Participants tell us that they were inspired to take the skills learned, stories shared and inspiration received back to their churches. Please read our Fall 2011 Newsletter for pictures and details.
Several have asked to hear the story of the stole that was given to Norman Kansfield as a surprise honor of his witness for LGBTQ inclusion. The stole features a rainbow spectrum of hands.
There is truth in the statement, “Room for All began with a wedding” — specifically, the 2004 marriage of a woman named Ann and a woman named Jennifer, performed by Ann’s father, the Rev. Dr. Norman Kansfield.
It’s probably more accurate to say that Room for All began with a trial – namely, the subsequent 2005 General Synod trial that resulted in Norm’s suspension from the office of Minister of Word and Sacrament.
But I wonder if it’s most true to say that Room for All began with hands – hands representing the whole spectrum of God’s people. Hands held in solidarity; raised in protest; folded in prayer. In 2006, a small group of visionary people extended their hands in service to launch a fledgling organization whose mission would be “to support, educate and advocate for the full inclusion of LGBTQ persons in the life and ministry of the Reformed Church in America as compelled by the inclusive love of God revealed to us by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
More than 50 such people gathered in a church basement in Albany in the spring of 2007 to begin a Room for All regional group in the NY Capital District. Fast forward to last March, when that Capital group hosted an exhibit of The Shower of Stoles. Some of the visitors asked why Room for All isn’t represented among the stoles, and an idea was born. A call to the Stoles Project enthusiastically confirmed that YES, the collection, which now numbers over 1,000, should include a stole honoring Norman Kansfield and the organization inspired into being by his story and witness.
A gifted craftswoman, Gay Doolittle, volunteered to design and create the stole. Gay is an active member of the Capital District Room for All and a voice for inclusion in her home congregation, First Reformed in Schenectady. And like those on display out in the atrium, Norm’s story will be added to his stole. But before it gets sent off to Minneapolis, we’re delighted that Gay Doolittle is here to present this gift to Norm on behalf of Room for All.