Loading...Eleven women were 'irregularly' ordained to the priesthood in Philadelphia a year before I was born.
When I was about 14, in the summer of 1989, our family vacation included a visit to the Washington National Cathedral. We went to a service being held in one of the small chapels- Evening Prayer, I assume. A young woman was the officiant. I'm sure most of my attention was being pulled toward the soaring ceilings and twinkling stained glass, with glimpses of moon rock and gargoyles distracting me from those quiet, practiced, grown-up words of the prayer book being shared by the rest of the congregation.
"Our Father who art in Heaven..." came from the throat of that young woman officiant, and my life changed. Those well-worn words sounded shockingly different on her lips. They were mine.
I realize now that she was likely someone studying for priesthood, and not yet a priest. But that day, in my imagination, a connection was made. Even though women had been ordained priests in the Episcopal Church my entire life, it was in her voice that God first said "are you paying attention?" to my very own heart. Her voice joined with so many--some named and renowned like the Philadelphia 11, but so many more unnamed and silenced-that helped me learn how to say my own "yes." I am grateful.
