Garrett Theological Seminary). The following spring Huskey and Leggett traveled the East Coast together (in Huskey's Dodge Dart) and began building a network of gay and lesbian United Methodist clergy. After receiving an M.Div. degree from Garrett and a D.Min. degree from Chicago Theological Seminary in 1974, Rick returned to Minnesota where he served as associate pastor at Good Samaritan UM Church in Edina. The following May, during a conversation about pastoral appointments with Bishop Wayne Clymer, Rick informed the bishop that he was gay and asked to begin a ministry with gay and lesbian Christians in Minnesota. Huskey understood that his ministry was following in the footsteps of John Wesley, Methodism's founder, who in 1732 ministered to the "homosexual" Tommy Blair in Oxford's Bocardo Jail. This ministry was documented in Wesley's Oxford Diaries and confirmed by the diaries of other "Holy Club" members. Among the diary listings are John's private visitations, running errands, teaching religious catechism, and serving as legal defense in young Blair's "buggery" charge. The bishop removed Huskey from his parish position, placing him on "voluntary location." Two years later, the Minnesota Annual Conference voted to put Huskey on "involuntary location," thereby ending his ministerial career in the church. Over 100 gay men and lesbian from the area participated in a "kneel-in" demonstration protesting Huskey's "de-frocking" during the ordination service at the conference session. During this time, Rick continued to organize gay and lesbian United Methodists. In the summer of 1975, he, Steve Webster (Madison, Wisconsin), Ernie Reagh (New York) and Gene Leggett convened the first national meeting of gay and lesbian United Methodists. During this meeting at Wheadon UM Church in Evanston, this group named itself The United Methodist Gay Caucus. In the spring of 1976, Huskey and other members of the UM Gay Caucus met in Oklahoma City to make plans for a presence and participation in the 1976 General Conference in Portland, Oregon. During the General Conference, Rick was editor of "Blair's Blurbs" the daily newsletter of the Caucus and participated in discussions with delegates and visitors to the Conference as well as demonstrations and witnesses. In the summer and fall of 1977, Huskey was one of the lead organizers of demonstrations against Anita Bryant's campaign to repeal the St. Paul (Minnesota) ordinance that banned discrimination in employment and housing. Huskey continued his involvement in Affirmation, as the UM Gay Caucus was later renamed, and the Reconciling Congregation Program (founded in 1984) in the years following, including participating in the decision of his home church (Wesley UM. Church in Minneapolis) to become a Reconciling Congregation. However, more of his energy was poured into beginning a new ministry career--in medicine. He studied medicine in the Dominican Republic from 1978-1981 and did his clinical rotation at the University of California in San Francisco in 1980-81. Subsequently, Huskey did post-graduate research and training at the University of California Davis Medical Center (1982-83), Hennepin County Chest Clinic and Minneapolis Indian Health Board (1984-87), the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania (1987-1991) and Albert Einstein Medical Center and The Philadelphia Geriatric Center, affiliated with Temple University Hospitals in Philadelphia (1991-93). In 1993, he began a geriatric medical practice in Washington, D.C., and worked in several clinics and hospitals there. In 2002, he became the Associate Medical Director and Chair of Geriatric Medicine at the Medlink Hospital and Nursing Center in Washington, D.C., and after three terms as Chair of the DC Board of Nursing Home Administration, he became the Emeritus Chairperson. In 1988, Huskey arranged for the beginning of a United Methodist Gay and Lesbian Archives by donating his collection of papers and documents to the United Methodist Archives at Drew University. He has actively campaigned and worked to get the papers of other early United Methodist gay and lesbian leaders added to this collection. In the mid 1990's, Huskey was named historian for Affirmation. In 1998 Huskey helped establish the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force's National Religious Leadership Roundtable. He represented Affirmation in the organizing and initial meetings. In spring 2000 Dr. Huskey was editor of Affirmation's newsletter at the General Conference, "Table Manners," and was the medical contributor on aging gay men's health issues in "The Coming of Age," in Men Like Us: the GMHC Complete Guide to Gay Men's Sexual, Physical and Emotional Well-Being. Rick lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia, and commutes to his practice in the District. He is the attending physician for over 200 seriously ill nursing home patients. Dr. Huskey cares for patients in their final, end-of-life status. He cares for the sickest elderly in the community, and incorporates home care visits into his practice. He yet expects to be ordained an Elder in the United Methodist Church as an open gay man with a call to ministry. (This biographical statement was written by Rick Huskey with assistance from LGBTRAN staff Mark Bowman.) Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Rick Huskey Affirmation Methodist Rick Huskey UMC United Methodist Church https://www.exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/44127c5516c863968172284cba14039e.jpg 62a7e58dcab64cc92529e277e93656bd Person An individual. Text Any textual data included in the document Randle R. "Rick" Mixon boarded a train in Boise, Idaho, in September 1965, bound for New York City and Columbia College. He rode with a half-dozen other boys recruited from Idaho. Along with the new metal trunk that held most of his meager worldly possessions, Rick carried a secret: he had known for some time, maybe all his conscious life, that he was attracted to males. There was little or no language for such thoughts and feelings in the environment in which he grew up. Boise of the late '50s and '60s was culturally conservative and was trying to live down the taint of the "Boys of Boise" scandal, in which it had been alleged but never proven that a group of prominent community men had engaged in sexual activity with high school boys. Rick's sense of self was complicated by having been born and raised in the church. His father was a Baptist preacher from Louisiana who served churches in Kansas, California and Idaho before his death at 47, when Rick was 17. Rick had a sense that he was called to ministry, but being a teenager at the time of his father's death left him confused about his place in the world. Even before he entered college, his mother had him on mailing lists for a number of seminaries so he could "finish his father's work." With a young person's natural tendency to reach for independence, in addition to struggling with some of his personal circumstances, Rick decided that entering the ministry was the last thing he would do. Though he did not "come out" during his college years, Rick did discover a wider world of cultural diversity and was challenged to think in ways he had never imagined possible. Not a particularly distinguished student, he sometimes says that he majored in glee club and New York City. By his senior year, he was on a fourth major and realizing that he had neglected to prepare himself for graduate school or a career. What he did know was--his anti-ministerial stance notwithstanding--whenever he chose a paper topic, it invariably turned to issues related to theology, faith, Christian ethics and the church. During his senior year, he gave in to the inevitable and attended a "weekend on the ministry" at Crozer Seminary (Martin Luther King Jr.'s alma mater), which was then located in the Philadelphia area. He discovered that intellectual inquiry and challenging social and cultural analysis were going on in those hallowed halls right alongside the study of theology, church history and the Bible. 　 Even with the modern gay movement unfolding in Greenwich Village, Rick knew he wanted to be in the San Francisco Bay area, so after graduating from Columbia in 1969, he moved to Berkeley and entered the American Baptist Seminary of the West to prepare for ministry. Naïve at the time, he gave little consideration to the conflict between pursuing this career and his emerging sexuality. He split them into separate compartments and kept the door between the compartments under lock and key. Rick flourished in seminary, serving as student representative to the Board of Trustees and as student body president. He was one of a handful of students who really wanted to pursue parish ministry in 1969, when many students were enrolling in theological training to avoid the draft and to pursue "alternate ministries" such as counseling and social work. He served for 15 months as a full-time intern at the First Baptist Church of Seattle. There he first met gay friends and the door between his carefully separated "compartments" began to creak open. He realized that he might be able to integrate his sexuality with the rest of his life, but it seemed obvious that this would not happen in the American Baptist Churches of the early 1970s. He decided to finish seminary but not pursue ministry as a profession. Rick helped to found American Baptists Concerned in 1973 (the "lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, intersex, queer, questioning and allies" movement within the American Baptist Churches/USA), and served as co-chair and staff person of the group for some 20 years. In the early 90s, that group spun off the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists, an organization of now more than 70 congregations that formally identify themselves as being welcoming to and affirming of persons with a range of sexual identities. After graduation from seminary and spending time exploring theater as an alternate career, Rick made a solitary car trip from Berkeley to Boise to visit family, to Seattle to visit friends, and back to Berkeley. It was on that journey that he realized he was running away from his call to ministry. One of his classmates was Bill Johnson, the first openly gay person ordained in the United Church of Christ. Given what he had learned in seminary about the need for trust in sustaining faith communities, it seemed fundamentally wrong to attempt to lead such a community without being honest about his full identity. Also, he knew he had not been given the "gift of celibacy" and believed it would be absurd to try to hide what would become his most important human relationship from any faith community he might serve. In fall 1973, Rick approached the pastor of the Lakeshore Avenue Baptist Church in Oakland, California, where he had worked as a seminarian and was a member, and asked to be ordained by that congregation. He had chosen this church and its pastor because they had consistently preached and practiced inclusivity through the years and they were integrated racially. The pastor, Rodney R. Romney, greeted Rick warmly until he added that he wanted to pursue ordination as an openly gay man. Despite some initial reluctance to take on this battle, the pastor and the congregation eventually saw it as the logical consequence of everything they believed in and stood for. For the next 23 years, this congregation (not unanimously) supported Rick's call to ministry and on three occasions presented his name to a regional ordination council of the American Baptist Churches of the West. Each time the