VOLUME • 72 NUMBER • 4 APRIL 1989 publication. and reuse for required :

Permission • Li Tim-Oi • J. Antonio Ramos DFMS. / • Rosemary Ruether

Church • Robert L. DeWitt • Monica Furlong Episcopal

the • Paul Washington of Archives 2020. Copyright Chronology of events concerning women in holy orders

1862 The Bishop of London orders a - 1973 The General Convention rejects ordina- meeting censures the actions of the Philadel- ess with the laying on of hands. tion of women to the priesthood and 56 bish- phia . ops issue a statement expressing distress. 188S Deaconesses are ordered in the Episco- 1976 September: General Convention ap- pal church. 1974 June: Sermons preached in Cambridge, proves the of women to the - and Syracuse call for ordination hood and episcopate, and agrees that the pre- 1920 Lambeth Conference (of all Anglican of women to the priesthood. July 10: Bish- vious may be regularized, not bishops) concludes "ordination of a deacon- ops, , and laypeople meet in repeated. November: The Church of Canada ess confers on her holy orders." Philadelphia to plan an ordination. July 29: begins to ordain women priests. Service at Philadelphia's Church of the Ad- 1930 Lambeth changes its mind, asserts dea- vocate. Two retired and one resigned bishop 1977 Jan. 1 marks the date that women may conesses are not in holy orders. ordain 11 women deacons to the priesthood. be ordained to the priesthood under Episco- A diocesan bishop is present but does not pal Church canons. October: At a House of ordain. July 30: Some of the women priests publication. 1935 A commission re- Bishops meeting Presiding Bishop Allin an- ports it finds no compelling reason for or are inhibited by their bishops from priestly nounces he "is unable to accept women in and against , but affirms an functions, some inhibited as deacons; others the role of priest" and offers to resign. Bish- all male-priesthood. agree voluntarily to refrain from priestly ops affirm Allin's leadership and adopt a ministry. July 31: Presiding Bishop John

reuse "conscience clause" which states no bishop, 1944 Bishop R. O. Hall of Hong Kong or- Allin calls a special meeting of the House of priest or layperson will be penalized for op- for dains Li Tim-Oi as priest. In the face of Bishops to deal with the questions raised by posing the ordination of women. worldwide censure, she ceases to function as the ordination. Aug. 15: The bishops meet in a priest for many years. , decry the action of the four bishops 1978 Lambeth accepts women's ordination

required as a "violation of collegiality" and declare the ordinations did not fulfill the necessary in principle, but recommends that no prov- 1964 General Convention changes the can- conditions for validity. The 11 women state ince consecrate a woman bishop "without ons to read that deaconesses are "ordered" they cannot accept the bishops' actions. Dr. consultation with the Primates and over- rather than "appointed." Charles Willie resigns as vice president of whelming support in any member Church. . .

Permission the in protest. August: lest the Bishop's office become a source of 1965 Bishop formally recognizes Charges are filed against the Philadelphia disunity instead of a focus of unity." Phyllis Edwards as a deacon because of her bishops. October: The re- ordination as a deaconess. 1988 July: General Convention passes "Epis- DFMS. affirms its 1972 endorsement of the principle / of women's ordination, but agrees almost copal Visitors" resolution, which permits — 1966 U.S. House of Bishops receives report unanimously not to act until an affirmative for a six-year period — congregations or on "The Proper Place of Women in the Min- action of the next General Convention. Oct. clergy opposed to a woman bishop to ask for Church istry of the Church" and asks the next Lam- 27: The Rev. , the Rev. Carter a visiting male bishop. August: Lambeth beth to consider the ordination of women to Heyward, the Rev. pub- states that provinces may appoint a woman the priesthood. licly celebrate an Episcopal Eucharist in bishop, but no part is obliged to and all are New York's . November: asked to respect each other's standpoint. Episcopal 1968 Lambeth refers the question of ordain- The Rev. Alison Cheek celebrates at St. Sept. 24: The Rev. Barbara C. Harris is elected of the ing women to the member churches of the Stephen's and the Incarnation in Washing- on the eighth ballot. November: The Arch- of for further study. It ton, D.C. at the invitation of the Rev. Wil- endorses the principle that deaconesses are liam Wendt who is charged and later tried bishop of Canterbury issues a statement say- within the diaconate. for violations of the canons. December: Two ing "The Church of England does not canoni- women priests celebrate at Christ Church, cally accept the ministry of women priests Archives 1970 At General Convention in the House of Oberlin, Ohio at the invitation of the Rev. and bishops." Deputies the lay order passes but the clergy Peter Beebe who is charged and later tried

2020. order rejects ordination of women as priests. for canonical violations. 1989 January: A majority of diocesan Stand- The bishops do not vote on the issue. ing Committees and bishops consent to Har- ris' election. Feb. 11: Presiding Bishop Ed- 1971 The Anglican Consultative Council, an 1975 April: Board of Inquiry reviews charges mond L. Browning leads the consecration of

Copyright international lay and clergy body meeting against ordaining bishops — declares the the Rt. Rev. Barbara C. Harris in be- between Lambeth, declares it is acceptable matter is doctrinal and should be handled by fore a crowd of 8500 — 60 bishops partici- for a bishop to ordain a woman with consent the House of Bishops. July: The Church of pate in the laying on of hands. of his national church or province. The England's Synod approves the principle of Bishop of Hong Kong ordains two women. women's ordination. September: Bishops of Updated from a chronology compiled by Janette Episcopal women begin to be ordained as the Church of Canada endorse women's S. Pierce for Daughters of Prophecy, a special deacons. ordination. Sept. 7: Bishop George Barrett, WITNESS issue on the 10th anniversary of the resigned Bishop of Rochester, ordains four "Philadelphia 11" ordinations. Pierce, managing 1972 The House of Bishops votes 74-61 in women deacons at the Church of St. editor of The Episcopalian when she died in favor of the principle of ordaining women as Stephen's and the Incarnation in January, 1988, was a leading supporter of priests. Washington. Sept. 19: The House of Bishops women's ordination.

THE WITNESS THE WITNESS

Editor Mary Lou Suhor

Assistant Editor Susan E. Pierce

Sr. Contributing Editor Robert L DeWitt

Contributing Editors Barbara C. Harris James Lewis Manning Marable J. Antonio Ramos William W. Rankin

Staff Ann Hunter Susan Small publication. and Publisher Episcopal Church Publishing Co. Table of Contents reuse for ECPC BOARD OF DIRECTORS Happy-go-lucky Bobby now bishop in God's church 4 Marjorie Nichols Farmer

required Chair J. Antonio Ramos Li Tim-Oi on Barbara Harris Carman St. J. Hunter Vice-Chair 6 WITNESS interview with Li Tim Oi Secretary Gloria Brown Permission Treasurer Robert N. Eckersley Patriarchy strikes back

John H. Burt 9 Pamela W. Darling DFMS.

/ Alice Callaghan Otis Charles Paul Washington makes history again Migdalia DeJesus-Torres 12 Susan E. Pierce

Church William R. MacKaye Nan Arlington Peete From England, with love William W. Rankin Chester L Talton 14 Monica Furlong

Episcopal Chris Weiss the Uppity women and authentic ecumenism of 16 THE WITNESSS (ISSN0197-8896) is published Rosemary Radford Ruether monthly except July/August by The Episcopal Church Publishing Company. Editorial Office:

Archives On gender, education and ideology P.O. Box 359, Ambler, PA 19002. Telephone 18 J. Antonio Ramos (215) 643-7067. THE WITNESS is indexed in 2020. Religious and Theological Abstracts and the American Theological Library Association's Reli- The ECPC/WITNESS connection gion Index One Periodicals. University Microfilms 20 Robert L. DeWitt International, 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Copyright Ml 48106, reproduces this publication in micro- form: microfiche and 16 mm or 35 mm film. ... and full color consecration photo on page 25 Printed in U.S.A. Copyright 1989. SUBSCRIP- TIONS: $20 per year, $2.50 per copy. Foreign subscriptions add $5 per year. CHANGE OF ADDRESS: Please advise of changes at least 6 weeks in advance. Include Cover photo Michael Heayn, design TSI Visuals; photo p. 4 courtesy Phila- your label from the magazine and send to: Sub- delphia High School for Girls; photos p. 5, 19, 21, Jim Solheim, The Episcopal Times; photo scription Dept., THE WITNESS, P.O. Box 359, p. 6, Mark Ellidge, The London Times; photos p. 13, 23, 27, David Zadig, The Episcopal Ambler PA 19002. Times; graphic p. 14, Margaret Longdon; photo p. 17, John Tlumacki, The Boston Globe; color photo, p. 25, Wendy Maeda, The Boston Globe.

April 1989 Spirited, happy-go-lucky Bobby...

scious awareness of God's presence the ways that God has spoken, moved, throughout life and beyond time. worked, and sung — in your life. As an adult, an English teacher, and a That was the particular message for lover of the great tradition of English lit- me — a sharer with Barbara of the Black erary mysticism and the history of the heritage. That is where my understand- English church, I made with my husband ing of the event began, as it must for the choice of raising our sons in the each of us, with the keen sense of whole- Episcopal Church and working actively ness and integrity of the self, and its ho- in the congregation. With the example liness before God. publication. and encouragement of Barbara Harris But what is most to be honored is the and Bobby Harris 1948 and other "way-showing" women — grace that flows from this self-knowl- among them Pauli Murray, Mary Adebo- edge, opening the way to acknowledge- reuse nojo, Nan Peete — I have been given the ment and responsiveness to the unique- for great privilege of priesthood in this ness of each member of the human com- kJ Urn, spirited, happy-go-lucky church. munity. Bobby .. . Future: Surrounded by starry- required But I have never lost a certain sadness I saw that what was happening for me eyed music students." That's what the at leaving behind an essential core part was happening in vivid little epiphanies June 1948 Milestone, the yearbook of of my religious experience — the music all over that auditorium — and beyond The Philadelphia High School for Girls, and the worship style of my childhood. the visible congregation, through the Permission had to say about Barbara Clementine One must make choices, I reasoned; you media and throughout Christendom and Harris, who just over 40 years later, was can't have it all. Nevertheless, I thought, beyond — wherever God's people were to be consecrated a bishop in God's holy DFMS.

/ I must surely find a few moments away standing ready to learn how we connect . from the formal, liturgical Episcopal to our brothers and sisters everywhere. I came across this yearbook entry as I celebration and get over to Cambridge The Rev. Li Tim-Oi, our sister priest, Church was working recently with other Girls just to see if St. Paul's Church is still the first ordained in the Anglican com- High alumnae on a history project. With there, and to hear with outward ears the munion, must have felt her own experi- this heightened remembrance of things melodies that are ringing in my heart.

