Today is the 50th Anniversary of the ordinations to the priesthood of 11 women deacons in The Episcopal Church. These ordinations happened in 1974, two years before The Episcopal Church officially approved the ordination of women to the priesthood and episcopacy (bishops).
This is a story important in the history of The Episcopal Church, but it's also a story of events that deeply affected me personally -- and I wasn't even an Episcopalian at the time.But I was a reporter following the news of this church that had such amazing brave women in it.
Photo courtesy The Philadelphia Eleven film
I was raised in the Roman Catholic Church, and educated by nuns in a Catholic boarding school for two very formative years in my life.
Bishop Barbara Harris, flanked by the Rev. Dr. Carter Heyward
and the Rev. Margaret Bullitt-Jonas, celebrates the Eucharist at
her Ordination and Consecration to the Episcopate.
Photo courtesy of the AP.
In the time between the 1974 ordinations and the 1976 General Convention in Minneapolis where the ordination of women was approved, Carter Heyward was invited to speak at TCU's Canterbury House by its Episcopal chaplain, the Rev. Gayland Pool.
I went to report on this encounter between one of the Eleven and local Episcopal priests. While Pool was courteous and friendly to her, I was shocked by the outright rudeness and vicious rhetoric that came from so many of the Fort Worth clergy. Carter handled it all with grace and patience, which appeared to make them even angrier.
(if you know me, you know that many years later, Gayland Pool and I reconnected and got married. But that's a WHOLE OTHER story)
As I was leaving the meeting to go write my story, I was stopped by a TCU student who quietly told me Carter would be presiding at Eucharist that evening at her house, and I was invited.
So I went, fully in my reporter mode. The small house was crammed full. Carter was at a small coffee table. Before the service she played her guitar and sang "Sometimes I wish my eyes hadn't been open." And then Mass started.
This is a liturgical event I had witnessed thousands of times, daily when I was at a Catholic school. But I was totally unprepared for what happened.
When Carter held up the bread and said, "This is my body," for the first time in my life I heard this phrase said by a woman. By. A. Woman.
The spiritual impact literally staggered me.
For the first time in my life I realized that I WAS PART OF THE BODY Of CHRIST. Me. A woman. I too was included, loved, cherished.
Waves of grief and joy and anger and amazement flooded through me. Grief for all the women denied ordination, all the lay women denigrated and held to be less than men; joy at the sense of being loved and valued, anger at the centuries of exclusion, amazement at the power of a woman holding bread and wine and proclaiming them the Body and Blood of Christ.
When I looked around, I saw that everyone in the room was weeping. I knew down to my bones that something holy had just happened.
So I followed closely the story of The Episcopal Church and its struggle and hard work as it tried to figure out "what to do with these women."
The Episcopal Church from the very beginning viewed the ordination of women as a problem to be solved, not a gift to be celebrated. This approach rooted in fear and misogyny gave way too much room for the patriarchy to do its usual thing of making sure men were comfortable while naming those who were making them uncomfortable the problem. Sadly, this approach has also been that taken while dealing with LGBTQI+ issues -- and all issues related to race.
I already had begun to distance myself from the Catholic Church, bothered by the inconsistencies of teaching we were all made in the image of God, but somehow, female children of God were less worthy than males. Girls couldn't be altar servers, women couldn't be ordained, and the leadership roles open to women were extremely limited.
So when I read the news and saw the coverage of the ordination of these 11 women, I was mesmerized.
It was a prophetic act, an act of courageous defiance of the patriarchy. And the patriarchy came roaring back at them, as pissed off mostly white male bishops went after the bishops who ordained them and any priests who allowed them to lead worship in their parishes. They limited their attacks on the 11 mostly to forbidding them to preside at Eucharist, a Communion service. But the rhetoric about them often was vicious, and often the viciousness was physical. One man etched deep scratches into Carter Heyward's hand when she gave him Communion.
So when I read the news and saw the coverage of the ordination of these 11 women, I was mesmerized.
