Dear Friends,
This coming Monday, July 29, the Feast of Mary and Martha of Bethany, marks a significant anniversary in the Episcopal Church. On that day in 1974, fifty years ago, three bishops ordained eleven women deacons to the priesthood. They have since gone down in history as the “Philadelphia Eleven” as the ordination took place in the Church of the Advocate in Philadelphia, PA.
During several successive General Conventions before 1974, resolutions promoting the ordination of women to the priesthood consistently failed. The ordination of the Philadelphia Eleven was widely criticized as “irregular,” but the fact remained that they had been ordained by bishops in good standing. Now the Episcopal Church could no longer speak hypothetically about the possibility of women’s ordination. The ordination of the eleven women started a chain reaction: ordination to the priesthood of four more women in Washington, DC a year later; ultimately the ordination of women to the priesthood and episcopacy was approved by the General Convention in 1976. And the rest is history…
This Sunday, here at St. Christopher’s we will mark this ground-breaking event with readings and prayers appointed for the anniversary. If you would like to learn more about the Philadelphia Eleven, the Episcopal Church has produced a documentary film, which you can watch here: https://www.philadelphiaelevenfilm.com/?mc_cid=f9a5c1f151&mc_eid=edaf55bbb7
See you in church!
In Christ’s love,
Willie+