Episcopal ence affirmed as the Chinese congrega- past, it is perhaps not surprising that my Well, I didn't get to Cambridge at all. tion sang the 23rd Psalm in their own the journey on the midnight train from of How can I express my amazement, my language; the Gaelic blessing sung by Philadelphia to Boston Feb. 11 was a joy, when I picked up the service book the choir of Holy Church cele- journey into nostalgia, into sharply fo- at Hynes Auditorium and saw on the brated that special part of the English-

Archives cused memories of my own childhood opening page that the choir of St. Paul's Gaelic heritage; O Sacrum Convivium years in Cambridge, Mass. My father A.M.E. Church would be "singing the sung by the Schola Cantorum of the 2020. was then pastor of St. Paul's African Bishop-elect in" with the great old Church of St. John the Evangelist spoke Methodist Episcopal Church, an old hymns of the African-American church: to the classicists among us. And as church steeped in the living history of "Ride on, King Jesus — no man can hin- Eleanor Farmer, a member of Barbara's Copyright the Black religious experience, ex- der me!" . . . "In dat great gittin' up Philadelphia congregation, offered her pressed then as now in music and mornin' fare thee well, fare thee well." clear soprano rendition of Mozart's Alle- preaching that evoke response from the You can have it all, Barbara's conse- luia, she expressed the broader experi- deepest levels of my memory, reaching cration said to me; you don't need to ence of Black Episcopalians. The Gospel beyond word and vision into a precon- "steal away" to another place to be made read in Spanish as well as in English, whole. "There's plenty good room" right and the messages on Barbara's vest- The Rev. Marjorie Nichols Farmer, Ed.D., is here in this celebration, in our corporate ments written in Ashanti and in Greek priest-in-charge of the Church of St. Matthias, Philadelphia; and a participant in The Episcopal worship of God. You can be confident in — all expanded the theme of the day — Women's History Project. bringing to worship all of your gifts, all "A bishop for God's people."

THE WITNESS Pauli Murray, the first Black woman Barbara's distinguished earlier career as Barbara celebrates in her life the joy — ordained to the priesthood, said of her a corporate executive spoke clearly also and the fun — of being a person in poems in Dark Testament, "I speak for to the world of the governing class, the God's image, living in community with my race and my people — the human corporate leaders, the ultimate "insid- God's people. "Just pray me over," she race and just people." That is what Bar- ers." said to her friends at lunch on Friday. bara did for all of us in her consecration In a brief conversation with Barbara a Each of us, carrying out faithfully our service — through her choice of music, few hours after the consecration, I could own ministries wherever God calls us, her preacher and other participants, her not resist a word of totally unexpected can own this new perception of our spe- vestments, her manner; most effectively thanks for the gift of my childhood's cial place in God's wholeness and love. by her grace in being clearly, enthusias- presence in the service. There were so We can know that that place begins tically and unaffectedly herself. The many people around, she had hardly where we are, being our own best selves, "scandal of particularity" opens the way time to be more than startled. "But Mar- made in God's image — women, men, for the honoring of community. jorie, I had no way of knowing that — Asian, Hispanic, European, African, There are other ways through which how can you thank me for it?" American — each a part of the divine publication. and reuse now bishop in God's church Marjorie Farmer for

Barbara's episcopate has released and And that's just the point. Just by being self-expression. required will continue to release the captives clearly, authentically, unaffectedly her- As Barbara told her friends in our pre- among us. Not only those who were self, honoring God's gifts and presence consecration visit, when we discern and gathered in Hynes auditorium as sup- in her own life, Bishop Harris just natu- make ourselves available for whatever is porters, but the dissenters as well were rally invites the wholeness and freedom the special work of the Holy Spirit in Permission heard. Barbara said in an informal con- of all God's people. each of us, "beautiful things keep hap- versation with a group of women clergy As her high school classmates knew, pening." oa DFMS.

/ the day before the service, "What we will have in Hynes is 'the church gath- Bishop Harris confirming at St. Stephen's, Boston 1989 ered'" — and so it was, the whole Church church — the church which does not need to fear or to quench dissent, but to struggle continuously to understand its Episcopal roots as each of us works to make of our the

of own fragment of the truth the wholeness that is God's will for our lives and our ministries. Archives There is new freedom for women, of course, to be and continually to become 2020. whole persons, discerning and exercising God's gifts for ministry; but not only for women — for men as well, who have Copyright new reason for being able to affirm their malcness as part of God's gracious self- expression, not as a matter of superiority or inferiority. This consecration spoke — as Paul Washington said so eloquently in his moving sermon — clearly and affirma- tively to the outsider, the rejected, the socially excluded; our knowledge of

April 1989 publication. and reuse for required Permission DFMS. / Church

Maik ElHdge/77w London Times

Episcopal Two pioneers at Lambeth, 1988 the of he Rev. Florence Li Tim-Oi is the said he would ordain her if she came to in the hills. "spiritual godmother" of women's ordina- Xingxing, a week's journey through the But she remained true to her faith and tion in the Anglican Communion. Li Tim- war zone. was priest of the first church to reopen in Archives Oi, now 80 years old, was born in Hong She made the trip and in the winter of Canton in the 1970s. In 1971, the Dio- Kong to a Chinese Christian family. She 1944 was ordained the first woman priest cese of Hong Kong voted to ordain 2020. was serving as a deaconess in the Portu- in the worldwide Anglican Communion. women and reconfirmed Li Tim-Oi's guese colony of Macao when the Japa- When word of her ordination reached priesthood. nese invaded South China in 1940. England, it caused an uproar. Bishop Hall Li Tim-Oi now lives with her sister in Copyright Refugees came pouring into Macao, was reprimanded by Archbishop of Can- Toronto and assists at a local church. which was neutral. Anglican Bishop of terbury William Temple and censured by She met Barbara Harris at the 1988 Lam- Hong Kong and South China Ronald Hall his fellow provincial bishops. beth Conference, and walked in the pro- sent a priest to celebrate communion To spare Hall, Li Tim-Oi voluntarily "re- cession at Harris' February consecration. whenever it was safe to travel, but soon turned" her priesthood and continued to The first woman priest shared her none dared make the hazardous trip. quietly serve the church until the Cultural thoughts on the first woman bishop with Hall, hearing of Li Tim-Oi's extraordinary Revolution in the 1960s closed the THE WITNESS in the accompanying in- work with Macao's refugee community, churches and she was sent to cut wood terview.

THE WITNESS i Tim-Oi on Barbara Harris

D<"o you think it is significant that You met Barbara Harris at Canter- loving one another in Christ, they should the first woman priest in the Anglican bury — can you give your impressions have no reason not to welcome a valu- Communion is Chinese and the first of her? able person like Harris to the episcopate. woman bishop is African-American? I had the privilege of meeting Barbara Now Harris is in the prime of her life; on What does this mean for the Anglican Harris on July 15 last year when a pho- the basis of her experiences she will un- publication. Church? tographer from the London Sunday doubtedly have much to contribute. She and In spite of the stormy controversy over Times brought her to my hotel. After- will learn from the senior bishops and the suitability of Barbara C. Harris as wards, the photographer drove us to the colleagues and enrich and deepen further reuse bishop, her consecration is, in my opin- Canterbury Cathedral grounds to have her spiritual life. for ion, entirely God's will. I cannot help some photos taken of the two "first la- In giving encouragement and support recalling what Jesus said to his disciples: dies." Barbara then had great prospects to Harris as the first Anglican woman required "You did not choose me. I chose you of becoming the first Anglican woman bishop, I quote what Jesus said: "I have and appointed you to go and bear much bishop. told you this so that you will have peace fruit." So, as I see it, Barbara Harris has As I talked with her I was struck by by being united to me. The world will really been chosen by God to do more Permission her neat and well-groomed appearance, make you suffer. But be brave! I have important work for the glory of the but was impressed more especially by defeated the world." Thus, Jesus taught church. I am convinced that as a bishop, her sharp features, bright eyes, alertness us how to overcome hardship by being DFMS. / she will be capable of developing her and friendly, radiant smile. Since our closely united to Him. parish into a boundless communion that meeting, I always remember her as an stretches behind the "White circle." Church energetic, capable and determined per- Your ordination in 1944 caused a tem- I, a Chinese woman, was ordained the son. Moreover, she impressed me as pest. Barbara Harris' election has first Anglican woman priest and now being very kind and understanding. In caused much controversy, too. Can

Episcopal Harris, a Black woman, is consecrated as conversation with her, I gathered she you tell us how her situation today

the the first woman bishop. To me, this cer- was quite aware of the important role compares to yours years ago? of tainly has great significance, since the she was expected to play in the church Harris' consecration has opened up the Anglican Communion was predomi- of God should she win the election as way for other women to enter this voca- nantly in the hands of the White race in bishop. tion in the future. Unfortunately, this Archives the past. This evolution helps the Angli- seems to cause alarm to the male clergy can Communion play an increasing role What do you think Barbara Harris

2020. who are inclined to think that this is still as peacemaker in a multi-racial society. can bring to the episcopate? the man's world and the bishop's place And it cannot be denied that racial Harris had eight years of experience in should be occupied by men only! peacemaking is particularly important as Copyright parish work, which is not such a short I feel very sorry that Harris has had a the 21st century is fast approaching. This period. I daresay that an intelligent per- really hard time. Severe attacks and connection immediately calls to mind son like her must have acquired much criticism have been hurled at her before, what St. Paul said: "For Christ Himself valuable experience which will help her during and after the election campaign, has brought us peace by making Jews in her challenging job. If people are hon- questioning and cross-examining her and Gentiles one people. With His own est and have no prejudice against women suitability for the position. I believe, as body He broke down the wall that sepa- clergy, and if they would bring them- many others do, that if Harris was a man rated them and kept them enemies." selves to recognize the importance of the attacks and criticisms would have

April 1989 been much less harsh. called out to her: 'Woman, you are free Anglicans one My own ordination in 1944 certainly from your sickness.' He placed his hands caused a tempest — but that was 45 on her, and at once she straightened her- years ago. The late Bishop Ronald O. self up and praised God." Demonstrating wisdom and Hall, who ordained me during wartime, pastoral concern beyond what Sisters in Christ, we have already had Roman Catholicism has yet was mercilessly attacked and censured our backs straightened. We must express mustered, the Boston Episco- by the bishops at the Lambeth Confer- our gratitude to God for the new woman pal Diocese consecrated a ence of 1948, who accused him of over- bishop and pray that God will support woman bishop. Barbara Harris publication. stepping his authority by ordaining a her and give her strength, courage and became the first woman bishop and woman priest. I suffered a lot not only wisdom to carry out her duties. in any of the three major for my fate but for the greater embar- branches of Christianity (Ro- man Catholic, Eastern Ortho- reuse rassment that Bishop Hall was brought Are there any other reflections you dox, Anglican) claiming apos- for to face by his fellow bishops. Today, I would like to share with WITNESS tolic succession. am comforted by the fact that in the his- readers? Meanwhile the Roman Catho- lic bishop of Charlotte, N.C., required tory of the movement for the ordination In Harris' case, as in my own, the gen- of women in the Anglican Communion, was refusing to let women have der question has been the basic cause of their feet washed in a Holy Bishop Hall's name will occupy a con- opposition and strong disapproval from Thursday ritual. Bishop John spicuous place. an overwhelming number of bishops and Donoghue based his ruling on Permission other Christian leaders. an arcane Roman interpretation Did you ever believe that a woman of some liturgical Latin. It It is indeed a great pity that people makes about as little sense as DFMS. / would become a bishop in your life- who have harsh words against ordaining the primary theological reason time? women keep forgetting or ignoring what for excluding women from the Thirty years ago I never would have St. Paul said: "So there is no difference priesthood. Church dreamed this would happen. However, in between Jews and Gentiles and between Jesus called only men, some the last decade, having witnessed the men and women; you are all one in un- traditionalists say, so only men can serve. But Jesus was work- rapid progress made in the ordination of ion with Christ Jesus". Episcopal ing in a heavily patriarchal soci- women, especially in Canada and the As human beings, we all agree that no ety that shut women from pub- the

of , I began to believe that one one is perfect. Concerning the criticisms lic life at nearly every turn. For- day women could be made bishops. And of Harris' suitability as bishop, one may tunately, he was like the rest of now my conjecture has become a reality. conjure up the picture of the High Priest us in at least one respect: He learned as he went along. Archives We must, however, not forget to give Joshua: 'The Angel said to his heavenly Whether the arguments pre- recognition to the efforts of the move- attendants, 'Take away the filthy clothes clude ordaining women or 2020. ments for the ordination of women to the this man is wearing!' Then he said to washing their feet on Holy priesthood, which have definitely made Joshua, 'I have taken away your sin and Thursday, both cases are es- a considerable impact in quite a few will give you new clothes to wear.'" sentially as frivolous as they Copyright are pastorally deficient, and the countries. Here it may be relevant to re- May God give Barbara Harris His people of God should waste no fer to the Bible story which tells of a richest blessing and grant her a refreshed more time before laughing woman who was bent over and could not mind and a new spirit to carry out her them out of court. (Reprinted straighten up at all. "Jesus saw her and new challenging and sacred duties! fEQ by permission. National Catho- lic Reporter, P.O. Box 419281, Kansas City, MO 64141.)

