A tale of two stoles Posted on February 4, 2025
~ photo courtesy Glenn M. Wagner
Retired pastor Glenn M. Wagner tells a true story about two clergy stoles he received that became a life lesson on how following Jesus is not intended to be a solo experience.
GLENN M. WAGNER
Michigan United Methodist Communications
I first learned about stoles growing up in a United Methodist church. The stole was part of the garb worn on Sunday by the pastor over his robe while leading worship. I recognize that many pastors today opt for more casual dress when leading worship, but for most of my forty years in ministry, a robe and stole were expected vestments for clergy leading worship.
Stoles are reminders of servanthood and the command of Jesus on the evening of his last supper. He began the Passover seder meal in Jerusalem by washing his disciples’ feet before the meal and then instructing, “For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you” (John 13:15, NRSVUE). Wearing a stole draped over the shoulders while leading worship is a reminder of God’s invitation to serve with humility after Christ’s example.
The stole’s color changes throughout the year, reminding us of the different liturgical seasons of the church year. It often matches the colors and patterns of the cloths draped over the altar, lectern, and pulpit. Click to learn more about the colors and seasons.
It wasn’t until I responded to a sense of God’s calling in my life and began my studies to become a United Methodist pastor that I was introduced to the deeper significance of the clergy stoles.
The stole also symbolizes church authority to lead worship, conduct the sacraments, officiate at weddings, and preach. In The United Methodist Church, a stole draped over the shoulders signifies that the person wearing it has been ordained an elder in the connectional church.
My first stole was laid over my shoulders by Bishop Jesse DeWitt during an ordination service of the Northern Illinois Annual Conference on June 6, 1982, before a congregation of over a thousand clergy and lay persons. The bishop spoke these words: “Take authority as an elder to preach the Word of God, to administer the Holy Sacraments and to order the life of the Church; in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”
Since then, I have remembered the weight, privilege, and responsibility of ministry. Ministry is service with community in the name of Christ.
While serving as an elder in the West Michigan Conference, I was privileged to participate in a tradition at our annual conference, held first at Albion College and later at Calvin College, now University. It was customary for the conference elders to join a clergy choir during the ordination service for new elders and deacons. The clergy anthem was a powerful witness to the greater strength of the body of Christ. Members of the clergy choir would wear robes and stoles, and many clergy would intentionally wear stoles inherited from clergy colleagues who had been suspended from ministry (defrocked) for performing gay marriages, which was then a violation of the Book of Discipline. Wearing those stoles was an act of silent witness in favor of moving the church toward a policy of greater acceptance and inclusion for all God’s people.
In June 2009, I had the privilege to travel to Israel to participate in a three-week course through Jerusalem University College to study the Bible on location around the country. I was joined by my younger brother, Richard Wagner, who is also an ordained United Methodist elder, and my daughter Bethany, who had just completed a semester abroad study in Ankara, Turkey.
On one of the Sundays there, we worshiped at St. Andrew’s Scots Memorial Church, a service offered in English within walking distance of Jerusalem University College. During worship, we learned about an important ministry of the church, the Sunbula Craft Shop, which supports the employment of Palestinian artisans by providing an outlet for their crafts. The gift shop is closed on Sundays, so we returned later in the week. I purchased a handcrafted clergy stole with designs stitched in a distinctive pattern in Galilee blue thread. Bethany was engaged to be married and had chosen blue and white as colors for her wedding, so I planned to wear this very special stole at her wedding scheduled for July 2010.
I have since learned that this stole was made by the Surif Women’s Cooperative, established initially as a needlework project in 1950 by Mennonite Christian missionaries. These missionaries wanted to provide Palestinian refugee women an opportunity to supplement their family income and enhance their self-reliance through empowerment. The women assumed leadership of the project and renamed it the Surif Women’s Cooperative in 1983.
This Palestinian stole has become my favorite. When I wear it, I remember all the invitations and nudges from Sunday school teachers, friends, parishioners, college professors, mentors, and family members who have inspired my ministry and encouraged my travel to the Middle East. I am continuously reminded of the connectional nature of Christ’s global ministry and the people who still live in the land of Jesus’ birth and ministry.
Fast forward to Saturday, July 5, 2014. After eight years of service as pastor at Holt UMC, located just south of Lansing, I was preparing for my first Sunday as the newly appointed pastor at the Church of the Dunes in Grand Haven. I was on my way into the church to put the finishing touches on my first sermon for the next morning. Because of the special occasion, I had already decided to wear my Palestinian stole. While walking across the church parking lot, a postal van drove up next to me, and the postman popped his head out of the vehicle and said, “Excuse me. I’m sorry to bother you, but do you work here?”
I laughed and replied, “Well, yes, sort of. I am the new pastor, and I officially begin tomorrow in worship.”
The postman continued, “I hope you can help me. I have a package to deliver to the church that won’t fit in the church mailbox on the curb. I am wondering if you might be able to see that it gets to the right person.”
“I would be happy to.”
“Thank you.” The postman handed me the package.
I smiled, “We’re both in luck! The package is addressed to me.”
I carried the package into the church and opened it. There was an explanatory note from Rev. Cynthia Skutar, a respected clergy colleague serving at Grand Ledge UMC at the time.
Cynthia explained that she had been gifted the clergy stoles belonging to Rev. Lynn Grimes by her husband, Kip Grimes. Lynn was a mutual friend and a respected clergy colleague. Lynn had served as a district superintendent, was a colleague on the Conference Board of Ordained Ministry, and preceded me in pastoral leadership at Holt UMC, from which I had just left to come to Grand Haven. Lynn served at Holt from 1999 to 2006. Lynn died on January 20, 2013.
Cynthia decided the best way to honor Lynn’s ministry was to share her stoles with close clergy friends. She picked out Lynn’s Pentecost stole to send to me.
When I opened the wrapping paper, it was a Holy Spirit moment of significance. Unbeknownst to either of us, Lynn’s Pentecost stole was also a handmade stole in the identical pattern, stitched in red thread, from the Sunbula Craft Shop in Jerusalem!
The memorial gift of Lynn’s stole felt like more than a coincidence. It impressed itself on my soul as a God Incident, reminding me again of Christ’s call to share his love in community.
These stoles have been worn together by Pastor Dan Hart and me at Mount Clemens: First UMC while co-officiating at the separate baptisms of my two grandsons. These vestments reminded us of our shared privilege to serve a wider community. The congregation participated in a sacrament that similarly reminds us of the communal nature of the body of Christ and ministry when we reaffirmed our pledge together, “With God’s help, we will so order our lives after the example of Christ that this child will be surrounded with steadfast love, established in the faith, and confirmed and strengthened in the way that leads to life eternal.”
God, help us to remember that we are called to love one another as you have loved us. Help us to serve you and one another by following your example of humility and grace.
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Last Updated on February 11, 2025
Posted in Faith & Life, Faith & MinistryTagged Christian Community, Clergy, Ordination, stole, Sunbula Craft Shop, Surif Women’s Cooperative, vestments