congregation's desire to ordain Rick was rebuffed by the region on narrow votes. In the last such vote in 1995, a majority supported his ordination, but by then the rules had been amended to require a two-thirds majority. At that point Lakeshore Avenue Baptist Church decided to proceed with ordination at the local level. (In Baptist polity it is technically the local congregation that is the ordaining body.) On a hot June Sunday--San Francisco Gay Pride Day--in 1996, Rick was ordained. The decision of Lakeshore Church was supported in various ways by another 25 Baptist congregations from around the country, making it more than a local ordination in a significant sense. Rick was likely the first openly gay Baptist to be ordained (though, with the great diversity within Baptist circles, this is difficult to verify). Though ordained, opportunities to serve were few and far between. Years earlier Rick had obtained a master's degree in counseling from California State University-Hayward and a California state marriage and family therapist license in 1991 in order to support himself.　He also earned a Ph.D. in religion and psychology from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley in 1995. During these years he worked as a psychotherapist and adjunct faculty at Holy Names College (Oakland), Pacific School of Religion (Berkeley) and Saybrook Graduate School in Humanistic Psychology (San Francisco.) In 2000, Rick was called as interim pastor of Dolores Street Baptist Church in San Francisco where he served for 13 months. In March 2004, he left the Bay Area after 35 years to assume the interim pastorate of the First Baptist Church of Granville, Ohio, where he served for 2.5 years. In July of 2006 he became Senior Pastor of the First Baptist Church of Palo Alto, Calif., where he continues to serve. He has continued his witness for lgbtq&q folks over the years, recently speaking out against Proposition 8 which opposed same sex marriage in California and serving on an Arcus Foundation funded planning group to strengthen the witness to and for lgbtq&q people within the Alliance of Baptists, the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America, the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists and the wider Baptist world. Currently, he serves on the boards of the Council of Churches of Santa Clara County, the board of the Alliance of Baptists, on which he chairs the Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations Committee, and the Pacific Coast Baptist Association, which he serves as President. He also sings with The Choral Project in San Jose. Publications include "Response to ‘The Bible and Sexuality’: Reflections" in The American Baptist Quarterly, Volume XII, Number 4, December 1993 and "Pastoral Care of Gay Men" in The Care of Men, Christie Cozad Neuger and James Newton Poling, editors, Abingdon, 1997. (This biographical statement provided by Rick Mixon and was adapted from an article published in Columbia College Today May 2005) Biographical Text Randle R. "Rick" Mixon boarded a train in Boise, Idaho, in September 1965, bound for New York City and Columbia College. He rode with a half-dozen other boys recruited from Idaho. Along with the new metal trunk that held most of his meager worldly possessions, Rick carried a secret: he had known for some time, maybe all his conscious life, that he was attracted to males. There was little or no language for such thoughts and feelings in the environment in which he grew up. Boise of the late '50s and '60s was culturally conservative and was trying to live down the taint of the "Boys of Boise" scandal, in which it had been alleged but never proven that a group of prominent community men had engaged in sexual activity with high school boys. Rick's sense of self was complicated by having been born and raised in the church. His father was a Baptist preacher from Louisiana who served churches in Kansas, California and Idaho before his death at 47, when Rick was 17. Rick had a sense that he was called to ministry, but being a teenager at the time of his father's death left him confused about his place in the world. Even before he entered college, his mother had him on mailing lists for a number of seminaries so he could "finish his father's work." With a young person's natural tendency to reach for independence, in addition to struggling with some of his personal circumstances, Rick decided that entering the ministry was the last thing he would do. Though he did not "come out" during his college years, Rick did discover a wider world of cultural diversity and was challenged to think in ways he had never imagined possible. Not a particularly distinguished student, he sometimes says that he majored in glee club and New York City. By his senior year, he was on a fourth major and realizing that he had neglected to prepare himself for graduate school or a career. What he did know was--his anti-ministerial stance notwithstanding--whenever he chose a paper topic, it invariably turned to issues related to theology, faith, Christian ethics and the church. During his senior year, he gave in to the inevitable and attended a "weekend on the ministry" at Crozer Seminary (Martin Luther King Jr.'s alma mater), which was then located in the Philadelphia area. He discovered that intellectual inquiry and challenging social and cultural analysis were going on in those hallowed halls right alongside the study of theology, church history and the Bible. 　 