THE WITNESS Patriarchy strikes back by Pamela W. Darling

"T mensions of the struggle between these about how the world is and ought to be. -Lf any of you know any reason why two views. John Throop, a Harris oppo- These are variously labelled as conserva- we should not proceed, let it now be nent, was probably right when he said tive vs. liberal, traditionalist vs. modern- made known." that she "will demonstrate all the worst ist, biblical fundamentalist vs. secular At most ordinations, these words are nightmares of what women in the epis- humanist, or patriarchal vs. feminist. Na- followed by a polite silence, and the copate will be like to the traditionalists." tionally, the split is most easily recog- service continues. But on Feb. 11 in Another opponent, William Oddie, nized in the phenomena of the Moral publication. Boston, two White men rose to speak. took a different approach, observing that Majority, the New Right, and the coali- and John Jamieson, a layman from Chicago, "what American traditionalists had tion seeking to outlaw a woman's choice representing the Prayer Book Society, feared was the election of a woman about abortion. reuse asserted that to continue would be an bishop who would seem to confirm the Within the churches, this conflict is for "imposture" because women simply can- hierarchy's claim: one of the quieter and evident in attacks on the National Coun- not be ordained. The Rev. James H. more moderate women clergy who could cil of Churches and the growth of tele- required Cupit, Jr. of New York implored the Pre- be used to demonstrate by her mildness vangelist fundamentalism; in the contro- siding Bishop not to proceed, citing the that nothing has really changed, that no versies, takeovers and expulsions over resulting impediments to union with Ro- one is threatened." Scriptural inerrancy and orthodox teach- man Catholic and Orthodox churches.

Permission Oddie is an English columnist for The ing; in the Roman Catholic hierarchy's Bishop Browning quieted the booing Christian Challenge, a publication be- leading role in the "pro-family" move- congregation and responded that the is- gun in 1962 "to defend the Christian ment; and in the Episcopal Church's DFMS. / sues raised had been "well-ventilated" in faith as embodied in traditional Angli- struggles over social justice ministries, preceding months and that, scrupulously canism, defined in Holy Scripture, and the language of the Prayer Book, the or- observing all prescribed procedures, the Church enshrined in the Historic Book of Com- dination of women, and sexuality. church had determined to proceed. mon Prayer" and "to resist false teaching Those for whom the heart of the Chris- And so it was done. But, as the Rev. within the church." Throop is Executive tian Gospel involves following Jesus' Paul Washington wisely noted in his Episcopal Director of Episcopalians United for example — healing the sick, feeding the consecration sermon, the objectors re- the Revelation, Renewal and Reformation hungry and preaching good news to the of mind us that some still sincerely believe (EURRR), formed in 1987 to "challenge poor — grow impatient over the preoc- this action is contrary to God's will. We the direction the church's leadership has cupation of other religious people with need to take the protests seriously, not taken in biblical and moral matters." issues of authority and church order, or Archives because they are valid, but because two Their comments are part of a chorus of with changing patterns of personal rela- contradictory world views are struggling outrage and objection which began as

2020. tionships. to shape the future of the Episcopal soon as the vote was reported in Massa- But the personal does have enormous Church, and indeed of American society. chusetts. political import, and structures of theol- The battles over the election and conse-

Copyright Polarization of U.S. religion ogy and ecclesiastical polity both reflect cration of Barbara Harris as Suffragan Why does the very idea of elevating a and create the social environment of our Bishop of Massachusetts reveal the di- woman to the episcopate generate urgent daily lives and ministries. Issues such as debate, and the choice of Barbara Harris how we address God, who can be a Pamela W. Darling, a doctoral candidate at confirm the worst nightmares of tradi- priest, and what kinds of interpersonal General Theological Seminary, is editor of tionalists? What is being threatened by behavior is approved all work together Reaching Toward Wholeness: The Participation Harris' election? as part of a total world view, a frame- of Women in the Episcopal Church, a report of a work within which we determine values, survey conducted by the Committee for the Full Observers of the American scene in Participation of Women in the Church, released recent decades have noted an increasing make decisions and discover meaning in at the 1988 General Convention. gulf between two sets of convictions our lives.

April! 989 The traditional world view — the pa- helpful context for Throop's statements At the root of the present crisis is triarchal framework — is threatened by about Harris. In a letter publicly inviting the rejection of God's revelation of the consecration of Barbara Harris. Only support for its challenge to Episcopal Himself and His will for humanity by understanding how the various pieces Church leadership, EURRR listed five in favor of religiosity tailored to of that framework reinforce each other issues under the heading, "We oppose": human convenience. This rejection can we begin to fathom the depth and The ordination of practicing homosexu- expresses itself in the challenge to passion of the resistance to her consecra- als, normalization of homosexuality as the central authority of Holy Scrip- tion. an alternative lifestyle, sexual relations ture, the denial of Jesus Christ as What traditionalists say outside marriage, liberalization of the the full, perfect and sufficient self- Reviewing the rhetoric opposing Har- church's position on abortion, and inclu- revelation of God, the proposals to ris' ordination to the episcopate in the sive language. Apparently the ordination rewrite the language of the Bible context of traditionalists' overall pro- of women was originally a sixth item — and liturgical prayer to suit hu- grams offers a valuable case study in the but, acknowledging differing views manistic ideologies, the decay of escalating clash of world views: among EURRR organizers, they com- marital discipline, and the pres- publication. Item: "Cancer of terrorism endorsed promised by warning that ordaining a sure to abandon the received stan- and by national Episcopal leadership" was woman as bishop could lead to schism. dards of chastity, as well as the the headline of a Prayer Book Society Despite Throop's disclaimer, Harris' purported admission of women to reuse (PBS) news release following the confir- views are the more threatening precisely priestly and episcopal orders. The for mation of Harris' election. The release because they are expressed by a woman, institutions of the Episcopal discusses the support which Harris and and a Black woman at that — why men- Church have allowed, aided, and required the Episcopal Church Publishing Com- tion her race at all if it is "no problem"? encouraged these deviations. pany (ECPC) — of which she was Ex- So strongly do the signers feel about EURRR's opposition to Harris is thus ecutive Director — gave to Hispanic ac- the "crisis" that they have called a synod consistent with an overall agenda which of "clergy and laity holding the convic-

Permission tivist Episcopalians Maria Cueto and seeks to uphold the traditional American Steve Guerra. Cueto and Guerra were tions we have declared. . . to consider social order in opposition to recent jailed for refusing in conscience to tes- how we shall be the church within the

DFMS. movements for freedom and equality — / tify before a Grand Jury investigating the Episcopal Church," a move observers between men and women, and between Puerto Rican liberation movement. think may lead them out of the church races. altogether. Church The Prayer Book Society's agenda has clearly broadened since its founding Item: Sharing a concern for order and Curiously, the issue of women — to preserve the 1928 Prayer Book. As its sexual conformity, the Evangelical and though it was the triggering factor — Catholic Mission (ECM) — founded to Episcopal brochure proclaims, "We are, indeed, appears almost as an afterthought in the resist the church's 1976 decision to or- the traditionalists because we believe the ECM statement. This suggests that to of church is a place of worship — not a dain women — issued a pastoral letter in conservatives, the traditionally subordi- platform for secular humanism." In the November 1988. It declared that with nate place of women in church and soci- PBS view, the ECPC "has for years sul- Harris' election, "the final crisis of the ety is the hidden but essential element Archives lied the image, patriotism, and stature of Episcopal Church is now upon us," and upholding existing authority structures. decried this rebellion against the "God-

2020. Episcopalians through its "radical, Oddie's piece in the December Chris- Marxist, left-wing extremism." given order of the church." The prin- tian Challenge furthers this suggestion: Item: Sharing the PBS concern about ciples cited as the foundation of order He writes, "Within the Episcopal Church are the familiar four points of the 1888

Copyright social activism and "Marxist" politics, there are two worlds, hermetically sealed EURRR's Throop cited Harris' advocacy Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral — the from each other . . . women's ordination of "homosexual rights, the feminization Scriptures, Creeds, Sacraments and his- is seen as a key symbolic issue defining of worship, and the Sandinista govern- toric Episcopate. the line of separation." He goes on to ment in Nicaragua" as evidence that she Although the connection between bewail Harris' "strident social activism" is unacceptably "far to the left," while these points and the "final crisis" is not and the state of the Episcopal Church, telling that "we explained, the ECM letter echoes EURR which has bought into "the Harris pack- have no problem with the fact she is fe- and the Prayer Book Society concerns, age of radical feminism (including God male or Black." summarizing the threat epitomized by the Mother), left-wing political activism, EURRR's overall agenda provides a Harris' election: the sexual revolution, and theological

10 THE WITNESS and liturgical modernism." In this its exercise, and constitutes ways of to Barbara Harris demonstrates. Unfortu- scheme, feminism has surpassed com- managing the differences between hu- nately, some who welcome her election munism as the paradigmatic threat fac- man beings, race and gender being the seem a bit vague about its implications. ing the world we know. most fundamental. At the top of the hier- Many really would have preferred a less In the same issue William DeMerritt archy are wealthy, straight, White men. controversial woman to break into the criticizes Harris and THE WITNESS for Challenging any aspect of this order brotherhood of the House of Bishops. concerns "centered around feminist and threatens the entire structure, and the That would have enabled them to sustain minority causes, racism, labor, capital sense of place and personal identity of the comforting fiction that ordaining punishment, nuclear arms, Grand Jury everyone in it. Those comfortable with women is really no big deal, and life will resisters, and international issues ranging the status quo have much invested in the go on as before, all structures and privi- from South Africa and preservation of this order. Those ex- leges intact. to El Salvador, Haiti, Guatemala and cluded from power and privilege have Evidently the Holy Spirit decided we Nicaragua." This follows criticism of her little to lose if things change. ought to let go of that fiction, to work unconventional educational preparation And things are changing. The tradi- more deliberately and creatively on the publication. for ministry, which "defied custom." tional economic structure is decaying. newly-emerging paradigm of church and and Here again is the implicit belief that The melting pot has overflowed, losing society. "proper" education would promote con- its ability to assimilate diverse people But the full emergence of the new is reuse formity to societal norms. into some idealized norm. Blacks, ethnic by no means assured. We must assume for Then DeMerritt makes an odd and tell- minorities, women, gay men and lesbi- that as the danger to the old order in- ing comment: "She has been excused ans are resisting subordination to the creases, so will the traditionalist back- required from being a part of a functional mar- straight, White male power structure. lash. Some supporters of women's ordi- riage or family setting, a projection [sic] And some Christians have re-examined nation are preoccupied now with damage that both political and ecclesial America Scripture, liturgy and theology, discover- control, trying to hold together the expects for other office seekers ... In- ing fresh insights in ancient texts which church and the Anglican Communion — Permission stead, Harris, who is divorced, main- suggest other possibilities for the organi- to keep the traditional order intact — tained a separate apartment from her zation of human society. and are not eager to face the fact that DFMS.

