Today in the House of Deputies we had a party for the 230th birthday. We celebrated the fact that it was an innovation to allow all the orders to have a say in the governance of the church. President Jennings invited former Presidents and vice-presidents of the House of Deputies to join us. We watched a video about Charles Wille, who served in the early 1970s. He was an ardent supporter of women’s ordination and preached at the ordination of the Philadelphia Eleven. 1970 was the first year women were seated as deputies at General Convention. Wille resigned when the recognition of the Philadelphia Eleven was not recognized by General Convention.
As I have walked the halls of this Convention, I have seen lots and lots of women in collars. And all of us owe a debt of gratitude to Wille. We owe a debt to him and so many others who took a courageous stand to enable women to be ordained in The Episcopal Church. For me, it has been a powerful learning experience over the last two years as we have celebrated the 40th anniversary of the ordination of women. It has been remarkable to hear the stories of those who blazed the trail for so many of us.
I was blessed to go through the ordination process in the Diocese of Maine which had a woman bishop from the time I was in high school. Because of that there was no issue for me as a woman in the ordination process. I admit to having been relatively naive in how many challenges other women faced in the process of becoming priests. I am humbled and inspired by these women. Today I was reminded of the numerous men who took a courageous stand to make it possible for women to be priests in this church. I am grateful.
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