It was a prophetic act, an act of courageous defiance of the patriarchy. And the patriarchy came roaring back at them, as pissed off mostly white male bishops went after the bishops who ordained them and any priests who allowed them to lead worship in their parishes. They limited their attacks on the 11 mostly to forbidding them to preside at Eucharist, a Communion service. But the rhetoric about them often was vicious, and often the viciousness was physical. One man etched deep scratches into Carter Heyward's hand when she gave him Communion.
And on September 7, 1975, four more women deacons were ordained in Washington, raising the temperature of the debate even more. These women became known as the Washington Four.
The Eleven were very aware that they all were white, and they talk about that in the documentary "The Philadelphia Eleven", a film by Margo Guernsey and Nikki Bramley that was released last year.
https://www.philadelphiaelevenfilm.com/
The Eleven were very aware that they all were white, and they talk about that in the documentary "The Philadelphia Eleven", a film by Margo Guernsey and Nikki Bramley that was released last year.
https://www.philadelphiaelevenfilm.com/
The Rev. Dr. Kelly Brown Douglas, the Rev. Dr. Carter Heyward, and the Rt Rev.
Mary Glasspool. Photo courtesy of EDS
On December 9, 2023, a panel sponsored by Episcopal Divinity School that was moderated by EDS Interim President the Rev. Dr. Kelly Brown Douglas, and featured the Rt. Rev. Mary Glasspool, Assistant Bishop of the Diocese of New York, and the Rev. Dr. Carter Heyward, one of the 1974 women deacons and Philadelphia Eleven, "reflected on the untold ways in which Black Episcopalians and Black activists more broadly supported women’s ordination.
"Rev. Douglas noted that the Philadelphia Eleven were ordained at the historically Black Church of the Advocate where Rev. Paul Washington was rector and Barbara Harris, later to become Suffragan Bishop of Massachusetts, as a lay member of the congregation, served as crucifer for the service. Rev. Douglas further pointed out that the local Black Panthers chapter help to provide security for the service."
On December 9, 2023, a panel sponsored by Episcopal Divinity School that was moderated by EDS Interim President the Rev. Dr. Kelly Brown Douglas, and featured the Rt. Rev. Mary Glasspool, Assistant Bishop of the Diocese of New York, and the Rev. Dr. Carter Heyward, one of the 1974 women deacons and Philadelphia Eleven, "reflected on the untold ways in which Black Episcopalians and Black activists more broadly supported women’s ordination.
"Rev. Douglas noted that the Philadelphia Eleven were ordained at the historically Black Church of the Advocate where Rev. Paul Washington was rector and Barbara Harris, later to become Suffragan Bishop of Massachusetts, as a lay member of the congregation, served as crucifer for the service. Rev. Douglas further pointed out that the local Black Panthers chapter help to provide security for the service."
Bishop Barbara Harris, flanked by the Rev. Dr. Carter Heyward
and the Rev. Margaret Bullitt-Jonas, celebrates the Eucharist at
her Ordination and Consecration to the Episcopate.
Photo courtesy of the AP.
Barbara Harris' election as Bishop Suffragan in Massachusetts made her the first woman bishop in the Worldwide Anglican Communion. A Black woman. Fort Worth Bishop Clarence Pope promptly declared her the church's "Final Crisis," a phrase that made Harris laugh every time she heard it.
The revered Pauli Murray, Black lawyer, activist, and scholar, was first in her class at Howard University Law school and the only woman. She is the first African American to earn a J.S.D. from Yale Law School and a co-founder of the National Organization for Women. in 1966. Murray had reservations about the 1974 event and did not participate. But she supported those women who did.
And on January 8, 1977, after The Episcopal Church approved the ordination of women to the priesthood and episcopate in 1976, she was ordained in the National Cathedral, making her the first Black woman priest in The Episcopal Church.
The revered Pauli Murray, Black lawyer, activist, and scholar, was first in her class at Howard University Law school and the only woman. She is the first African American to earn a J.S.D. from Yale Law School and a co-founder of the National Organization for Women. in 1966. Murray had reservations about the 1974 event and did not participate. But she supported those women who did.