/ mother and unmarried sister." Rather than rejecting "the authority of many of their opponents' arguments are Lessons for days ahead God's revelation of Himself and His will profoundly accurate.

Church All these criticisms, objections and ar- for humanity," these believers are chal- Thus there is much work for us to do. guments are interlocking elements in the lenging traditional interpretations of that We must pay careful attention to the social/religious framework of White revelation, questioning not the authority rhetoric of the traditionalists — not for

Episcopal middle-class America: women belong in of Scripture, but the authority of the in- the sake of refuting their arguments, but terpreter. In response, those who tradi- the the home; sex belongs only in heterosex- to let that rhetoric instruct us about the of ual marriage; education should produce tionally had the power to interpret are terms and conditions which have shaped standardized behavior; government poli- galvanized into asserting their authority the old order, so that we can articulate a cies and actions are not to be questioned; by appeal to ancient custom, and trying compelling vision of the new to replace Archives those marginalized by economic status, to shore up the structure wherever it is their "worst nightmare." race or ethnicity, gender or sexuality, are challenged. For both traditionalists and the "femi- 2020. to remain silent and invisible; life-and- So far, this conservative reaction has nist cabal" they fear, Barbara Harris' or- death decisions are made only by men had more effect on secular American dination to the episcopate symbolizes the who wage war, execute criminals, and politics than on the Episcopal Church. beginning of a new order for church and Copyright decide whether women may have abor- The generalized "leadership" of the society. If the process of change is to tions. All this is sanctified by a church church is criticized as much as Harris continue, if she is not to be tokenized by whose hierarchical order is God-given, herself by the various traditionalist a self-protecting structure of power and and whose worship and Scriptures are in groups. But this fact must not lead to privilege, we must find ways to win the masculine language because that is how complacency. hearts of those who fear change, to call God has revealed Himself. Traditionalists in the Episcopal to conversion those whose privilege Though disparate on the surface, each Church are very attuned to the range of binds them to the dysfunction and evils prescription and prohibition deals with issues which constitute the conservative of the old order, and to speak plainly the power and the authority which justifies paradigm, as their articulate opposition eternal Word of God's saving love. QH

April 1989 11 Preacher makes history again by Susan E. Pierce

w«e cannot, and we must not, a haven for the hungry and homeless and who were participating in their own overlook the fact that this woman for a variety of controversial causes, oppression, to lift them up to par- who is being consecrated today is such as civil rights marches and Black ticipate in their own liberation . . . not just an American woman. She is Power meetings. In 1974, the Advocate Today I am sending you one who a Black woman. Called at one time made headlines and generated much de- burns when others are offended." a Negro. Called at one time colored. bate when Washington hosted the July Many in the Episcopal Church ob- Stony the road that you've trod. Bit- 29 "irregular" ordinations of 11 Episco- jected to Harris' election because of her publication. ter the chastening rod felt in the pal women deacons as priests. When he strong social activist background. "One and days when hope had died. Yet with a retired from the Advocate, a former pa- reporter at the consecration press confer- steady beat, have not our weary feet rishioner, the Rev. Barbara C. Harris, ence raised the question of Barbara reuse come to this place for which our fa- replaced him as interim rector until she being a radical," recalled Washington. "I for thers sighed? However, while our got a job offer she couldn't refuse. said I advise anyone using the term to church will have consecrated 17 In his "retirement," Washington is on look it up. 'Radical' comes from 'radix,' required persons of African descent to the of- countless boards and committees in which means getting to the root. And fice of a bishop, including one Philadelphia. He assists his wife Barbara will speak to the root of a prob- woman, to this date, only seven Christine, serving as chaplain for the lem, and I'm glad she will. The people Black priests have ever been elected who object to this are those interested in Permission Advocate Community Development to be priests or rectors in White con- Corporation (ACDC), of which she is maintaining the status quo — but the gregations. founder and President. ACDC provides status quo is not the kingdom." DFMS. / The Rev. Paul Washington affordable housing for North Philadel- Washington was one of the first Consecration sermon phia residents. people Harris called when she found out

Church Some preachers lull congregations to For all his fiery style in the pulpit, she'd been elected. He never had any sleep with soothing words; others terrify Washington is an easy-going, soft-spo- doubt that she was the one for the job. with images of hellfire and damnation. ken conversationalist. In a recent inter-, "In terms of Barbara handling herself, I

Episcopal Then there are preachers like the Rev. view, he reminisced about the consecra- have no fears. It's hard to imagine it

the Paul Washington, who are so eloquent tion of his long-time friend, the role of could have anyone else — Barbara was of and filled with the spirit of the word that Blacks in the Episcopal Church, and the person," he said. for a moment, it seems as if the gates of how the events of July 29 differed from On Saturday afternoon, September heaven are nudged open. During his re- those of Feb. 11. 24, I received a call from a friend, Archives markable sermon at Barbara Harris' con- In this continued drama of the in- one who is very, very dear to me. secration, Washington held the assembly carnation the eternal word speaks

2020. She said, "Paul, guess what?" I spellbound for nearly an hour. In an out- "... Today I send you one who has said, "What?" "I just got a call pouring of spontaneous emotion, people spent enough time in prisons minis- from David Johnson, the Bishop of laughed, wept and called out as he Copyright tering to prisoners and captives to Massachusetts. He said that I've shared his vision of what Barbara's con- have almost served a two-year sen- been elected to be a suffragan secration meant to the church and the tence herself. Oh my church, today I bishop." I softly exclaimed, "What? world. At the end, the crowd of 8500 am sending one to you who is from a I can't believe it." She continued, "I gave him a standing ovation. church that feeds hungry people . . . can't believe it either. How could I From 1962 to 1985, Washington was provides clothes for naked people. A have been elected to be a bishop in rector of the , in church that is about to build 25 this church?" That news to her was one of Philadelphia's most impoverished units of housing for the homeless. I as incredulous as the news was to neighborhoods. Over the years, he and am sending one to you who went another woman some 2,000 years his congregation offered the Advocate as down to Mississippi to lift up those ago when she asked,"How can this

12 THE WITNESS be, seeing I know not a man?" mother's womb. It shook this church resigned Bishop of Robert To some, Harris is a symbol of every- to its very foundation . . . Barbara, L. DeWitt, one of the ordaining bishops, thing that's wrong with the church. you were in California that morn- who told Washington that some of the Washington noted wryly that being a ing, you jumped on a plane and women were afraid of violence and pioneer is not easy. "Prophets have al- came to your church and you led the wanted to have a private ceremony. "I ways had a rough time," he said. "Jesus procession. You did not know when told him that would be a deception," said said, 'O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you that you led that procession that God Washington, "and to count me out. kill the prophets and stone those sent to was preparing you to lead another Bishop DeWitt said, 'The church is very, you.' People don't want to be reminded procession. very small right now. We can't afford to of the abject reality. People resent prece- When asked how the service 15 years lose you.' So we took the risks — we dents — it means the door has been ago — at which he was also the preacher were disobedient to the church, but obe- opened, others are coming in, and it's — and the one in Boston differed, Wash- dient to God." not a comfortable thought." ington replied, "It felt different, no ques- . . . / think of a collect in the Book He cautioned, though, against the tion. It has the establishment's stamp of of Common Prayer: "Grant that we publication. other extreme — expecting that her con- approval. We didn't have to go through may so pass through things temporal and secration would magically cure racism on February 11 what we went through on that we finally lose not sight of and other societal ills. "She can't do July 29, which is a victory for the things eternal." Being creatures of reuse anything alone. Any group that is down church." flesh and blood in this world our for can't be lifted up —they have to lift up All involved in the July 29 ordinations first actions and reactions are usu- themselves, and struggle and fight to were putting their careers and possibly ally in response to the temporal . . . required stay up," he said. even their safety at stake, Washington In doing so, however, we may not Did you come to see the first woman recalled. "As I look back at the suffering give ourselves sufficient time to pass consecrated as a bishop in the Epis- of July 29, there were those who felt a beyond the temporal demand to the divine imperative to right this wrong, divine imperative. So don't let the

Permission copal Church? If that is all you came here for, you have missed the and to take risks. world, don't let anyone set your point. This isn't just a woman. This "Those present on July 29 were what I clock or agenda. You are marching DFMS.

/ is a woman who was born in slav- call a 'remnant.' This refers to a faithful to the beat of a different drummer. ery. This is a woman who has had to few and goes back to Jewish history, If you wait on that beat, you will al- ways be on time, and on target. USi Church struggle. She has been despised. She when the Jews were in exile, and scat- has been rejected. She has been tered. The remnant held onto the faith kicked in the teeth. She has been and preserved it for the larger body so

Episcopal counted in our society as nothing. that someday they could come back to When she entered America there

the it," said Washington. of was a sign over the gate saying His own position was precarious — "Abandon all hope all you who en- the Advocate depended on the Diocese ter herein." of Pennsylvania for its funding, and Archives Harris' consecration signaled a shift in Washington wondered at the time the role African-American culture plays whether then-Bishop Lyman Ogilby 2020. in the Episcopal Church, according to would dismiss him for hosting the event. Washington. "The consecration, the But Washington refused to give in to service itself, might cause people to say, fear. He recounted a conversation with Copyright 'Now something outside is in the main- stream, someone who has had the Black experience.' It was the biggest consecra- Paul Washington delivering the consecration sermon. Excerpts appear in italics. tion in history and it was a total mix of traditions. That's a sign of change," he said. Then that awful day; July 29, 1974. Eleven women were ordained. They were untimely ripped from their

April 1989 13 From England, with love ...

publication. by Monica Furlong and reuse for Lt is not too much to say that I was simply and clearly. It spoke because of woman who had traveled from England changed by attending Barbara Harris' the courage and integrity of the Episco- there were messages from bishops. But required consecration. Like most churchgoers I pal Church of the U.S.A., it spoke be- this was not an occasion for private am inured to boredom, long patches of cause of the courage and integrity of pleasantries but for public acclamation, irrelevance, words that are no more than Barbara Harris, and it spoke because of not so much a moment for the "courtesy and respect" of which both the Arch-

Permission words to me, and prayers that rarely the passion of its huge congregation. touch my heart. Occasionally a good ser- A woman, a Black woman, stood in bishop of Canterbury and Archbishop mon, a good choir, a well-read lesson, front of us, challenging, for no other rea- Robin Eames of Ireland had spoken so DFMS.

