50th Anniversary of the Philadelphia Eleven

A year of celebration at Grace Church, Amherst: 50th anniversary of the Philadelphia Eleven

The Rev. Megan McDermott, Grace Church, Amherst

Last year, Grace Church found several ways to honor the 50th anniversary of women’s ordination to the priesthood in the Episcopal Church. One of our most joyful celebrations was July 28th, the Sunday nearest to the 1974 ordination date of the Philadelphia Eleven. Grace invited the Rev. Heidi Frantz-Dale, the Rev. Raisin Horn, the Rev. Susan Schaeffer, and the Rev. Adrienne Stair (present in spirit) to concelebrate alongside myself, as Grace Church's associate priest.

L-R: Mark Marshall, the Rev. Susan Schaeffer, the Rev. Heidi Frantz-Dale, the Rev. Megan McDermott, the Rev. Raisin Horn, Nancy Lowry, Kevyn Smith, and Janet Tang.

Photo: Grace Church, Amherst

The Rev. Raisin Horn said, “I felt joyful standing at the altar as concelebrant along with other women priests, and quite moved by the Eucharistic Prayer. Several Sundays later, I saw two little girls standing in front of the enlarged photo from that day, perhaps imagining themselves behind an altar someday…. our celebration…was one of hope for the generations still to come.” Meanwhile the Rev. Heidi Frantz-Dale spoke of “the deep love I felt during the Eucharist for the courage, persistence, and holy strength of all who came before us, and all who continue to strive for a fully inclusive priesthood.”

Grace’s rector, the Rev. Thomas Synan, sat in the pews that day, enthusiastically supporting women’s leadership of the service. As he reflected a few months later in his 2024 Annual Report, “Now more than ever, the Episcopal Church needs to shout from the rooftops what we believe and what we bear witness to: that in Christ there really is no male or female, and the gifts of the Holy Spirit are not gender exclusive in any way, shape, or form. That the One we worship….has brought us to where we are today, directing us to a more equal and just world, and there’s no going back.”

Though Tom was not at the altar that celebratory Sunday, parishioner Mark Marshall was one of the lay Eucharistic ministers and found himself moved by the opportunity to participate in the women-led liturgy. “It was the presence of women priests, LEMs, and acolytes that was an important part of what drew me toward the Episcopal Church in the late 1980’s/early 1990’s…I realized that I wanted to be involved in that celebration; I wanted to be at the table (thankfully, as is now not unusual) as women priests celebrated the Eucharist,” Marshall said.

Recognition of this special anniversary continued throughout the rest of the year. The feast of All Saints’ included the debut of a hymn text I composed [excerpt below] celebrating the example of the Philadelphia Eleven, and blessing a new banner, designed and created by parishioners, that celebrates the 50th anniversary. After the 10:30am service, parishioners were also invited to stay for a documentary screening of The Philadelphia Eleven to learn more.

From 'In Christ we find we’re part of all' by the Rev. Megan McDermott:In Christ we find we’re part of all the saints whose lives showed clearly God’s widening, provoking call: Be yourself, drawing near me.We praise the saints who opened doors, hands lifted at God’s table, and now our Alleluias soar, for women free and able.

The church then dove deeper into the history through a three-week book group on Zoom, which explored The Story of the Philadelphia Eleven: Revised and Expanded 50th Anniversary Edition by Darlene O’Dell. Through these gatherings, people shared their personal connections with the story of the Philadelphia Eleven, including experiences of sexism in the church.

The Rev. Megan McDermott blesses the new banner, designed and created by parishioners.

One of the co-leaders of that book group was University of Massachusetts undergraduate student Mary El Vaughan. She shared how these celebrations impacted her: “I had always sort of thought of women clergy as a fact of life. In reality, however, the Episcopal Church has only been ordaining women to the priesthood for fifty years, something I didn’t fully realize until we started working on our celebration of the Philadelphia Eleven. For me, it was really important to celebrate….so that we can remember our history and see how far we’ve come while also being able to see the work still ahead of us.”

Grace Church hopes to continue welcoming people of all genders into the empowering and good news of the Gospel. ♦