A Day of Celebration and Remembrance
Commemorating an event that mapped a path for change
By Kathy Mank
Five of the Philadelphia Eleven, one of the Washington Four, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, Bishop Barbara Harris, and a host of other women who were the first to be female and ordained at various times and places were celebrated and honored in Philadelphia on Sat., July 26, 2014. The 40 Years of Women’s Ordained Ministry and 2000 Years in Ministry Symposium at Temple University provided speakers and panelists the opportunity to share their own history and God’s calling to us now. Inspired by Dr. Fredrica Harris Thompsett, who stated that “we study history in order to intervene in it and that we look backward in order to move forward,” the 200+ men and women attending were challenged to make more history in the days ahead in ministry that cares for the least, lost, and left out.
The Rt. Rev. Clifton Daniel, Bishop of Pennsylvania, reminded the gathering that Philadelphia was where Bishop White “thought up” the Episcopal Church. The first General Convention of the Episcopal Church was held in Philadelphia at Christ Church. At the end of the Civil War in 1865, General Convention met at St. Luke and The Epiphany church in Philadelphia to lead the church in reconciliation. Forty years ago, Philadelphia hosted the ordination service for the installation of the first 11 women priests in the Episcopal Church at Church of the Advocate. The Bishop had been a priest for only 1 year and decided to lay hands on the ordains and go forward—despite the potential cost to his career. In this city, “a greenhouse of Anglicanism and Catholicism,” Bishop Daniel illustrated by saying, “what buds in Philadelphia, starts new shoots that take root and grow throughout Christendom, and celebrates the diversity of God’s people.” The events in 1974 changed the course of history in the Episcopal Church.
Dr. Harris Thompsett, a historian, professor, and more, stated that “despite 40 years of ordained women in ministry there is still gender insensitivity in the Church.” This occurs despite the Church being led by a woman, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori. She suggested the development of a gender sensitivity program in similar fashion to the existing anti-racism training program delivered by many Dioceses in the Church. The Executive Council Committee on the Status of Women could be a vehicle to impact search committees to increase their focus on women candidates for ministry from all cultures. The committee currently addresses social justice issues such as human trafficking, gender inequality, and poverty. Harris Thompsett wanted to “speed up gender justice.”
BUMPER STICKER
There is a bumper sticker, “If you’re not going to ordain women, stop baptizing them!” Dr. Harris-Thompsett gave three challenges to the symposium attendees.
- First, recognize the centrality of baptism as chief among all Holy Orders. The radical doctrine of Baptism places all in one order of ministry. There is not a clerical class set apart, but all share ordained, is quoted as saying, “You don’t have to buy vestments to use your prophetic voice.”
- Second, embrace the theological significance of women’s bodies, as women are the primary care givers of sexuality. Girls may learn in adolescence that their bodies are “good, accepted, and beloved of God.” She challenged us all to “claim our bodies as sacred vessels of spiritual authority” and to acknowledge the incarnate dwelling of Christ within us and us in Him.
- Third, by the 50th Anniversary of the Ordination of Women, the challenge is to have 30% of the episcopate female. In the larger society and in the church, there is documented resistance to the authority of women. Tokenism will not solve the gender problem. Women are no more likely than men to be elected as bishops than over 2 decades ago.
The panelists at the symposium discussed stories of their own lives and thoughts from their hearts. The Rt. Rev. Carol Gallagher, Bishop Missioner for Bishop’s Native Collaborative, is currently charged with “raising up” and training Native American ordinands. Her family has been Native American and Christian for a generations – it was never a question in their family. Her great-grandmother walked the Comanche “Trail of Tears.”
CULTURAL DIVERSITY
Bishop Gallagher said that the Episcopal Church is still “very White” and needs to embrace cultural diversity acknowledging “where we came from, and where we are going.” She championed the slogan of St. Paul’s College in southern Virginia, “Excellence, No Excuses.” She was once asked during coffee hour just who David Pendleton Oakerhater was, and why was he important? As she had won an award for writing an essay on Deacon Oakerhater, she was reluctant to answer. She was advised to “answer the damn question and move forward.” Her parting words were “take whomever we need to and go knowing God is walking with us.”