Even with the modern gay movement unfolding in Greenwich Village, Rick knew he wanted to be in the San Francisco Bay area, so after graduating from Columbia in 1969, he moved to Berkeley and entered the American Baptist Seminary of the West to prepare for ministry. Naïve at the time, he gave little consideration to the conflict between pursuing this career and his emerging sexuality. He split them into separate compartments and kept the door between the compartments under lock and key. Rick flourished in seminary, serving as student representative to the Board of Trustees and as student body president. He was one of a handful of students who really wanted to pursue parish ministry in 1969, when many students were enrolling in theological training to avoid the draft and to pursue "alternate ministries" such as counseling and social work. He served for 15 months as a full-time intern at the First Baptist Church of Seattle. There he first met gay friends and the door between his carefully separated "compartments" began to creak open. He realized that he might be able to integrate his sexuality with the rest of his life, but it seemed obvious that this would not happen in the American Baptist Churches of the early 1970s. He decided to finish seminary but not pursue ministry as a profession. Rick helped to found American Baptists Concerned in 1973 (the "lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, intersex, queer, questioning and allies" movement within the American Baptist Churches/USA), and served as co-chair and staff person of the group for some 20 years. In the early 90s, that group spun off the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists, an organization of now more than 70 congregations that formally identify themselves as being welcoming to and affirming of persons with a range of sexual identities. After graduation from seminary and spending time exploring theater as an alternate career, Rick made a solitary car trip from Berkeley to Boise to visit family, to Seattle to visit friends, and back to Berkeley. It was on that journey that he realized he was running away from his call to ministry. One of his classmates was Bill Johnson, the first openly gay person ordained in the United Church of Christ. Given what he had learned in seminary about the need for trust in sustaining faith communities, it seemed fundamentally wrong to attempt to lead such a community without being honest about his full identity. Also, he knew he had not been given the "gift of celibacy" and believed it would be absurd to try to hide what would become his most important human relationship from any faith community he might serve. In fall 1973, Rick approached the pastor of the Lakeshore Avenue Baptist Church in Oakland, California, where he had worked as a seminarian and was a member, and asked to be ordained by that congregation. He had chosen this church and its pastor because they had consistently preached and practiced inclusivity through the years and they were integrated racially. The pastor, Rodney R. Romney, greeted Rick warmly until he added that he wanted to pursue ordination as an openly gay man. Despite some initial reluctance to take on this battle, the pastor and the congregation eventually saw it as the logical consequence of everything they believed in and stood for. For the next 23 years, this congregation (not unanimously) supported Rick's call to ministry and on three occasions presented his name to a regional ordination council of the American Baptist Churches of the West. Each time the congregation's desire to ordain Rick was rebuffed by the region on narrow votes. In the last such vote in 1995, a majority supported his ordination, but by then the rules had been amended to require a two-thirds majority. At that point Lakeshore Avenue Baptist Church decided to proceed with ordination at the local level. (In Baptist polity it is technically the local congregation that is the ordaining body.) On a hot June Sunday--San Francisco Gay Pride Day--in 1996, Rick was ordained. The decision of Lakeshore Church was supported in various ways by another 25 Baptist congregations from around the country, making it more than a local ordination in a significant sense. Rick was likely the first openly gay Baptist to be ordained (though, with the great diversity within Baptist circles, this is difficult to verify). Though ordained, opportunities to serve were few and far between. Years earlier Rick had obtained a master's degree in counseling from California State University-Hayward and a California state marriage and family therapist license in 1991 in order to support himself.　He also earned a Ph.D. in religion and psychology from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley in 1995. During these years he worked as a psychotherapist and adjunct faculty at Holy Names College (Oakland), Pacific School of Religion (Berkeley) and Saybrook Graduate School in Humanistic Psychology (San Francisco.) In 2000, Rick was called as interim pastor of Dolores Street Baptist Church in San Francisco where he served for 13 months. In March 2004, he left the Bay Area after 35 years to assume the interim pastorate of the First Baptist Church of Granville, Ohio, where he served for 2.5 years. In July of 2006 he became Senior Pastor of the First Baptist Church of Palo Alto, Calif., where he continues to serve. He has continued his witness for lgbtq&q folks over the years, recently speaking out against Proposition 8 which opposed same sex marriage in California and serving on an Arcus Foundation funded planning group to strengthen the witness to and for lgbtq&q people within the Alliance of Baptists, the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America, the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists and the wider Baptist world. Currently, he serves on the boards of the Council of Churches of Santa Clara County, the board of the Alliance of Baptists, on which he chairs the Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations Committee, and the Pacific Coast Baptist Association, which he serves as President. He also sings with The Choral Project in San Jose. Publications