Today the General Convention voted to change the canons to allow for women's ordination, thereby 'regularising' the ordinations in Philadelphia in 1974 and in Washington in 1975. Thirty-three years... the time that Christ in whom we believe walked on this earth. In these thirty-three years from 1976-2009 where have we landed?
Women clergy now make up about 20% of those ordained in The Episcopal Church. Only a handful of those are in charge of TEC's largest congregations. How many women are deans of cathedrals right now? I think we can count that number on one hand -- please correct me if I am wrong. And we have 14 women bishops.
Oh, it is progress but it is slow.
I give thanks for those sisters who courageously stuck their necks out for what they believed was just. That first and second wave of women priests paid dearly for stepping out. We cannot forget their witness and sacrifice.
Nor can we be complacent. It has taken the crisis of three bishops leaving The Episcopal Church to free finally their dioceses to ordain women to the priesthood. San Joaquin, Fort Worth and Quincy no longer can be lumped together as those hold-outs.
But we have a long way to go yet.
Frankly, until we sort out women's ordination, I am doubtful we're going to get far with ordination of LGBT folks in the sense that while some parts of the church have opened ordination to these folks, so many other places are still barring the door.
4 comments:
I think you are so right about sorting out the women and the LGBT folks. I know I say that as an outsider, I say that as someone whose church, however beloved, can't deal with either.
Slow and steady wins the race? I wish it wasn't so slow, Lee, but women are getting there, step by step.
Yes, indeed. Very slow. And you are correct in the linking of the acceptance of LGBT and women.... and it is linked inexorably to racism....
We have a very long way to go. And we are getting there in fits and starts.
Blessings, Lee. And I do give thanks and praise for all those who have gone before us in faith.
Don´t forget that many of the most regular ¨believers¨ still believe in denial and pretend...it´s so much easier to pretend that someone isn´t LGBT than to talk about REALITY...they call it ¨passing¨...obviously a number in the Roman Catholic Church, 40%+ amongst the ordained.
Real is always harder to deal with...facts not fantasy (of the poisoness to others variety).
Carry on!
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