August 26, 2018

Pentecost: Women in MInistry

Last week I introduced a poem by Frances Croake Franke. It was written to confront the non-ordination of women in Roman Catholic church. Franke herself was a nun, yet she spoke out for women in ministry-be they ordained or lay who say to the Lord ‘this is my body, this is my blood’.

It has not been that long since women were first allowed to take part in many ministries in the church and to, in fact, be ordained (in the Episcopal church at least). The journey for women to be accepted in ministry, especially into ordination (in the Episcopal Church) was a long journey detailed in this article and highlighted below.* Why does that history matter to the ordinary, everyday woman who wants to serve God, but doesn’t want to be ordained as a priest?

On the retreat last weekend, we came to understand that the 5 women we studied were, in fact, ordinary women, going about their daily lives when God stepped in. Then they acted with courage to be God-bearers to the world. That is what the Philadelphia Eleven and the other women (and men) who worked for generations to make all ministry open to women were doing.
By The Philadelphia Inquirer - © The Philadelphia Inquirer (acquired from The Philadelphia Ordinations), Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=43398366
A resolution passed at General Convention in 1976 (the same Convention that opened the door to women’s ordination) stated that no one could be barred from participating in the life and governance (italics mine) of the church…because of their gender. Prior to this few, if any, women were allowed on governing bodies (vestries) of local parishes.

By opening more avenues of ministry, the ordinary women in church found ways to use their God-given gifts and talents more broadly than on the altar guild and in sewing circles. Now, in most parishes, you will find women serving in all sorts of ways. Women are even acknowledged as leaders in historically male roles such as president of Standing Committee or other diocesan boards.

As ‘ordinary’ women, we are following in the footsteps of the ordinary women of the past who acted for and with God lead on and show us the way.

·       Ruth, the foreigner whose dedication to her mother-in-law gave her stature as the great-grandmother of King David.

·       Esther, an unlikely queen who saved her people by risking her life and being a whistle-blower.

·       Judith whose bold action of cutting off General Holofernes head routed the Persian army.

·       Mary (Mother of Jesus) who said ‘yes’ to God’s request to bear a child out of wedlock.

·       Mary Magdelene, remaining constant to the end was graced with bearing news of the Resurrection to the male disciples.

·       Lydia, Prisca, Chloe and the other New Testament female leaders who opened their homes and taught their neighbors.

·       Julian of Norwich, Hildegard of Bingen and other mystics across the ages, who stood up to popes and kings while speaking for God’s way.

·       Frances Perkins, Clara Barton, Florence Nightingale and others who went where ‘women weren’t supposed to go’ and did what others wouldn’t so that the ill and downtrodden had a voice.

·       The Philadelphia Eleven and those who followed who bravely stood for their rights before God.

·       Female priests and bishops in the church now who prove that there is no ‘male’ or ‘female’ in the call to ministry.

We are the heirs of those women and many others. Our faith fore-mothers give us the courage to say ‘yes’ to God ourselves. There is still ground to be plowed. Women may be active in multiple roles, but they are not necessarily accorded the same respect as a man. Women typically work harder to be seen as equal in talent. A lot may have changed over the past decades and centuries, in how women in ministry are perceived, and there is a lot still to do.

“Our daughters’ daughters will adore us and they’ll sing in grateful chorus ‘well done, sister suffragette’,” sings Winifred Banks in the Disney movie Mary Poppins. We can look back at our faithful fore-mothers and applaud ‘well done, sister in Christ’. And we can lay the ground work for our own grand-daughters.

Over the next few weeks, we'll look at some 'ordinary' women, whose lives were anything but ordinary. 
This week, I would encourage you to think about how your life and ministry are affected by the steps taken by women in the past



*Briefly, in 1855 the Bishop of Maryland ‘set apart’ two deaconesses. Not quite an ordination, but a first tiny step. Eighty years later, the Church of England found no reason for or against ordination of women; but stated they would continue to be excluded ‘for the church today’. Another 35 years passed before the lay deputies at the General Convention of the Episcopal church passed a resolution affirming female ordination, but it was defeated by the clergy.

Only 4 years later, on July 29, 1974, the “PhiladelphiaEleven” were ordained by three bishops (two retired and one who had resigned). These were eleven female deacons who had requested ordination. The action by the 3 bishops caused “great consternation among the church hierarchy” and the ordinations were declared invalid. This didn’t stop the women from serving in a few parishes, although priests who allowed this were charged with ‘violating the canons’.

At the 1976 General Convention, in Philadelphia, a resolution passed stating “no one shall be denied access” to ordination. To say that not every person or diocese supported this move is an understatement. Some bishops side-stepped the issue by referring women seeking ordination to other dioceses. Some parishioners left their churches. Even today, some people will change sides at the communion rail if a woman is doing the bread or wine. I remember feeling confused about the issue myself as someone who had just recently returned to the church.

Ten years later, a huge shift happened when the Rev. Barbara Harris was elected Suffragan Bishop of Massachusetts on September 24, 1988. Then in 2006, in an even bigger step, the Right Reverend Katharine Jefferts Schori, Bishop of the Diocese of Nevada, was elected the 26th Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, USA. She served for 9 years, the maximum a Presiding Bishop can serve.

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