And on January 8, 1977, after The Episcopal Church approved the ordination of women to the priesthood and episcopate in 1976, she was ordained in the National Cathedral, making her the first Black woman priest in The Episcopal Church.
A Very Personal Perspective
In the time between the 1974 ordinations and the 1976 General Convention in Minneapolis where the ordination of women was approved, Carter Heyward was invited to speak at TCU's Canterbury House by its Episcopal chaplain, the Rev. Gayland Pool.
I went to report on this encounter between one of the Eleven and local Episcopal priests. While Pool was courteous and friendly to her, I was shocked by the outright rudeness and vicious rhetoric that came from so many of the Fort Worth clergy. Carter handled it all with grace and patience, which appeared to make them even angrier.
(if you know me, you know that many years later, Gayland Pool and I reconnected and got married. But that's a WHOLE OTHER story)
As I was leaving the meeting to go write my story, I was stopped by a TCU student who quietly told me Carter would be presiding at Eucharist that evening at her house, and I was invited.
So I went, fully in my reporter mode. The small house was crammed full. Carter was at a small coffee table. Before the service she played her guitar and sang "Sometimes I wish my eyes hadn't been open." And then Mass started.
This is a liturgical event I had witnessed thousands of times, daily when I was at a Catholic school. But I was totally unprepared for what happened.
When Carter held up the bread and said, "This is my body," for the first time in my life I heard this phrase said by a woman. By. A. Woman.
The spiritual impact literally staggered me.
For the first time in my life I realized that I WAS PART OF THE BODY Of CHRIST. Me. A woman. I too was included, loved, cherished.
Waves of grief and joy and anger and amazement flooded through me. Grief for all the women denied ordination, all the lay women denigrated and held to be less than men; joy at the sense of being loved and valued, anger at the centuries of exclusion, amazement at the power of a woman holding bread and wine and proclaiming them the Body and Blood of Christ.
When I looked around, I saw that everyone in the room was weeping. I knew down to my bones that something holy had just happened.
So I followed closely the story of The Episcopal Church and its struggle and hard work as it tried to figure out "what to do with these women."
What To Do With These Women
The Episcopal Church from the very beginning viewed the ordination of women as a problem to be solved, not a gift to be celebrated. This approach rooted in fear and misogyny gave way too much room for the patriarchy to do its usual thing of making sure men were comfortable while naming those who were making them uncomfortable the problem. Sadly, this approach has also been that taken while dealing with LGBTQI+ issues -- and all issues related to race.
The church also was in the process of revising the Book of Common Prayer, one part of which was moving Baptism and the Baptismal Covenant into a more central place in life and worship of the Church. Conservatives declared such a move would "change the Church forever." They had no idea how right they were.
The Baptismal Covenant is on Page 304 of the Book of Common Prayer. https://bit.ly/3A0Fudk
One very important thing to know is that the whole congregation joins the person being baptized in making these promises. So these promises are made by all Episcopalians present every time there's a baptism as they "join with those who are committing themselves to Christ and renew our own baptismal covenant."
The Covenant begins with the one being baptized -- and the whole congregation -- affirming belief in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. And then it gets pretty specific about what that means for a baptized person.
Pretty heavy duty promises. Following the baptism the person just baptized is anointed with oil: "Then the Bishop or Priest places a hand on the person’s head, marking on the forehead the sign of the cross [using Chrism if desired] and saying to each one N., you are sealed by the Holy Spirit in Baptism and marked as Christ’s own for ever. Amen."
You are marked as Christ's own for ever.
The Baptismal Covenant is on Page 304 of the Book of Common Prayer. https://bit.ly/3A0Fudk
One very important thing to know is that the whole congregation joins the person being baptized in making these promises. So these promises are made by all Episcopalians present every time there's a baptism as they "join with those who are committing themselves to Christ and renew our own baptismal covenant."
The Covenant begins with the one being baptized -- and the whole congregation -- affirming belief in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. And then it gets pretty specific about what that means for a baptized person.
Celebrant - Will you continue in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in the prayers ?
