Stole-n

Next week I will be honored to kneel before God and be commissioned in the United Methodist Church (North Indiana Conference) by our bishop. I am humbled by the opportunity, by the realization of where God has taken us, and by the fear-filled, eager anticipation of what lies ahead.

This will also be the first time I will wear my clergy robe (other than seeing how good I look in our mirror). Those of us being commissioned were told that we need to have our robes but a stole will not be necessary. I wondered at this statement as I was unaware that one would even wear a stole for such an occasion.

I attended the ordination ceremony a couple of years ago for my friend/mentor. When he was ordained, he received a stole. He received a stole for a reason. A stole is a symbol of one's ordination...therefore...if one is not ordained they should not wear one.

Is it that one is not worthy of wearing a stole until they are ordained? Maybe. Once commissioned, you are placed on "probationary membership". To be put crudely, this means that the UMC is watching you to make sure you are fit and prepared for ordained elder status. Therefore, I ask the question again. Is one worthy of wearing a stole before they are ordained?

According to the United Methodist Church...the answer is no. "The stole is a sign of ordination, and it is placed on the shoulders of elders and deacons at ordination. The stole should be worn only by the ordained clergy." (http://www.gbod.org/worship/default_body.asp?act=reader&item_id=1768 Copyright © 2000-2003 The General Board of Discipleship.)

Yet...many people who are not ordained continue to wear a stole even though the are not "worthy". Maybe "worthy" is a strong term...then again...maybe not. There is something to be said for what God has done in the lives of those who have been ordained. And...if that is the case...I find it is important to pay my respects toward those individuals by not adorning myself with the symbol that has been placed on them. If I do...doesn't it devalue what the stole means? Or have we already devalued what the stole stands for?