Loading...I was ordained to the Diaconate in 1984. Those irregular ordinations seemed to me a thing of the distant past. I thought to myself, “Thank goodness those radical feminist gals got that ugly business done,” assuming that the issue of women in church leadership had been decided. It was a done deal. It was not.
I was the first woman to serve in the Diocese of West Missouri under a Bishop who had been unable to vote in the affirmative for the women’s ordination. As I began to vest for my first Diocesan event the room suddenly cleared! They must have feared I was going to strip right down to my underwear! I was not. In contrast, at a Diocesan Youth Commission meeting I was warmly greeted by the host priest. He took my coat and we laughed because it was missing a prominent button. When he brought my coat back, the button was neatly sewn on. Some colleagues ran away from me while others supportively moved in my direction.
Most surprising was the not so subtle jockeying for position in the communion line. Some who did not want to receive communion from a woman would slip to the other side. I did not take it personally then nor do I now.