The Rev. Miguelina Howell from the Dominican Republic was born in 1976 and ordained in 2002. She reminded us to “be present for the little ones” and be inclusive of all races, cultures, and languages. Our in the work of healer, teacher, and prophet where the focus is on being the whole people of God. Pauli Murray, the first African American woman
church is not just a national church, but includes 17 countries. She honored a fellow-Dominican woman priest, the Rev. Rosa Margarita Santana, first Latina priest in the Diocese of Maryland.
The Rev. Sandye Wilson, the fourth African American woman priest to be ordained (following Barbara Harris, Pauli Murray, and Gayle Harris) was only asked to serve on the panel the week before the Symposium. Graciously, she said to be mindful of omissions, remembering that the first 13 African-American women to be ordained, 12 were left-handed.
In her remarks, the Rev. Wilson reminded those gathered to name injustices, so they are not subject to repeat them. She said that she is a sixth generation Episcopalian, but still believes that it is a very White church. She expressed that Black women are not counted highly, when Black women and Black men are considered as a group. At one point in her ministry, she helped lead “Mother Thunder in the Village,” where “Hyers” instead of “Hymns” were sung to differentiate women. The Rev. Wilson went on to explain that some groups juggle for position of “the most oppressed.” For example, “Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the most oppressed of all?” she said. Where there are intersecting oppressions, the Rev. Wilson suggested finding allies to work hand in hand. “There is room to be radically welcoming to everyone as all are created in the image of God. When and where I enter the whole race is with me.”
Nikki Wood, a laywoman, with a career in service to the Diocese of Pennsylvania, spoke about our calling. Ordained or not, we all are empowered by the Spirit in baptism, and carry that commitment to do God’s work. In recalling her work on a search commission, she quipped that the questions asked of candidates were so difficult that even Jesus Christ himself probably could not have answered. “I understand what our Lord wants us to do, I am prepared and I do not need a costume.”
At the time the Episcopal Church was just beginning to open a window to talk about equity and racial justice, women’s ordination also was advancing. Suzanne Hiatt, an organizer and one of the Philadelphia Eleven, was Ms. Wood’s neighbor. She supported her neighbor, but did not have celebratory feelings—having the perspective of an African American woman. The church was doing what the broader society was doing. However, “The Civil Rights movement was being eclipsed by a bunch of feminists.” In her estimation, even in 2014, she is not encouraging men and women of color to pursue a vocation in our church unless they want to be poor for the rest of their lives. “The Holy Spirit is still trying to inform followers of Christ that it is a good thing to have a rector of color.”
The Rev. Dr. Nancy Wittig, one of the Philadelphia Eleven and currently the priest at St. Peter’s, Lakewood, OH, delivered the closing meditation. Through emphasis on righting injustice, she believed it important to ask God to open us for ministry to all people. “Tell the story and free ourselves for the future. Be prophets on issues of justice, but take authority as people of faith.” In making reference to the 40 years of ordination, she referenced Suzanne Hiatt, who would speak like “Eeyore,” of Winnie the Pooh fame, saying, “Be careful, someone will try to undo this.” Hiatt encouraged misbehavior – “if you see a wrong, change it” – speak out on behalf of the least and the lost. Live lives of faith and courage, and compliment the “Justice is Orthodox Theology” slogan. Hiatt also invited others to walk together in revolution knowing that our God travels with us all. Open hearts and minds – to what ministry could look like. “Do not be afraid,” she said. “Be of Good Courage.” †
—Based in Ohio, author Kathy Mank is treasurer of ECW National Board. She recently attended the 40th Anniversary Observation of the Ordination of Women in the Clergy.