10 responses to “It was 30 years ago today…”
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Alas, I can’t remember exactly when it became possible for women to be come priests in the
Episcopal Church of the United States of America, but I remember very well the first ones in our parish church in Los Gatos, California and, later, in Santa Rosa. It was a very triumphant time!-
The Canon in the American Episcopal Church passed in 1976 and went into effect on January 1st 1977.
Sr Alison Joy OSB-
Thanks! I hope to remember those dates now.
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In Canada women began to be ordained as deacons in 1969 and as priests in 1976.
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Heartfelt testament concerning the importance/necessity of inclusion as our Lord Jesus Christ commanded!
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I remember the day so
well !
I was at Salisbury and Wells Theological College, preparing to leave to be Ordained in Hereford Cathedral, preparing for the closure of the College and praying with passion and fear that the vote in Synod would be YES 🙏🙏
All three things happened as we know, joy and sadness mingled down. -
Yes, all of this, especially “There were cruelties along the way. There was a great deal of abuse along the way”
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And, sadly, there still is.
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The first women ordained to the priesthood in the Episcopal Church were the “Philadelphia Eleven,” ordained on July 29, 1974, by three bishops who claimed that “obedience to the Spirit” justified their action. After a second ordination of women, all their ordinations were deemed by the national church to be “irregular but valid.” As a previous correspondent noted, the General Convention of the Episcopal Church officially authorized the ordination of women to the priesthood, a decision that went into effect on the first of January in 1977.
Back to Glossary
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On the opposite side to the still continuing antipathies in some (diminishing) quarters to women priests : my wife, who is a priest, was driving today when we got stuck waiting our turn to join the main flow of cars. A driver in the main queue – eastern European, almost certainly – spotted my wife’s collar, crossed himself; and when we didn’t get the message, grinned broadly, crossed himself again, and waved us energetically into the traffic flow in front of him.
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