/ will pull me out of the fog of absent- son than that she was Black and a stiffly, but for love and caring. mindedness and towards the warmth and woman, centuries of prejudice and op- Of course, the official response was

Church light of living religion, but what church pression. But, as many in that rapturous not the only response that mattered from services have mostly taught me is a re- audience knew well, there is no way out the Church of England. Five women, all signed patience and a feeling that the of oppression except for individuals to much involved in the women's ordina-

Episcopal whole thing has little, if anything, to do make the scary journey of doing what is tion movement, attended, and several male clergy. Alan Webster, the ex-Dean the with me and my life. Certainly past ex- different, of breaking the mold, of taking of perience had not prepared me for that the path that has no comforting role of St. Paul's, London, made a moving extraordinary Saturday in February when model walking ahead. And whenever speech in a place where it really mat- Barbara Harris was consecrated, for the that happens those who prefer custom tered — at the press conference. Back at Archives color, the drama, the piercing truthful- and certainty and habit, no matter what home there was a day's rejoicing and ness, the weeping, the laughter, the joy, it costs in human waste and limitation, prayers at St. James, Piccadilly, at which 2020. the singing. It was a service that did not predictably rage together, like the hea- one banner read "God is an equal-oppor- demand patience, that did not induce then in Handel's Messiah. tunity employer." The Movement for the boredom, that made the Christian reli- In Britain we often cloak our raging in Ordination of Women (MOW) hired Copyright gion come unmistakably, almost un- an icy coldness more wounding than any Fulham Palace, until a few years ago the bearably, alive, that spoke to the heart, insult. Such a coldness was all too evi- residence of the Bishops of London, for dent at the press conference after the a celebration. Up and down the country, consecration when it emerged that not people held services, watched television, Monica Furlong, a feminist theologian and only had the Church of England sent no exchanged excited impressions. writer, is a leading figure in the Anglican official representative, but that no Eng- The Sunday before the consecration women's rights movement in England. A found- lish bishop had sent a message of good- the St. Hilda Community, an influential ing member of the St. Hilda Community in Lon- don, a non-sexist worship group, she is the au- will. Publicly, that is. It was rumored little group which advocates "non-sexist thor of numerous books and articles. that in a private message carried by a liturgy" and invites visiting women

14 THE WITNESS priests to celebrate at its services, lit a even 10 years ago. We know now that and understand us in the way that so candle and prayed for Barbara, instruct- we are not just interested in getting many of our fathers in God in this coun- ing two of their members to carry loving women ordained as we were when we try repeatedly fail to do (though the door messages to her on their behalf. For first asked for this — now we want is always open). The network grows, and them, as for MOW, it compensated for much more. We want the church grows stronger. years of hard work, ridicule, and charges changed to an extent at present almost There is no doubt that at present the of how "selfish" they were to trouble the unimaginable and we are prepared to put strongest allegiance of some of us is to Church of England with the concerns of a lot of work and thought into making the women of the Anglican Communion women. sure it happens. The eye-opening process — it is an allegiance that transcends na- In Britain it must be said the sin of has made us much more appreciative, tional and church frontiers — and at this is still scarcely recognized. Bish- too, of the handful of men who have time in particular it is to Barbara Harris ops make fine, noble speeches about ra- stood with us through good times and and the women of the Episcopal Church. cism in this country (and quite right, bad — busy parish priests who have This comes as a sort of love letter to too). But most of them live far from the turned out to our meetings and services all of you and to the church that made publication. streets and neighborhoods where the ra- and conferences, in some cases damag- this historical decision, a decision that and cial conflicts are fought. The gender ing their careers by doing so. Other men points to the end, however distant, of conflict, on the other hand, is uncom- who have cheered us and urged us on sexism, as it also incidentally points to reuse fortably close to home — it affects rela- when times were hard, often seeing the the end of racism. In a world torn by for tionships with their wives, their mothers issues of unfairness and injustice more racism and sexism Barbara's election is and daughters, their secretaries, the clearly than we saw them ourselves, en- a loving and healing act, one that will required women deacons who now serve under couraging us to forget being "good girls" have unforeseeable creative conse- them. Old unhealed wounds are opened, and insist on the changes we needed. quences. some real shift in the structures of power Finally, of course, the whole process Never mind courtesy and respect,

Permission is asked for. Worst of all, in this slow- has taught us to love and trust and appre- those are not in question. Like the fairy moving country, it involves change. ciate our sisters as we move out of old godmother at the christening we think This leaves the women in the Church fears and timidity. We have learned so we can do much better than that. Please DFMS. / of England in an odd position of having much about how to work together, how accept, Barbara, our wonder, our enthu- a great deal of token support from the to express Christian thinking in words siasm, our joy, our delight, our pleasure,

Church bishops, while finding it to be a sort of and prayers and various kinds of action. our laughter, our tears, our hope, our fairy gold. Turn to your valiant support- What has been rich about the whole pride, our sympathy, our support, our ers when you are being attacked by the thing has been the extraordinary release loyalty and above all, our love. We think

Episcopal opposition, expect them to speak up, or of our energy. "It's like being part of the it's smashing, marvelous, bliss, fantastic, early church," one woman said to me. A the nicest thing to happen in years. We the to vote at some crucial debate, and sud- of denly all but one or two of them are si- long-imprisoned genie, or Jeannie, has will make songs about it, we will tell lent or gone, turned to dust in your been let out of its bottle, and its new- stories about it, we will tell our daugh- hands. Some of them have fits of cour- found strength is something to marvel at ters, and our daughters' daughters. It will Archives age, and in moments of vision will make One of the things the Jeannie has become a myth and a legend and part of achieved is that we have actually got to that history of which women have been

2020. a statement that thrills the blood. But the Old Boy Network, which, to a depress- know women in other parts of the world, most deprived. The soil of Massachu- ing extent, is the Church of England, has who once seemed impossibly far away. setts will become special, sacred to us. At MOW's Canterbury Conference in When we go there we will say "This is Copyright a discipline so subtle that the bruises don't even show. Nobody in that regi- 1986, as hangers-on at the edges of the the place where Barbara Harris . . ." and we will tell the story all over again and ment marches for long to a different Lambeth Conference, and as joyful par- be glad for ourselves and for other drummer. ticipants at Barbara Harris' consecration, women. For in Boston, one Saturday Yet perhaps this discovery has been we have become friends with women in morning, history was made, and those the most useful that women have made. Africa and India and South America and whose hearts were groaning and travail- On the one hand it has made us much Hong Kong, in Australia, New Zealand, ing in the Spirit to give birth to the fu- stronger and more self-reliant, and has Canada and the United States — we ture came to help that birth happen. caused us to look closely and critically write and telephone and share the com- at the church in a way unimaginable ing church with them and they hear us And they rejoiced ... H7i

15 April 1989 Uppity women & authentic ecumenism by Rosemary Ruether

Lmong the panoply of arguments in principles they hold dear — such as for- to be viewed not only as a scandal, but the Anglican Communion against the feiting the right of clergy to marry or also as a gift. The richness of under- consecration of women priests, and now accepting the Vatican I decrees of the standing in the cultural expression of the of Barbara C. Harris as bishop, is that Pope's infallibility and universal juris- Christian message cannot be found in such procedures would jeopardize ecu- diction — as expendable for the cause of one tradition alone. It is this dialogue menical relationships with Rome. The unity with Rome. Yet, with a reactionary within the variety of traditions that gives Pope himself has encouraged this con- papacy sternly upholding celibacy for us insights into the fuller and truer Roman Catholic priests and intervening catholicity of the church.

publication. cern with a note to the Archbishop of Canterbury, echoed by an occasional throughout the world in episcopal ap- Moreover, a certain plurality of and conservative Roman Catholic bishop, pointments to shore up centralized con- churches may be important to preserve such as Raymond Lessard, a member of trol, it is unlikely there would be much genuine Christian freedom. Does anyone reuse give by the papacy on these issues in any for the 24-member international Anglican- really want one universal papal ecclesi- Roman Catholic unity talks. final negotiations. astical empire? Would it not be more But, as far as I know, there has been The occasional acceptance of an al- helpful for the welfare of the Roman required no general outcry from Roman Catholic ready married Anglican priest into com- Catholic Church if Anglicans spent more bishops, nor from Roman Catholic theo- munion with Rome does not fundamen- time defending their own tradition of logians or laity against these Anglican tally change the Vatican's principle of communion between autocephalous

Permission developments. One has a suspicion that priestly celibacy as normative. But the churches, rather than muting a critique if conservative Roman Catholics could issues of infallibility and universal juris- of the papal model of church unity based not be found to oppose the ordination of diction are really the key ones. Angli- on global monarchical centralization? DFMS. / women, some Anglicans would invent cans delude themselves if they think the Many other strange assumptions them. present Pope plans to surrender these underlie the right-wing Anglican "ecu-

Church There are several startling assumptions claims. menical argument" against women's or- that lie behind this right-wing "ecumeni- Rather than a false optimism that unity dination. For example, it is taken for cal argument". First of all, the assump- is around the corner between Anglicans granted that ecumenical relations be-

Episcopal tion seems to be that church unity lies in and Rome, impeded only by uppity tween Anglicans and the rest of world the relations between the Pope and the Arch- women, it would be more helpful if An- Protestantism is irrelevant. Apparently of bishop of Canterbury — a kind of mu- glican ecumenical theologians would re- only ecumenism with Rome and Con- tual appreciation club between patri- flect on what communion and church stantinople counts. They yearn to get archs. Unity is seen as an alliance, or unity is all about. Is church unity primar- into the "old boys' club" of patriarchs. Archives even a merger, between heads of corpo- ily institutional corporate mergers, with The fact that 500 million Christians —

2020. rations. Thus it does not seem startling the ideal goal being one centralized almost a third of world Christianity — to these "ecumenists" to imagine a global organization? Or is not church are Protestants, and Anglicans are part of Rome-Canterbury alliance based on in- unity and communion fundamentally that growing body of churches that or-

Copyright sulting and disregarding the full human- spiritual, an experience of being one in dain women, is ignored. ity and Christian status of the majority of the Spirit that long preceded in Christian The patriarchal ecumenists, in fact, both churches — namely, the women. thought any hierarchy above the level of have a strange habit of speaking as It is hardly imaginable that these right- the local communities? though there were not already between wing Anglican ecumenists would regard Does not true unity in the Spirit need 15 and 135 years of experience with or- to respect cultural differences and even a dained women in many Christian certain diversity in theological and litur- churches. Even among "priestly gical traditions, as well as a plurality of churches" that claim unbroken apostolic Dr. Rosemary Radford Ruether, noted femi- nist author and theologian, teaches at Garrett self-governing historical churches? The succession of bishops from the Middle Theological Seminary in Evanston, III. historical plurality of the churches needs Ages, we have the example of the Swed-

16 THE WITNESS ish Lutheran Church, which has ordained belonging to one of the oldest exclusive clergy. women since 1958. Instead, women's male clubs. Such decisions to enter into Roman Catholic theologians and ordination is constantly spoken of as communion should spring from pro- Scripture scholars have made clear that though it were an untested, impending phetic renewal among these churches of the recent Vatican declarations against disaster. the vision of the Church as a community women's ordination cannot be sustained, Another odd assumption, and one of redemption. theologically or scripturally. Karl which Anglican patriarchal ecumenists Anglicans could best serve this cause Rahner, the leading 20th-century Roman share with the Pope, is that Christian of prophetic renewal by affirming that Catholic theologian, even called the practices which have gone on for most repentance from sexism is an integral Vatican Declaration of 1976 against of the historical memory of the church expression of this Christian vision, not women's ordination a "heretical" docu- must therefore be infallible. The church an expendable accommodation to con- ment. An "ecumenical" alliance of Can- as a historical institution is not recog- temporary society. They should make terbury and Rome that sold out these re- nized as an expression of sinful and fal- clear that the recent shift to women's or- form movements would not be regarded lible human beings capable of significant dination among growing numbers of as helpful by these Roman Catholics. publication. wrong-doing in long-established prac- churches reflects this rediscovery of the Rather, it would be seen as an insult and and tices. original vision of the church as a com- a barrier to the authentic future of the This assumption of indefectibility in munity of equals, rather than lamenting Roman Catholic church and genuine reuse that this might disqualify them for mem- ecumenism.

for long-established practices is hardly in accord with what we would have to ac- bership in the patriarchal club. Therefore I suggest that Anglicans knowledge in many other areas. For ex- A formidable number of Roman pluck up their courage to play the role of required ample, beginning with the New Testa- Catholics see the ordination of women as a prophetic avant-garde. By ordaining ment (rooted in the Old) and carried on a necessary development that must take women to the priesthood — and now the by a major line of theologians, canon place in their church in order to move episcopacy — they are helping to lead

Permission law and church practice until the mid- forward in the Vatican II vision of the the way to that true reform, renewal and 19th century, slavery was justified as a Church as People of God. An impressive unity that can only come from the Chris- morally acceptable expression of the di- share of the pastoral ministry in the Ro- tian churches being faithful to the gospel DFMS. / vine will for human relations. Can any- man Catholic Church is, in fact, being message of equality in Christ, and no one today doubt that such a long-estab- done by women, precisely because of the longer modeling their ministry on the

Church lished tradition was sinfully erroneous? untenability of an all-male, celibate patriarchal family and society. aa Religious and racial animosity toward Jews has been accepted among Chris- Episcopal bishops lay hands on head of Barbara Harris. John Tlumacki/TA* Boston Globe

Episcopal tians for an even longer period. Signifi-

the cant questioning of these views only be- of gan after the Holocaust of 1942-45. Yet can anyone question that this long-estab- lished practice of anti-semitism was sin- Archives fully erroneous?