People - I will, with God’s help.
Celebrant - Will you persevere in resisting evil, and, whenever you fall into sin, repent and return to the Lord?
People I will, with God’s help.
Celebrant - Will you proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ?
People - I will, with God’s help.
Celebrant - Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself?
People - I will, with God’s help.
Celebrant - Will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being?
People - I will, with God’s help.
You are marked as Christ's own for ever.
Sealed with a cross. Not an asterisk. A cross. You are Christ's own forever whether you are woman, a man, a trans person, a queer person -- no matter what, you are Christ's own forever.
People took this very seriously. People historically on the margins in The Episcopal Church began to ask how the Church itself was living into the Baptismal Covenant. Black Episcopalians, Brown and Asian Episcopalians, women, LGBT+ folk -- they began to organize.
Eventually advocacy groups such as Integrity, which advocated for LGBT folk; the Episcopal Women's Caucus, the Episcopal Urban Caucus, the Episcopal Peace Fellowship, Trans Episcopal, The Episcopal Network for Economic Justice, and Partners for Baptismal Living came together in an organization of organizations called The Consultation to collaborate on change.
And sure enough, as the Church explored what it really meant to seal someone as Christ's own forever, no matter if they were Black, Brown, Asian, gay, straight, trans. .. it began to change. Inclusive and expansive language began to be discussed. The systemic racism of the church began to be openly talked about. The implicit misogyny of patriarchy began to be talked about. Heterosexism was named and talked about.
That change is still happening. I think it's for the good. Others feel otherwise. Just read the history of the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth -- which left The Episcopal Church over the full inclusion of women and gay people in the life and worship of the church. They claimed more than $500 million in Episcopal Church property, which the Texas Supreme Court gave to them in 2021.
People took this very seriously. People historically on the margins in The Episcopal Church began to ask how the Church itself was living into the Baptismal Covenant. Black Episcopalians, Brown and Asian Episcopalians, women, LGBT+ folk -- they began to organize.
Eventually advocacy groups such as Integrity, which advocated for LGBT folk; the Episcopal Women's Caucus, the Episcopal Urban Caucus, the Episcopal Peace Fellowship, Trans Episcopal, The Episcopal Network for Economic Justice, and Partners for Baptismal Living came together in an organization of organizations called The Consultation to collaborate on change.
And sure enough, as the Church explored what it really meant to seal someone as Christ's own forever, no matter if they were Black, Brown, Asian, gay, straight, trans. .. it began to change. Inclusive and expansive language began to be discussed. The systemic racism of the church began to be openly talked about. The implicit misogyny of patriarchy began to be talked about. Heterosexism was named and talked about.
That change is still happening. I think it's for the good. Others feel otherwise. Just read the history of the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth -- which left The Episcopal Church over the full inclusion of women and gay people in the life and worship of the church. They claimed more than $500 million in Episcopal Church property, which the Texas Supreme Court gave to them in 2021.
The work to make these changes was going on before the Philadelphia Eleven were ordained -- but that change was given a huge boost by their actions. Hope blossomed in weary hearts and resolve was strengthened.
ENS reports that "Fifty years later, there are 7,166 women clergy in The Episcopal Church, either active or retired, Curt Ritter, senior vice president and head of content & creative services for Church Pension Group, told Episcopal News Service, "That includes 2.075 deacons, 5,039 priests and 52 bishops.""
Today the House of Bishops looks VERY different than it did then. In addition to the 52 women bishops there are at least 53 people of color and six gay and lesbian bishops.
I celebrate that diversity.
So today, let us honor those 11 women, and all women who came before them and all those coming along now. They have indeed changed the church forever.
---------------
The women ordained as priests in 1974 and 1975
Merrill Bittner
Alla Renée Bozarth
Alison Cheek
Marie Moorefield Fleischer
Emily Hewitt
Suzanne Hiatt
Carter Heyward
Lee McGee Street
Alison Palmer
Jeannette Piccard
Betty Powell
Betty Bone Schiess
Katrina Swanson
Diane Tickell
Nancy Wittig
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