Blessed are the Women
As we prepare to head into Holy Week and approach the end of Women’s History Month, I am reflecting on the role of women in the life of Christ and the role of women in our Christian life today, both large and small.
In the Adult Forum’s Master Class on the Gospel of John, The Rev. Dr. Jaime-Clark Soles reminded us that Mary, sister of Martha (not Mary Magdelene), took on the prophetic role of anointing Jesus’s feet with nard, wiping them with her hair. Jesus recognized her actions to buy the nard to prepare him for burial and pushed back on Judas’s protests about Mary’s use of a costly perfume. (John 12:3)
As we travel the path of Jesus during Holy Week, let us remember the women who were with him. The women who stood by him at the cross (John 19:25-27), the women at the tomb (John 20:1-2), and the woman who was the first to see the resurrected Christ and proclaim the good news of his resurrection to the disciples (John 20:11-18).
In my lifetime, the roles for women in the church have blossomed in the Episcopal Church. In the 1970s, women were granted the right to serve on Vestries and were ordained to the priesthood. Barbara C. Harris was the first woman ordained as a suffragan bishop in 1988 and was consecrated as Bishop of the Diocese of Massachusettes in 1989. In 2023, the Diocese celebrated ordaining Bishop Coadjutor Carrie Schofield-Broadbent, and in April, she will be consecrated as Bishop of the Diocese of Maryland.
It is inspiring to see the Holy Spirit move to create more leadership opportunities for women to use their spiritual gifts and serve God in our faith communities. It is also humbling to recognize the sheer number of women who give with a faithful heart and take on roles both large and small that together build up this community of faith. Where would the church be without all of the women?
Blessed are the Women who do the work that is seen and unseen and whose hearts have led them to be faithful followers of Christ.
Claire Miller, Communications Associate