2020. The history of sexism in the church parallels these forms of discrimination. Like them, sexism has only begun to be

Copyright condemned by the modern recognition of the full personhood and equal dignity of all human beings. Is it not likely that the exclusion of women from ordination reflects a similar history of error for which the churches have only begun to repent? Authentic inter-communion between divided churches must be based on truth and justice, not on the flattering sense of

April 1989 On gender, education, ideology by J.Antonio Ramos

he recent election and historic con- less than the doctrines of Creation and of 1) The gender issue secration of Barbara C. Harris as Suffra- God's redemptive action in history I have come to the conclusion that to gan Bishop of Massachusetts and first through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. insist that the validity of the priesthood woman to be named a bishop in the An- At this time the Episcopal Church is and episcopacy is contingent on a glican Communion, has surfaced a series moving ahead on the issue of women's person's gender is heretical thinking, publication. of issues which I believe should be de- ordination to the priesthood and the epis- just as it was heretical in the First centu- and bated openly and publicly in the Episco- copate, in spite of the controversy and ries of the church when the Donatists pal Church and ecumenically. The un- pain these decisions cause. The church's claimed that the validity of orders con- reuse warranted and regrettable personal at- action is making a lasting contribution to ferred or sacraments celebrated were for tacks against her should not obscure the understanding what constitutes the full- contingent on the moral dignity of the important theological implications of her ness of orders for both men and women, person conferring or celebrating. required ordination to the priesthood and subse- and to reconsidering other related issues, The Episcopal Church has already pro- quent consecration. In spite of divergent such as expanding the concept of a tri- nounced itself unequivocally on the doc- positions and the emotional factors in- une God, and of Christ's own royal trinal question of gender. After the 1974 volved, it is important to address these priesthood. Philadelphia ordinations, the church Permission implications since they relate to the min- As we tackle these important theologi- Court of Inquiry appointed to examine istry and mission of the Episcopal cal questions, undoubtedly we need to charges brought against the four conse- DFMS.

/ Church, the Anglican Communion and take seriously the past and our catholic crating bishops present ruled that the is- the wider Catholic and Evangelical com- heritage and traditions. However, we sue involved was a doctrinal one, which munity. I will focus primarily on three: the House of Bishops had to resolve. At Church also need to remind ourselves constantly 1) The gender issue, that we are a servant community in a the Special Meeting in Chicago, on the 2) The so-called "second-class" educa- journey towards God's kingdom. In that basis of the report submitted by a panel of theologians, the House of Bishops Episcopal tion issue, and journey we are confronted with the struggle of women for dignity, equality, ruled that the Philadelphia ordinations the 3) Political and ideological issues. of But first, let me share some prelimi- justice and their rightful place in society were "valid but irregular." Then the nary thoughts about the ecumenical di- and in the church, just as Peter and Paul 1976 General Convention, acting as it mensions and the unique contribution of were confronted with the issue of the has done since 1789 to resolve matters Archives the Episcopal Church in that arena. mission and ministry of the church in the of discipline, doctrine and worship in the At stake is not just the validity of Bar- gentile world. Or as Martin Luther King Episcopal Church, voted to open all or- 2020. bara Harris' orders to priesthood and was confronted with issues of color and ders to women. Finally, when the Dio- episcopacy, but the validity of such or- race in his time. cese of Massachusetts democratically ders for any woman, not only in the When I review the events of the last elected Barbara Harris, the appropriate Copyright Episcopal Church but in the wider An- 15 years — the turmoil of Philadelphia consents were given and the consecra- glican Communion and the Catholic tra- in 1974, the intense meeting of the tion was held in accordance with ancient dition which we uphold and have histori- House of Bishops in Chicago, the emo- catholic traditions prescribed in the cally maintained. What is involved is no tionally-charged 1976 General Conven- Prayer Book. tion, and the historic election and conse- With due respect to those who con- cration of Barbara Harris — I wonder if tinue to insist that women cannot be con- The Rt. Rev. J. Antonio Ramos is Assistant we are not once again confronted with a ferred with, nor in turn confer, valid or- Bishop for Hispanic Affairs in the Diocese of situation parallel to that of Peter and ders, and therefore cannot confer any New York, and chair of the Episcopal Church Publishing Company Board of Directors. Paul and Martin Luther King? valid sacraments (i.e. Baptism, Holy Eu-

18 THE WITNESS church where I grew up, which from the "lower classes" and, in a world in- early childhood became the center of my creasingly populated by the poor and life. At the age of 10 I wanted to follow people of color, continue to hold fast to in the footsteps of the Episcopal priest an "aristocratic" view of the church and serving there, who had never been to its orders. university or seminary. 3) Political and ideological issues The then-Bishop of Puerto Rico, the In baptism, we promise loyalty to Je- Rt. Rev. A. Ervine Swift, made it his sus Christ. In the Episcopal church, goal to develop indigenous ministry and when we are ordained to any of its or- work himself out of a job, which he sub- ders we promise to be "loyal to the doc- sequently did. Under his sponsorship I trine, discipline and worship of Christ." went to a private high school near San At no time are we required to pledge Juan to learn English, then to college in allegiance to the flag of where we hap- Wisconsin and finally to seminary in pened to be ordained and where we will publication. Cambridge, Mass. I enjoyed the best exercise our ministry. Those who accuse and possible education in preparation for the Barbara Harris of "social activism" and ministry — little did I know I would end question anyone who espouses the cause reuse up a bishop at 31. of the poor and oppressed are trying to for There are others in the Third World pose as being above political bias, when and among the poor in the United States in fact their positions are highly political required who have had the privilege of such an and ideologically based. In my opinion, education — but we are a very small they give higher allegiance to the claims minority. There are many more who, of Caesar than to God's, who, as re- like Barbara Harris, have had to make it corded in the Bible, had compassion for Permission through their own efforts and against all the oppressed, prophetically denounced odds. They are self-made people whose injustice and announced the rule of jus-

DFMS. tice. Jesus of Nazareth, in his life and / wisdom and knowledge quite often ex- ceed that obtained in the classrooms of ministry, in his words and deeds, was biased towards the poor, the outcast, the David E. Johnson, Bishop of Massachusetts, the universities and seminaries of this Church welcomes Barbara C. Harris, his new suffra- world. Their theology is born out of their foreigner, women and the "least ones." gan, with a hug. daily and constant encounter with the If yearly we observe and celebrate the Word of God in their struggles. lives of saints, confessors and martyrs, Episcopal and are constantly reminded of the per- Right now there are a number of bish- the charist) to others, in my estimation, secuted Christians of all ages, it is be- of these persons pursue the Donatist route. ops in the Episcopal Church who are the cause these men and women decided to Today we do not find ourselves in the product of such a "second-class" educa- pattern their lives upon giving to "Cae- ecumenical situation of the first centu- tion. If university and seminary educa-

Archives sar what is of Caesar and to God what tion were required, what would become ries when the church was one. However, belongs to God." Jesus did so and was if that were the case, I would be among of the church in the Third World and in 2020. put to death by the religious and political the poor communities of more affluent the first to welcome a universal council Caesars of his days. In my view there is societies, where such education is for the to rule on the issue of gender as a pre- no political or ideological neutrality, for elite only? In many of these situations Copyright requisite to qualify for orders. even silence in a given situation is an alternative forms have emerged for min- 2) The education issue option with political consequences. The istry development, which do as good a I was born in a remote, poor rural area fundamental question we constantly face job and frequently are even more rele- of Puerto Rico. Although my family was as a community of the faithful, espe- vant and contextual than those of our one of the "better-offs" in that commu- cially in a world of growing poverty and recognized institutions. Ultimately the nity, we lived in a simple wooden house, disparity, of social and economic barri- "second-class" concept applied to Bar- two to three (often five to six) to a bed. ers, prejudice and racism, is whether our bara Harris and the millions she repre- In those days the Episcopal Church in ultimate loyalty is to God or to some sents is fostered by those who still be- Puerto Rico made it a priority to minis- other gods. QJ] ter to rural people. There was a small lieve that nothing good can come out of

April 1989 19 The ECPC/WITNESS connection by Robert L. DeWitt

It was more than a coincidence that the 20th century to admit women to epis- the Black Church, which nourished, when elected suffragan Bishop of Mas- copal as well as to priestly orders? taught and sustained her over the years. sachusetts, Barbara Harris was serving as Would it gradually become a relic, com- Biblical imagery, theology, liturgy and publication. Executive Director of the Episcopal parable to the remaining "male only" gospel hymns have been her lifelong and Church Publishing Company, which business/social clubs? Those associa- bread and meat. She is a daughter of the publishes THE WITNESS magazine. tions flourished with considerable vigor church, raised in the bosom of that fam- reuse This journal has more than a 70-year his- for quite some years, but are now in- ily. Of course, it goes without saying for tory of pressing for change in the church creasingly seen as throwbacks, vestiges that she is not perfect. Neither were Pe- by bearing testimony to prophetic move- of a wrong-headed exclusiveness. Is the ter or Paul. Nor is any one of us. Regard- required ments. After a lapse following the death Church at large headed down that one- less, it is this human clay out of which of its long-time editor, the Rev. William way path again? It may be that we will God, for lack of better material, makes Spofford, THE WITNESS resumed pub- have to wait for the Church of Rome to laypersons, priests, bishops and occa- lication in 1974. That first issue was de- provide the answer to that question. And sionally, saints. This time, for the first Permission voted to a report on the ordination of the perhaps not too long a wait, at that. time, it pleased God to make a bishop of first women priests in the Episcopal It is also appropriate that during her a Black woman; and we marvel at God's DFMS. / Church — the "." years with the Episcopal Church Pub- audacity. Fifteen years later that historic event has lishing Company, Bishop Harris had It is audacious to run counter to two been completed by its logical sequence, Church been writing a monthly column for THE millennia of church history, to ignore the the consecration of a woman bishop. WITNESS entitled "A Luta Continua" "infallible" protestations of the Pope, to It is difficult fully to grasp just how ("The Struggle Continues"). It serves not risk conflict and even schism within the

Episcopal significant an event that consecration only as an apt designation for her life to Anglican family of churches. Audacious,

the was. As our minds grope for parallels, date, but also as a fit chapter heading for that is, until we recall whose Church this of the controversy in the days of the the experiences about to unfold before is. If, indeed, it be the Church of God, Apostles over the admission of gentiles her. and if God is indeed God, we may won- comes to mind. Had it not been for that The double jeopardy of being Black der and marvel, but should not question Archives crucial policy decision, the church might and female is well-known. Barbara Har- the authenticity of what a sovereign God well have remained a sub-group within does with God's own.

