BEING THE FIRST 

 When I was a little girl my mother made certain I could accomplish two things: that I would be the first woman in my immediate family to go to college and I would have a career. Her primary goal was that I become financially self-sufficient and thus I would not be dependent upon a husband to "take care of me." A lot has changed since 1963 when my mother, influenced in part by Betty Friedan's book the "Feminine Mystique," instilled in me the dreams and fears she had for her only daughter. Fifty years later I hold two master's degrees and have a vocation as an Episcopal priest. I've been married to the same man for almost thirty years. And, for a time I was a stay-at-home mother tending to our two children while mu husband worked outside the home and earned the money we lived on. Both my mother's dreams and her fears became my reality, but not with the outcome she worried about.

As a priest and a woman I have been the first female Rector at three different churches. It's a peculiar reality to be the "first." Two of the churches had little to no experience with women clergy. One church, which I currently serve, has had a woman priest on staff for thirty years.

Being the first woman priest brings with it an innate tension located in what it means to be an unintentional agent of change simply because of one's gender. Other changes are more intentional such as what happens when a progressive, collaborative, female priest follows a father-knows-best autocratic male priest. A number of female clergy wonder about appearance; several clergy blogs are devoted to discussing clerical concerns about length of hair, makeup, nail polish, and how to manage bra-strap slippage while praying at the altar. Being first may be profoundly life giving or tragically vocation ending for women clergy. In my vocation it is has been both. Well, almost both. I have faced profound life altering challenges as a priest wherein I seriously wondered about my call. However, my vocation as a priest has survived. Now, for the first time in over thirteen years of ordained ministry I feel like I am thriving. I suspect that the challenges women clergy face, like other working women, are shifting from being first to what it means to remain vibrant in the work force. A recent article in the New York Times suggests that:

"... the main barriers to further progress toward gender equity no longer lie in people's personal attitudes and relationships. Instead, structural impediments prevent people from acting on their egalitarian values, forcing men and women into personal accommodations and rationalizations that do not reflect their preferences. The gender revolution is not in a stall. It has hit a wall."[i]

Long work hours, lack of affordable childcare and lack of quality childcare have become impediments that add stress and strain in all women's lives, clergy included. Some clergy women have opted (by making the best of limited options) to stay home with kids and serve as "Pulpit supply" rather than take on full time or even part time roles in parish life. There are other reasons women priests give up their vocations ranging from the inability to find a satisfactory call to lack of Bishop support in finding a call that fits. Unlike most male clergy, women often face fewer options in the search process because they are limited by the need to find a call near where their spouse/partner works.

At the congregation I now serve we led our children, ages eight to eleven, in a five week study session on women saints of the Middle Ages. We focused on five women: Margaret of Scotland, Elizabeth of Hungary, Hildegard von Bingen, Catherine of Siena, and Julian of Norwich. Each of these women was remarkable. They contributed significantly to the life of the church, guiding leaders to avoid war, advising Popes, bishops, and kings, wrote music and medical journals, fed the poor and tended to the needy. Two of these women were also wives and mothers, the other three lived their lives in convents. Our children shared their learning's with the congregation as part of the sermon time on the first Sunday of Lent.

My hope is these young boys and girls are being deeply formed in the reality of women's leadership. I especially hope that the girls can fully envision themselves as the saints they are - change agents in the best of ways. I hope both the boys and the girls are able to recognize that when equality hits a brick wall we need to break down the wall and build something new. Like the lives of these profound woman saints, the church can lead the way into full equality for all and set a lasting example of true Christian faith, forming and informing the future of all human kind.

 The Rev. Anne Hodges-Copple Elected Bishop Suffragan in the Diocese of North Carolina

A Bishop Suffragan is a permanent (i.e., not time-limited) assistant to the Bishop Diocesan. The Bishop Suffragan in this diocese would have some responsibilities in the whole diocese (e.g. Galilee ministry initiatives, young adult ministries, diaconate expansion, diocesan outreach ministries, and Sunday visitations) and some specifically related in the Greensboro, Winston-Salem and Charlotte convocations (e.g. convocation confirmations, bishop pastor for clergy, and deployment of deacons). The new bishop will be based in Greensboro.

The Rev. Ann Hodges-Copple, whose ministry had spanned work as a community organizer in Boston and in rural Kentucky to running shelters for battered women in both Wake and Orange counties to being the Episcopal chaplain to Duke University for 13 years and to, most recently, being rector at St. Luke's Episcopal Church was elected Bishop Suffragan during the annual convention of the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina at their Diocesan Convention on January 25. 

Elected by a majority of both clergy and lay orders at the two-day convention in Winston-Salem, her ministry as the assistant to Bishop Michael Curry will begin in the late spring. Her consecration will take place on June 15 at the Duke Chapel bedause there is no Episcopal cathedral in North Carolina.

