On the Record

Members of our diocese - and beyond - showed up at the Story Corp Airstream in Philadelphia to share their stories about the path to ordination. These will be saved in The Library of Congress.

This year, the diocese and the Church celebrated the 50th anniversary of the ordination of women into the priesthood at the Church of the Advocate in Philadelphia.

The Philadelphia 11, as they are known, were ordained in 1974 at the Church of the Advocate in Philadelphia, two years before General Convention authorized the ordination of women. The women - Merrill Bittner, Alla Bozarth-Campbell, Alison Cheek, Emily Hewitt, Carter Heyward, Suzanne Hiatt, Marie Moorefield, Jeanette Piccard, Betty Schiess, Katrina Swanson, and Nancy Wittig - faced harassment and discrimination for years following this courageous act.

This year, the diocese kicked off a year of celebration with a service at the Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral. One of the original “eleven,” the Rev. Dr. Carter Heyward, preached at that service surrounded by women and men from across the diocese.  

StoryCorps teamed up with the diocese to record conversations with some of our female clergy - as part of our commitment to highlighting the 50th anniversary of women's ordination into The Episcopal Church. These interviews will be saved in the Library of Congress with a chance of airtime on NPR. And, will be shared with the diocese.

A Philadelphia Inquirer article details the anniversary promoting the documentary, The Philadephia Eleven.