Collection Contents

Physical Description: 4 folders

The Holy Union Series contains e-mail correspondence in preparation for the service, the invitation to the service, the program for the service, and congratulatory greeting cards prior to and following the service. The folder Church Involvement contains a history of homosexuality/homophobia compiled by the California-Nevada Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, correspondence, meeting minutes, and newsletters outlining the background of the Sacramento's St. Mark's United Methodist Church position on the issue of holy union services for same-gender couples, and documents relating to the "Sacramento 68" clergy who participated in the Holy Union, including "Why We Officiated at a Service of Holy Union" and an edited version of the oral statement given by Rev. Don Fado to the Committee on Investigation in 2000.

Physical Description: 7 folders

Personal Series consists of individual information for both Jeanne Barnett and Ellie Charlton, including Charlton's marriage announcement, divorce agreement, Barnett's birth and death certificates, a dissolution of property agreement for Barnett and Charlton, articles for publications written by Barnett and by Charlton, information on the Lazarus Award presented to Barnett, and the cards of consolation written following Barnett's death. An additional folder contains information about the celebration of the fifth anniversary of the Holy Union after Barnett's death. Also included are materials relating to traveling the two women did together and for a house concert performed by Judy Fjell in 1986.

Physical Description: 1 oversized folder

The oversize folder contains newspaper clippings from Sacramento, Los Angeles, San Jose, Eureka, San Francisco, and from the California-Nevada annual conference of the United Methodist Church, as well as magazine articles, and photo displays from the Holy Union.

The artifacts consist of a scrapbook from Barnett and Charlton's travels, a videotape of the Holy Union, a videotape of an interview with the two women, and a video prayer for the two. The three audiotapes are recordings of the services held after Barnett's death in 2003. Three 3 W' floppy disks contains the testimonies given at the Committee on Investigation held for the clergy involved in the Holy Union service. The Bishop's Award presented by the United Methodist Church San Francisco area in 1994 to Barnett is an artifact in this collection. There are also 46 button badges that relate to gay and lesbian issues. The badges state things such as: I support reconciling congregations, Celebrate Community, Honor Diversity, That All May Freely Serve, Stand Together with Women, The Body of Christ Includes Lesbian and Gay People, and Pro-Faith, pro-family, pro-choice Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice. Eighteen of the 30 lapel pins relate to United Methodist Church, lesbian and gay issues, IAPES (the International Association of Personnel in Employment Security), or bowling. The other pins relate to Sacramento area professional basketball. The two jackets were worn by Barnett and Charlton during the Holy Union Service.

Physical Description: 1 box

The photographs in this collection represent primarily the Holy Union service. There are several 8" by 10" enlargements of the couple, the pastor, and the guests. Many photos taken at the event were not printed, but are shown on contact sheets. A few earlier photographs, including Barnett's high school graduation photo, are also included. Photos taken at the memorial service for Barnett in 2003 are also included. At that memorial service t-shirts that Barnett had owned were displayed; a duplicate set of photographs of those t-shirts are included.