The Sewing Connection project aims to create nearly 100 stoles

In one busy day, stoles will be sewn to honor the Rev. Dr. Katie Geneva Cannon

by Layton Williams Berkes | Presbyterian News Service

The Rev. CeCe Armstrong and the Rev. Tony Larson were elected co-moderators of the the 226th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) on June 30, 2024. (Photo by Rich Copley)

If you find your way to Dorchester Presbyterian Church outside of Charleston, South Carolina, on Thursday, December 5, you can witness, and perhaps even participate in, the powerful impact of Black Presbyterian women.

The Sewing Connection, as the event has been named, began with another set of stoles — just two — made as a gesture of friendship and support from one woman in ministry to another.

This past spring, after learning that the Rev. CeCe Armstrong, would be standing for Co-moderator of the Presbyterian Church (USA) General Assembly, Michelle Phillips reached out to her friend to ask how she could support her. Armstrong asked, “Well, what can you do?” And Phillips told her, “I can make stoles!”

Phillips, who serves as the director of Christian Education at The Kirk in Kansas City, learned to make stoles several years ago at an Arts, Recreation, and Worship conference at Montreat and has been making them as gifts for friends ever since.

Armstrong requested two stoles — one for her and one for the Rev. Tony Larson, who was standing as co-moderator with her. When the stoles are worn side by side, they form the Presbyterian cross. Armstrong explained that the design only works when Armstrong stands on the right, and Larson on the left. “I told Tony, ‘I’m always right.’”

Jokes aside, Armstrong emphasized the design symbolizes that we are only the body of Christ together. After being elected as the denomination’s newest co-moderators, Armstrong and Larson wore the stoles as they began their work at the 226^th General Assembly this past summer in Salt Lake City.

The image of the two, standing side by side and visually representing the connectional nature of the church, resonated with Assembly attendees and those following along from home. A photo made the rounds on social media.

When news of the stoles made its way to the Katie Geneva Cannon Center for Womanist Leadership, the center’s director, Rev. Melanie C. Jones, reached out to Phillips and asked, “Could you make 90 of these?” In particular, they wanted Phillips to design the stoles to honor the late Rev. Dr. Cannon, using Cannon’s doodles as design inspiration.

The Rev. Dr. Katie Geneva Cannon

Phillips was honored and a little overwhelmed. She turned, once again, to Armstrong to ask whether she should take on such a big challenge, and this time, Armstrong was the one to offer support.

“I told her ‘Yes! And we can do it together!’”

Armstrong took on the role of organizing others to help make the stoles project happen. They enlisted the involvement of other Presbyterian sewers — Candy King, Rosalyn McPhail, Susan Barnes, Jane Davis, Irene Whaley, and Frances Reeder, to name a few. A sewing group made up of women from Dorchester Presbyterian in Armstrong’s home presbytery of Charleston-Atlantic, offered their labor, their space, and their hospitality. Planning calls took place on Zoom. A date was chosen.

At least 20 women will gather at Dorchester in Summerville, South Carolina, on December 5, but their gathering is also open to anyone who wants to join them and can cover their own expenses. They will begin at 9:30 a.m. and continue until their work is complete. Armstrong said they encourage folks traveling in to arrive on December 4^th, join in sewing and fellowship on the 5, and then stay the weekend to enjoy Charleston.

Prior to the gathering, Phillips and some others will do some of the prep work, making the various parts of the stoles before shipping them to South Carolina. The Sewing Connection group will assemble the pieces and sew them together into the completed stoles before sending them on to Union.

Armstrong knows that not everyone will be able to join them, but she hopes that people across the denomination will offer support in other ways. “Prayer is first,” she said.

Those who are interested in being a part of The Sewing Connection can register online. Experience with sewing is not required and all materials and equipment will be provided. Those with questions can reach out to Armstrong via email.

The ambitious and heartfelt project embodies exactly what Armstrong and Phillips intended the original pair of stoles to portray: the church becomes the body of Christ when people come together to love and serve in his name.

Click here to learn about and explore the Presbyterian Historical Society’s Katie Geneva Cannon Digital Collection, which includes over 450 sermons, lectures and writings of Cannon’s — all accessible through Pearl Digital Collections.