2020. ris did not, like the goddess Athena, Judaism. There are no "ifs" in history, spring fully armed from the brow of More audacious, it would seem, would but one cannot but wonder. Similarly, Jove, equipped for the struggles of life. be the expectation on God's part that a what would be the future for a church Copyright Like all of us, and more than most of us, woman, that any person, can be expected which, in the first century having admit- she has had to make her way by incre- to cope adequately with the testings and ted gentiles to membership, refused in ments, facing obstacles and confronting harassments awaiting Bishop Harris in difficulties not of her own making. both the near and long range future. At When her abilities and interests took her her consecration service it was made into the world of business, a world she clear that she can expect non-acceptance The Rt. Rev. Robert L. DeWitt, former Bishop came to know well and to negotiate suc- from some quarters. Individuals, par- of Pennsylvania, was one of the consecrators in cessfully, she never forgot who she was, ishes, other bishops, other branches of the 1974 "Philadelphia 11" ordinations. Former editor of THE WITNESS, he is a member of the and Whose she was. This was because — each will in some meas- magazine's editorial board. she was situated squarely in the life of ure participate in "shunning" her — the

20 THE WITNESS most virulent kind of excommunication. the first 11 women were priested in Did God consider all that, as the Dio- 1974. Since then, approximately 1200 cese of Massachusetts responded to the women have become priests, any one of Spirit and designated her to be a bishop them potentially electable as a bishop. In in the Church of God? To this one can recent years a number of women priests only respond that an all-wise Qod surely have been nominated in episcopal elec- knows what is going on, and is compe- tions. Further, women priests are serving tent to deal with it. Bishop Harris, as we a wide spectrum of ministries and are have said, did not "spring fully armed dispersed across the country. They have from the brow of Jove"; but available to become an accepted part of the fabric of her is the whole armor of God. And that the Episcopal Church. armor — truth, integrity, the Gospel, Those who continue to question the faith, salvation, the word of God — con- legitimacy of what has been a very de-

publication. sists of resources familiar to the house- liberate, slow-paced process seem to hold of faith in which Bishop Harris was loom larger in press accounts than they and reared. are in actual numbers and significance. Barbara Harris: reuse The most reassuring thing about the Presiding Bishop Ed Browning, in for hazards and the threats which Bishop speaking to a group of participants and Bishop Harris' consecration has elicited is the officiants on the eve of the consecration Order a copy of this historic is- Episcopal Church's calm, unhurried de- service, referred to the painstaking proc- required sue, commemorating the Feb. cision about her election. Although the ess of consultation he had conducted, election has been front page news both before and after Bishop Harris' 11 consecration, which in- around the world, the probability if not election. He concluded by saying, as he cludes a full-color photo —

Permission inevitability of a woman being elected a raised his arms, "These hands are suitable for framing — on page bishop is not news. It has been a familiar ready!" The Episcopal Church is re- 25: prospect in the Episcopal Church since sponding resoundingly: "Amen!" E3 DFMS. • for a friend / • for your parish library "These hands are ready," Edmond L Browning, • for a seminarian

Church Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, told a delighted audience at a pre- • for an Anglican abroad consecration dinner Feb. 10. • for yourself Episcopal the One to five copies: $3.00 of Six and over: $2.00 Prepaid orders only Archives Enclosed is a check for . 2020. Please send copy/ies of this April issue to: Copyright Name

Address

City

State Zip Mail to THE WITNESS, P.O. Box In foreground is Alan Webster, retired dean of St. Paul's Cathedral, London 359, Ambler, PA 19002

April 1989 21 Helping to carry the load by Carter Heyward

A he consecration of Barbara Cle- more than a decade now in the Episcopal the Episcopal Divinity School in Cam- mentine Harris was a magnificent mo- Church. We still hear it rumbling around bridge had sponsored a continuing edu- ment in the history of the church. But its the Church of England, the church in cation program on women bishops. It significance does not lie primarily in the Australia, elsewhere in the Anglican was at this conference that Mary Glass- fact that Anglicans have at last a chief Communion, and of course among the pool, rector of St. Luke's and St. sacramental pastor who is not a "prince," Romans and Orthodox. But to have it Margaret's parish in Allston, first asked "father," or "old boy." After all, the dragged back up in the Episcopal Barbara about the possibility of allowing

publication. radical break in the male-stream of Church, in relation to Barbara and the her name to be placed in nomination for Anglicanism's ecclesiastical and sacra- rest of us, has been both predictable and suffragan bishop. In subsequent months, and mental authority occurred not in the con- boring. To this worn-out plea on behalf Mary Glasspool, working in concert with

reuse secration of its first woman bishop two of phallocentric power, thousands of us such Black leaders in the church as

for months ago but rather in the ordination said no in 1974, and no again in 1975. Canon Missioner Ed Rodman, managed of a woman, Li Tim-Oi, to the priest- Coming right along, the Episcopal to pull together a ragtag coalition of hood in China 45 years ago. Church said no in 1976, and no again in Episcopalians of color, White feminist required Some of the fuss over Bishop Harris' the 1989 consecration of its first woman priests and laywomen, and progressive emergence can be understood only in the bishop. White men to work on Barbara's behalf. context of the lament of a remnant faith- But that's not all that happened in the Within a couple of weeks prior to the

Permission ful to the highly symbolic tradition of election and consecration of Bishop Har- election, it had become clear to a num- preserving all-male sacramental leader- ris. In calling her, we asked not only for ber of us, including Barbara, that there

DFMS. ship in salvation history. These are the a woman, but moreover for one whose was at least a real possibility that she / folks for whom the sacred is mediated African-American roots in slavery, suf- would be elected, and that we in Massa- through the presence of male genitalia. fering, Black culture and the struggle for chusetts would indeed have become a

Church Whether from the perspective of those liberation have made her who she is. In- channel through which God is revealing who hold this titillating view of redemp- deed, many of us in Massachusetts something to us about the sacred power tion or of the approximately 1500 wanted a woman bishop of color because in the lives of historically marginalized

Episcopal women priests around the world, there's we realized it's high time to begin heal- women. the really nothing to be said in response to ing the painful rupture between the per- Yet even more happened in the choice of this kinky theology except yes or no. ceived interests of White women and of Barbara Harris. In her, we consecrated The arrival of the first Anglican people of color in the Episcopal Church not only a Black woman, but one who and in the larger society. Those involved Archives woman bishop (and of those women embodies a good bit of what is most de- bishops who will follow) provides out- in promoting the election of Barbara spised and trivialized within the Anglo

2020. standing opportunity for the phallocen- Harris knew that the choice of a Black culture that has shaped our spiritual tra- tric theologians to speak their piece on woman could be an immensely empow- dition. For one thing, Barbara has not behalf of a god who gives men and boys ering symbol for Black Episcopalians been educated in the halls of "educated

Copyright a special, sacred thing that women and and for other people of color in the men," but rather in the course of living girls don't have. Happily, the debate church as well as for White women, in life among her people. In choosing such about whether this "special thing" is our attempts to struggle together against a person, we voiced a firm no to those necessary to salvation has been over for racism, sexism, and other structures of arrogant dimensions of our religious oppression in the world and church. heritage which demean an intelligence The Rev. Carter Heyward, ordained as one of About a year before Barbara's nomi- cultivated by living with an ear close to the "Philadelphia 11" in 1974, is Professor of nation, the Massachusetts chapter of the sacred ground. Theology at the Episcopal Divinity School in Episcopal Women's Caucus had pre- Cambridge, Mass. A contributing editor to THE The media was quick to point out that WITNESS, she has published numerous books pared educational materials on women Barbara Harris is also divorced (as was and articles on feminist theology. and the episcopate and in January 1988, her closest competitor in the episcopal

22 THE WITNESS to be acceptable to the old boys' club, to make peace with oppression if that's what it would take to keep peace in the "House" (and we can be sure it would). The consecration of Bishop Harris sig- nalled another possibility: What if, in the midst of the violent, distressing condi- Mary Glass- tions being generated by the reactionary pool, center, politics of Reagan-Bush, a small, but who nominated nonetheless revolutionary, turn is being Barbara Harris rejoices with made toward the realization of justice women caucus among us? What if we are beginning to members Ro- move together, in ways yet barely per- sanna Kazan- ceptible, into a reversal of the nefarious publication. jian, left, and Halley Wilcox social values which have so damaged us and after Harris is as a people for the last two decades? declared win- Could it be that the primary significance reuse ner in Boston of Barbara Harris' consecration is in its for election. signaling a potentially radical shift in the election, as well as her predecessor as for justice, to exercise spiritual authority prevailing norms of church and society? required Suffragan Bishop of Massachusetts — among us. Bad enough that it's a "she" "Potentially" because neither one conse- both of them White, Anglo males). As and a Black "she" at that. Terrible that cration, nor one woman bishop in her- Paul Washington suggested in his re- she doesn't have the proper degrees or self, can produce such a shift markable sermon at the consecration, "know a man." But she is also a prophet!

Permission Barbara Harris is a compassionate, in- here is a woman who "knows not a Not that she's the first prophet in the telligent, witty sister with strong politi- man." Put otherwise, Barbara Harris car- episcopacy. Several of the men who con- cal commitments rooted in the liberation DFMS.

