50th Anniversary of the Ordination of Women (7/28/24)

On 7/28 we kick off a yearlong celebration of women in the Church - capturing the voices of those who were inspired and changed by the ordination of women into The Episcopal Church.

Join us for a service and lunch. Churches from across the diocese are asked to have their Sunday service at The Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral where one of The Philadelphia 11 - the Rev. Dr. Carter Heyward - will preach and women from across the diocese will be represented. 

Anyone who is interested in singing in the combined choir for this special service, please contact Dr. Thomas Lloyd, Canon for Music and the Arts at the Cathedral, for further details. Email:  tlloyd@philadelphiacathedral.org  

The service will be followed by a luncheon and a screening of the film The Philadelphia Eleven followed by a panel discussion. All of the panelists will be women.  Please register for the service and lunch here.  For churches in need of transportation to the Cathedral, please contact jenbtucker@diopa.org.

The diocese is also partnering with Story Corps to capture voices of female priests impacted and inspired by this momentous event in the Church. 

Background

The Philadelphia 11 were ordained at the Church of the Advocate in Philadelphia, two years before General Convention authorized the ordination of women. The women ordained were Merrill Bittner, Alla Bozarth-Campbell, Alison Cheek, Emily Hewitt, Carter Heyward, Suzanne Hiatt, Marie Moorefield, Jeanette Piccard, Betty Schiess, Katrina Swanson, and Nancy Wittig.