Earlier this week, the Episcopal Church marked the 50th anniversary of the first ordination of women in the priesthood in our denomination. The ordination of women as Episcopal deacons began in 1967, but General Convention continued to vote against women in the priesthood by a narrow margin up through 1973. No longer willing to wait for the Church to catch up to the movement of the Holy Spirit, on July 29, 1974, eleven brave women deacons and three brave male bishops gathered in Philadelphia to hold an ordination service. These women faced a rough time in a deeply divided Church, but their courageous act of “ecclesiastical disobedience” shifted the conversation. Two years later, in 1976, General Convention officially approved the ordination of women as priests and bishops. In 1977 and the years immediately following, many (but not all) dioceses began to ordain women to the priesthood, and in 1989, to the episcopate.
The past 50 years have not always been easy for the women who answered God’s call to serve a Church that did not welcome them in positions of leadership at first. For several decades, many newly ordained women struggled to find parishes willing to hire them as rectors. Often, women were welcomed only as associates, or as vicars in parishes that could barely afford to pay them. Things have improved considerably, but it is worth noting that the gender pay gap persists today in many dioceses. Fortunately, the hard road traveled by the Philadelphia Eleven and all the women who followed has made for a much smoother path for me. I hope my own ministry will likewise make it easier for the generations of women still to come. I believe the Church has been deeply enriched by the presence of its women clergy, and I thank God for their persistence and leadership.
I’m not on Facebook much, but I noticed on Tuesday that Kevin had tagged me in his post reflecting on the 50th anniversary and naming and giving thanks for the many women clergy he has encountered who have served God faithfully throughout the past five decades. I was, of course, honored and humbled to be included in his list, and it got me thinking about my own “list” of women who have inspired me and helped to mold me into who I am today. There are many men who have also been wonderful mentors and friends throughout my journey, but this week I am saying a special prayer of thanksgiving for:
My college associate chaplain and the first female priest I met: Annwn Myers
My associate dean in seminary: Maryetta Anschutz
My internship supervisors in seminary: Barbara Cheney and Pat Hames
My former and current parish colleagues: Ann Dieterle, Hilary Streever, Caroline Parkinson, and Leslie Steffensen
My seminary classmates: Leigh Preston, Whitney Zimmerman, Nora Smith, Yejide Peters Peietersen, Jenny Gregg, Heather Wenrick…just to name a few!
My current and former colleagues in Virginia and North Carolina: Rachel Haynes, Carrie Craig, Amanda Stephenson, Sara Ardrey-Graves, Imogen Rhodenhiser, Marion Sprott, Sally Johnston, Emily Badgett, Bridget Coffey, Lauren Kuratko, Sarah Brokenbrough, Melissa Hollerith, Vienna Cobb Anderson, Kristin Wickersham…I could go on and on!
My dear deacon colleagues in NC: Valerie Davis, Emily Parker, Rebecca Yarbrough, and Robin Sands, to name a few.
My bishops: +Laura Ahrens (who shepherded me through the discernment process and ordained me to the diaconate in the Diocese of Connecticut) +Susan Goff of the Diocese of Virginia, +Anne Hodges Copple, and +Jennifer Brooke-Davidson in the Diocese of North Carolina.
I would be remiss if I did not also include some of the lay women whose ministries in the Church have impacted me in profound ways: Nancy Warman, Mary Beth Abplanalp, Suzanne Hall, Virginia Whitmire, Jessica Ewell, Courtney Fossett, Erin Garrett, Julia Lloyd, Patti Rossini, and countless others who love and serve the Lord in a myriad of ways.
I could also list many women ministers in other denominations who have helped to shape and sustain me in my calling, from the United Methodist associate pastor who was the first clergywoman I ever saw as a middle schooler (her name was Carmen too!) to the ecumenical members of my clergy support groups over the years (shout-out to Shavon, Tracy, Sarah, Wren, Judith, Jackie, and Tara!)
If I kept going, I would eventually end up back at the foot of the cross, with Mary of Nazareth, Mary Magdalene, and the other women who bore witness to the crucifixion of Jesus and proclaimed the good news of the empty tomb. Women have always been ministers of the Gospel. Thanks be to God that our Church recognizes and affirms this truth.
Yours in Christ,
Carmen
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