/ ries, legally and sacramentally, the full secrated her have been compelling pro- tradition of Christian spirituality. Yet, in weight of being her own person in a sex- phetic figures in the contemporary a very real, historic sense, Bishop Harris ist and heterosexist world and church. Church church. But most male bishops have is, at this moment, primarily a symbol, Of course many will assume that she is been elevated to the episcopate precisely which is a terribly difficult thing for a a lesbian, because what after all, is a because they weren't controversial, or, person to be. She and her consecration

Episcopal "lesbian" if not a woman who doesn't sometimes, despite the fact that they represent a global movement, a histori- were. Few men in the history of Angli- cal push toward that realm in which jus- the need to be attached to a man in order to of be fully herself? Bishop Harris repre- canism, and no women until Barbara tice "rolls down like water and right- sents all women, lesbian and heterosex- Harris, have been chosen and made eousness like an ever-flowing stream." ual, who will not be patronized by heter- bishop because they are prophets. Yet We need to realize that, only insofar as Archives osexist assumptions about who or what that's exactly why so many women we are moving with her, can she or we is a "real" woman. In making her our priests and laywomen of all colors, hope to see any actual, substantive shift- 2020. bishop, we said no to the anti-erotic tra- Black Episcopalians, and justice-seeking ing toward justice and empowerment. dition which punishes us for daring to White men in Massachusetts wanted In other words, the future of Bishop live beyond sex-role expectations into Barbara as our bishop: because she Harris, of what she can actually do, is up Copyright the fullness of our capacities to love one stands with and for those who have been to us. We have empowered her to bless another as sisters and brothers, friends marginalized or outcast by the dominant us by representing God's own passion and lovers and partners, whether single, forces in the world/church. This is the for justice. In so doing, may she em- divorced, married, celibate, sexually ac- locus of her spiritual authority. power us to bless one another as sisters, tive, lesbian, gay, bisexual, or heterosex- Like most men, many White women brothers, and friends of the Sacred Spirit. ual. and some women of color as well would If we do this, rather than expecting one And still, we did even more than this find themselves badly compromised by sister to carry our load for us, we will be in choosing Barbara Harris. In her, we election to the episcopacy. It would be bearers of blessing and joy to this friend tapped a prophet, a sister with a passion tempting to try, however much in vain, and bishop, Barbara Harris. nvi

April 1989 23 Pentecost Again

"The power behind you is greater than the task ahead of you." — The Rev. Audrey Bronson

"Could God die, I would die" Consecration Rainbow light! This day was born in Eternity, publication. Mother-Father light! this day is a heavenly day. and It's Pentecost again! Sweet, sweet Spirit, we pray to be as open to You forever reuse Mother, Sister, Friend of those enslaved as we are this day. for and granddaughter and great-great-great-granddaughter - but Grandmother to the free, Right Reverend Bishop Barbara Clementine Harris — required helper of the homeless, hopeless, helpless ones — African American, first female bishop among the Apostles O Christ, be as a Mother to us ... on whom we can lay our eyes and hands ... You embrace — in your mitred Pentecost crown of flame, in your African bright garden, thunderstorm and lightning Permission "O God, there is something above, let it reach me" "Today I have not forgotten you, Beloved. symphonic fuscia, purple and gold, in your true Today I call Myself to you. green tree of Hfe worshipping clothes — us. DFMS.

/ Today I send you one who knows about prison, who knows about hunger, And our Mother from China, the Reverend Li Tim-Oi, embraces you, and history resounds with a loud

Church who knows of hungry, broken lives and who helps bind wounds and who marches on — supernova cataclysm of reviving rainbow joy and who knows successes of sheer giftedness, as the hands of God fold together around us and we are held together in new wonder,

Episcopal for My gifts still count! and our future pains and past pains

the Here, world, My gift to you, your new bishop, of Barbara Clementine Harris, as she is. in this meeting moment are transformed See her glowing mitre point to justice, and our once and future wounds are bound for the Struggle Continues! and in this moment is pure, pure gentleness and praise, Archives And today she dances among you on fire, for the strong and tender outcasts have been brought home, but not alone — just another of My miracles. and the faces and hands of God that were rejected 2020. Barbara, bring forth — but not alone. are shining on us at last! Continue — but not alone. It's Pentecost again! Wear the mitred hat, the crown of fire, Copyright Alia Renee Bozarth and remember that My burden borne in love Boston, Feb. 11,1989 is a beautiful burden. Barbara, begin — but not alone. Fire spreads. It's Pentecost again. Get ready, world. Be born with her, a new people on this day. The Rev. Alia Renee Bozarth is one of the "Philadelphia 11," the first For Shalom, My heart's desire, is coming through, women ordained in the Episcopal Church 15 years ago. Now director of is coming down into My world. Wisdom House in Sandy, Ore., she is author of several books, including poetry. The epigrams, "Could God die" and "O God, there is something Sweet World, begin. above" are translated from the Ashanti symbols on Bishop Harris' vest- It's Pentecost again!" ments. This poem is part of a longer piece.

24 THE WITNESS V m publication. and reuse for required Permission DFMS. / Church Episcopal the of Archives ndy Maeda/77ie Boston Globe 2020. She's number one — in the whole world Following her consecration as Suffragan ing whispered to her, "Go for it!" eternity and creation's dependence. Her Bishop of Massachusetts — and conse- The Rt. Rev. Allen Bartlett, Bishop of stole bears "Nyame Bribi Wo Soro, Ma Copyright quently as first woman to become a Harris' home Diocese of Pennsylvania, No Mmeka Me Nsa" (O God, there is bishop in the worldwide Anglican Com- (left), said the Harris election represents something above, let it reach me). The munion — the Rt. Rev. Barbara C. Har- "the fullness of ministry which the church cope morse and back of chasuble shows ris faced the congregation Feb. 11 in corporately decided on in 1976. This is a "Onyamedua" — God's tree, a forked Hynes auditorium (above). sign of that wholeness." post found in most courtyards or planted Episcopal Presiding Bishop Edmond L. Harris' colorful vestments were made at the entrances of the chief's palace as Browning, (right), said that the event was of Italian silk and Ghanian women's a sign of the people's dependence on the most exciting he had experienced in weave kente. Her mitre bears the Ashanti God. The front of the chasuble bears the his term of office, and as Harris turned to phrase, "Nyame Nwu Na M'awu" (Could Chi Rho, ancient symbol based on the face 8500 cheering well-wishers, Brown- God die, I would die), expressing God's first two letters of Christ in Greek.

April 1989 25 'The ends of the world have met' — Nan Peete

In 1988, the Rev. Nan Arrington Peete was one of two women priests invited to Lambeth to serve as consultants general by the Archbishop of Canterbury. In a conversation with THE WITNESS, she reflected on the consecration of her friend and colleague Barbara Harris. Peete participated in the service as a concelebrant. She currently serves as canon to the Ordinary in Atlanta, and is a member of the Board of the Episcopal Church Publishing Company.

Are there any flashbacks from your "O God of unchangeable power and eter- women priests. The Word made flesh publication. Lambeth trip that strike you as signifi- nal light: look favorably on your whole tends to transcend some of the stere- and cant, related to the Feb. 11 event? church, that wonderful and sacred mys- otypes and previous notions some have Well, in July of last year the London tery; by the effectual working of your of what it means to be a priest. reuse Times ran a picture of Barbara greeting providence, carry out in tranquility the Barbara's election and consecration for Li Tim-Oi. The caption read, "The Rev. plan of salvation; let the whole world see have also prompted us to examine the Barbara Harris, who wants to be the first and know that things which were cast traditions of the church. The church in

required woman bishop, meets the Rev. Florence down are being raised up, and things the United States calls its bishops in a Li Tim-Oi, the first woman priest" which had grown old are being made different way than the Church of Eng- What a wonderfully prophetic picture to new, and that all things are being land. Here, the clergy and laity elect open the Lambeth Conference! Then on brought to their perfection by Him their bishops. They call forth from their Permission Feb. 11, 1989, Li Tim-Oi came to par- through whom all things are made, your own body the person to be consecrated ticipate in Barbara's consecration and I Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and as opposed to appointing or selecting a DFMS.

/ watched them exchange greetings during reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy bishop by committee, as in England. The the Peace. For me, this meeting of these Spirit, one God, forever and ever. laity have a very strong role in the two women, so small in stature but so Amen." That prayer says let the whole church here, and maybe other places Church large in spiritual presence, was one of world see and know that things which could learn from it those once in a lifetime, moving mo- are cast down are being raised up. On Another issue that is going to get dis- ments. It took place quietly and in a Feb. 11 at Barbara's consecration and in

Episcopal cussed is the unity of the Anglican Com- simple embrace that brought tears to the 1944 when Li Tim-Oi was ordained, two munion. This unity is based on our one- the women who had been cast down were of eyes. The Word was made flesh. ness in Christ and not on the gender of raised up to stand tall in Christ. The ends the disciples. We confuse, I think the Could you comment a bit further on of the world have met. understanding of uniformity and unity — Archives how you see that incarnational theol- there is a difference. ogy informing the Harris consecra- What other Lambeth issues are rele- Finally, the resurrection has made the 2020. tion? vant here? impossible possible. We rejoice because As Anglicans, we have an incarnational When I was at Lambeth the issue of the possibilities and opportunities which faith. It is a lived faith, not an intellec- women in the episcopate was discussed we had once thought closed, God has Copyright tual exercise. The Word is made flesh at great length. A resolution was passed now opened. Barbara's consecration has and dwells among us. But how do we that said we would agree to disagree and made it possible that everybody's gifts live this out? The question now becomes we would respect each other. Now, how can be used to their fullest. a reality, not just an intellectual discus- do we live together? It takes on a differ- sion, such as had taken place prior to ent cast when there is a person involved. What other images from the consecra- Barbara's consecration. In reflecting on my experience, I think tion were poignant for you ? One of the ways that lived faith is ex- my presence at Lambeth and the pres- It's not often that one has an opportunity pressed is in the prayer at the end of the ence of Margaret Wood, a priest from to participate and witness history being Litany for Ordinations. The prayer reads, New Zealand, gave new meaning to made. The spirit was electric, the enthu-

26 THE WITNESS siasm overwhelming. As Barbara proc- essed into the hall, the place just ex- ploded. My first reaction was, this must have been how Jesus felt as He came riding into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. But there comes a moment when you re- alize that Jesus is going to be sentenced to death. It was very like the point in the service when two people got up to voice their objections to Barbara's consecra- tion. Then something dramatic happened. Barbara's mother, "Miss Bea," got up

publication. and went over to her daughter's side, across the aisle. Barbara told me later and that her mother embraced her and told

reuse her, "Have no fear. God is on our side.

for Everything is going to be all right." It was one of those moments mother and daughter shared quietly as though no one required else was there. Of course the laying on of hands with the sea of episcopal red and white was a

Permission sight I will never forget. And another re- markable moment was that of the bish- '

DFMS. ops standing around the platform holding / up the bread and wine while Barbara The new suffragan bishop introduces members of her family to the press, above, was consecrating. from left, Josephine White, her sister, and her mother, "Miss Bea." Not pictured is Sgt. Tommy Harris, who attended his sister's consecration in Air Force blues, berib- Church boned with medals. David Johnson, Bishop of Massachusetts, looks on. What did the congregation look like; that is, who turned out? Episcopal The great number of clergy and bishops Harris family front row center the present made a profound statement, but "Miss Bea," Barbara Harris' mother, when she was priest-in-charge, and I'm of it was the tremendous turnout of lay moved from event to event during her still playing. 'Bus' takes me," she said. people that reminded us once again that daughter's consecration with such joie Francis "Bus" Moseley, a friend of

Archives the church is approximately 95% laity. de vivre and ready wit that Massachu- the family for some 20 years, attends All the different people from various setts Bishop David Johnson said, "After services at Philadelphia's Church of St.

2020. parts of the country representing differ- meeting her my first thought was, Andrew and St. Monica and then drives ent ethnic backgrounds, different cul- 'maybe we've elected the wrong Har- Miss Bea to Norristown. As warden, tures—it truly was a gathering of the ris."' Mosley trained acolytes under Harris.

Copyright Church catholic! w When a shuttle bus arrived to take Of the consecration, Joey White, guests to a festive dinner at the Harvard Barbara's sister, said, "Of course I'm Club the night before the consecration, elated and humbled by this great honor, MOVING? Miss Bea, who is in her 80s, greeted the but I didn't need her election to convince Keep THE WITNESS coming by busload of people. Flourishing her cane, me that my sister is the greatest person sending a corrected mailing label she said, "Mother Superior has arrived! in the world." from a recent issue to: THE WIT- Before this I was Mother Inferior," she The Harris family has lived in the NESS, P.O. Box 359, Ambler, PA laughed. Miss Bea still plays the organ same home in Philadelphia for more 19002. Please send it at least six weeks before you move. at St. Augustine-of-Hippo Church in than 70 years. Miss Bea and Joey are Norristown, Pa. "Barbara recruited me members of St. Luke's, Germantown.

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