include "Response to ‘The Bible and Sexuality’: Reflections" in The American Baptist Quarterly, Volume XII, Number 4, December 1993 and "Pastoral Care of Gay Men" in The Care of Men, Christie Cozad Neuger and James Newton Poling, editors, Abingdon, 1997. (This biographical statement provided by Rick Mixon and was adapted from an article published in Columbia College Today May 2005) Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Rick Mixon Alliance of Baptists Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists Baptist Baptist Peace Fellowship of America First Baptist Church of Palo Alto Rick Mixon RTSA Ecumenical Planning Team https://www.exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/b2733a9711097c1efd4f0acdc2bd19d9.jpg 5b6a4e2634f589af5658cc4cc65c8342 https://www.exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/7a50cadc46795803340b7bfbcb8e28b5.jpg 29c897cdff72401dec0f669dcdb90d94 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Shower of Stoles Description An account of the resource Items (stoles) for the Shower of Stoles exhibit Stole A stole in the Shower of Stoles exhibit Honoree The person honored by the creation of thestole. Rick Reece Stole Text RICK REECE ELDER RUTGERS PRES. NYC Denomination Presbyterian Church (USA) Contribution Date 1996 Contribution Story This is one of about thirty stoles donated to the collection over the years by the members of Rutgers Presbyterian Church in New York in honor of their lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender members, many of whom hold leadership positions within the congregation and in the Presbytery of New York City. Established in 1798 in lower Manhattan, Rutgers has a long history of involvement in social justice and community development issues. Rutgers is a More Light congregation, working for the full inclusion of LGBT persons in the life and leadership of the Presbyterian Church. Along with More Light Presbyterians, Rutgers is a sponsor of Presbyterian Welcome (an affiliate of That All May Freely Serve) and the Covenant Network in their common pursuit for the end of discrimination against LGBT persons in the Presbyterian Church. Martha Juillerat Founder, Shower of Stoles Project 2006 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 257 Title A name given to the resource Rick Reece Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant New York, New York (USA) Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Rutgers Presbyterian Church Covenant Network of Presbyterians More Light Presbyterians for LGBT Concerns New York New York City Ordination Presbyterian Presbyterian Church (USA) Reece, Rick That All May Freely Serve (TAMFS) https://www.exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/046bf38743b32f1ed2f674d3d7067578.png 908d9749526ffbdfa20cd9352935d8aa Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Historical Development of BIPOC Trans-spiritual Leadership Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Ritual obeisance to Kiwasa, an Algonquin deity. Description An account of the resource In this painting by British colonist and illustrator John White, Blackamoors appear to be participating with Indians in an Algonquin ritual. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived America: Being the Latest, and most accurate description of the New World; containing the original inhabitants, and the remarkable voyages thither, Written by John Ogilby, Cartography by Arnoldus Montanus. Subject The topic of the resource A controversial drawing has been misnamed and whitewashed over many years. What if its initial naming also is inaccurate? https://www.exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/69451e9475eb104f018afdf18d7ad7e1.jpg fdbe8c0d1ba0c98fdcacdf13bb580b9c Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Historical Development of BIPOC Trans-spiritual Leadership Website A resource comprising of a web page or web pages and all related assets ( such as images, sound and video files, etc. ). URL https://riversnynjucc.org/ Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Rivers of Living Waters UCC - NY Description An account of the resource The mission of Rivers of Living Water Ministries UCC is to enrich the lives of all we encounter by approaching social justice through a Jesus lens, coupling the practice of radical inclusivity with sound theology and providing a worship environment that fosters a loving, welcoming, safe and resource-rich community.  <a href="https://riversnynjucc.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://riversnynjucc.org</a> Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived https://riversnynjucc.org/ https://www.exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/0aedfea83d0454d255ac310210e93dca.jpeg 88323c92ff308f991ed476a90a133d9c Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Historical Development of BIPOC Trans-spiritual Leadership Person An individual. Biographical Text Rev. RJ Robles is a LGBTQ afro-indigenous borikua scholar-activist-healer. They seek to continue the strong legacy of trans people of color organizing and mobilizing collective care for trans liberation and healing. Rev. Robles holds a Master of Divinity (M.Div) from Vanderbilt Divinity School in Nashville, Tennessee.. In school, their research focus was the intersections of race, gender, sexuality and religion. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource RJ Robles https://www.exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/1c9fb9c8dd69301c4775f6da85237b70.mp3 4633bc22b7abac17fb96c900893f0370 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Historical Development of BIPOC Trans-spiritual Leadership Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource RJ Robles interview Description An account of the resource Interview of RJ Robles