The other nominees were Canon Amy Real Coultas of Christ Church Cathedral in Louisville, Ky., the Rev. Susan Buchanan of Christ Episcopal in North Conway, N.H.; and the man in the group, the Rev. Matthew Heyd of Trinity Church Wall Street in New York City.

The Rev. Anne Hodges-Copple is Elected Bishop Suffragan

Slate announced in SW VA

The Standing Committee announces the slate of nominees presented by the Search and Nominating Committee to become the sixth Bishop of the Diocese of Southwestern Virginia:

The Rev. Gail  Greenwell

The Reverend Dr. Joan Elizabeth Beilstein, Rector,

Church of the Ascension, Silver Spring, MD

The Rev. Canon Melissa M. Skelton

Rector, St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Seattle, WA

The Reverend Martha Sylvia Ovalle Vásquez, 

Rector, St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Walnut Creek, CA

Other Candidates:  The Reverend David Anderson, The Reverend Dr. Allen F. Robinson, The Reverend Canon William Stokes

For detailed information on the candidates go to More information on candidates

ANNOUNCING LOUIE CREW SCHOLARSHIP FUND

In recognition of Dr. Louie Crew's many years of prophetic witness in and beyond the Diocese, The OASIS - a justice ministry of the Episcopal Diocese of Newark - is pleased to announce a fund to support scholarly work that shares our mission "to make the church safe for ALL people, and to challenge the church when its interest is self-preservation and not prophetic witness."

The OASIS will award up to two annual scholarships of $2,500. Scholarship applications will be vetted by a special Scholarship Committee which will include Dr. Crew and winners will be announced at our anniversary event in June.

We welcome applications from writers, students, and researchers. To apply:

• Describe specifically in no more than 500 words how you will use the money to support ongoing scholarly work which shares the Oasis'mission "to make the church safe for ALL people, and to challenge the church when its interest is self-preservation and not prophetic witness."  
•  At the top of the sheet include your name and contact information.
• Attach a résumé no longer than one sheet.
• On a third sheet, provide a name, postal address, phone number and any
  electronic address for two references who know you and your scholarship.

The OASIS Grant

We will also entertain applications for grants for specific projects within a congregation or ministry which are in keeping with our mission and goals. To be considered please supply the following information.

• What is the purpose of the grant?
• How will the grant be used that's aligned with The Oasis' mission?
• What's the expected outcome as a result of the grant?

Please answer in as much detail as necessary and send your application to us at the contact below. Please note that if a grant is awarded a full accounting of the expenditure will be required.

How to Apply

If you would like to be considered for next year's awards, please apply by April 1st, 2013. Submit your application to by April 1, 2013 to:

   Remembering  The Rt. Rev Jane Holmes Dixon 
  

Bishop Jane Holmes Dixon receives Walter Cronkite Faith & Freedom Award

DECLARE DIGNITY 

Editor's Note: Dr. Hicks is currently working with Trinity Wall Street's Clergy Leadership Project. She made a presentation to one of the classes about the topic of dignity.Although in our baptismal vows we say we will respect the dignity of every human being, we don't often discuss what dignity is or means. She is now starting a movement to create dialogue and action about dignity.

Dr. Donna Hicks is an Associate at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University. Dr. Hicks was Deputy Director of the Program on International Conflict Analysis and Resolution (PICAR) at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard University for nine years.

She worked extensively on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict and as a member of the third party in numerous unofficial diplomatic efforts. In addition to her work in the Middle East, Dr. Hicks founded and co-directed a ten-year project in Sri Lanka, which brought the Tamil, Sinhalese and Muslim communities together for dialogue. She has been actively involved with the conflict in Colombia, where she was invited to give workshops and lectures in conflict resolution. For several years, she was involved in a project designed to improve relations between the US and Cuba.

Dr. Hicks was a consultant to the British Broadcasting Company where she co-facilitated encounters between victims and perpetrators of the Northern Ireland conflict with Archbishop Desmond Tutu. The encounters were made into 3 television programs that were aired throughout the United Kingdom and on BBC World.

Dr. Hicks has taught courses in conflict resolution at Harvard, Clark, and Columbia Universities and conducts trainings and educational seminars in the US and abroad on the role dignity plays in healing and reconciling relationships in conflict. She consults to corporations, schools, churches, and non-governmental organization. She is the author of the book, Dignity: The Essential Role it Plays in Resolving Conflict, published in 2011 by Yale University Press.

Declare Dignity

The Episcopal Women's Caucus strives to offer views from different women, lay or ordained, throughout the Church and to hold up celebrations, events, achievements, or struggles that involve women. If you are interested in contributing, whether through an article you have written or a newsworthy item, please contact either Karen Bota, editor of RUACH, at kdbota@aol.com or Gigi Conner, editor of "The Monthly Caucus," at gigipriest@prodigy.net.

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