What a woman

While I was trying to find a quote on Wikipedia (don’t ask, I’m obsessive), I stumbled upon this page for Rt. Rev. Barbara C. Harris. She was the first woman ever ordained as a bishop in the United States Episcopal Church. And, she’s been a close friend of my family for as long as I can remember. Wikipedia actually has a pretty good bio of her. They talk about her road to election as a bishop in 1989. I haven’t seen her for a long time, but when I think about the women that inspire me, she’s on the list. One of the things I love is that while I can’t relate to her deeply held religious beliefs, she has (like I try to) always fought for the rights of women in her world. Sadly, of course, the Episcopal Church hasn’t gotten past the fighting that occurred when she was ordained. In fact, things have gotten much worse.
I also found this great copy of a sermon she gave on the 25th anniversary of the first ordination of women in the priesthood in the Episcopal church. (Incidentally, the sermon was delivered at the church where I was baptized, which didn’t turn out so well, but it’s still a great place) Check it out, the whole thing is awesome.

Now I want to try to speak a little truth here tonight. And I am going to be brief and, as often accused, I am going to be blunt. I do, however, have to choose my words very carefully in that I not only tend to be quoted, I frequently tend to get misquoted. I don’t mind the former, in context – it’s the latter that ticks me off.
To begin with, last year’s decennial gathering of apostolic eagles – which included its share of turkeys – the Lambeth Conference, brought a defining melding of these two questions.
Despite the development of a critical mass of ordained women, including eleven bishops, at Lambeth we were left wondering what had happened to the dream of a kinder, gentler church. The conference resolution concerning ordination of women and its odious amendment – authored by two women bishops in concert with some conservative male bishops – totally ignored any positive impact the church has experienced through ordination of women to the priesthood and the episcopate over the past 25 years. It was a stunning denigration of the more than 6000 women in Orders from Utah to Uganda, to say nothing of those who have yet to respond to God’s call. Rather, having tasted blood with the much amended resolution on human sexuality, the princes of the church moved in for the kill on the people they really hold in low esteem – WOMEN.

What a gift it was to have someone like her in my life. She’s just one of the many people from my childhood that lead me to the feminism. And now that I’m thinking about it I feel like I need to look her up for a talk.
P.S. Writing this without cursing was tough, but I figured I owe it to Barbara. Not that she would really mind. I remember the smoking, drinking and trips to Atlantic City.

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