Episcopal Church Elects First Native American Woman Bishop
Episcopal News Service. November 16, 2001 [2001-334]
Chris Herlinger, American correspondent for Ecumenical News International, headquartered at the Ecumenical Center in Geneva, Switzerland
(ENI) The first Native American woman to be elected bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States says her appointment should expand the parameters of the church and the rest of the worldwide Anglican Communion.
At the same time, the Rev. Carol Gallagher, who in early 2002 will become the suffragan bishop of the Diocese of Southern Virginia, describes herself as a "traditionalist" when it comes to liturgy.
Her election as bishop proves that the church "really listened to the Holy Spirit, moving us beyond old ways [while] building on traditions," she told ENI in a recent interview. "I think one of the obvious 'firsts' [of the election] is the opportunity to talk about what it means to be both a Native American and a Christian," she said.
Although elected in October, Gallagher does not take office until February, and is not scheduled for official consecration until April 6.
She will become not only the first female bishop for the Diocese of Southern Virginia and the first Native American woman to serve as bishop in the US Episcopal Church, but also the first indigenous woman elected as a bishop in any of the 38 churches of the Anglican Communion.
Models for life and ministry
Still, in interviews with ENI and other news media, Gallagher eschews talk of the landmark nature of her appointment, saying she is uncomfortable with statements that dwell on her personally.
Yet she talks freely about her family, crediting her mother, Elizabeth Walkingstick, a member of the Cherokee nation, and her father, the Rev. Donald Theobald, as being the models for her life in the ministry. Her mother instilled in her a pride of her indigenous background, and her father, a Presbyterian minister, inspired a deep commitment to the ecumenical movement. "He was also a very loving pastor," Gallagher added.
Speaking of her Native American roots, she said: "I have always honored where I have come from." After her marriage, Gallagher, 45, and her husband, Mark Gallagher, a Roman Catholic, became Episcopalian. The couple found in the Episcopal Church a "comfortable home" and grew to love the church's liturgy and openness to mystery, particularly in worship.
Gallagher became a priest only 11 years ago, after earning a Master of Divinity degree from the Episcopal Divinity School in Massachusetts. A mother of three girls, she is also working to complete a doctorate in urban affairs and public policy at the University of Delaware.
Gallagher is currently the rector at St Anne's Episcopal Church in Middletown, Delaware. In her new position, Gallagher will serve with Bishop David C. Bane, Jr. Her duties will include work with small congregations in a diocese that incorporates urban parishes in the state capital, Richmond, and others in smaller communities in the "tidewater" areas of the state along the Atlantic Ocean.
Incredible vision
The diocese's 120 parishes reflect a variety of races, ethnic backgrounds, classes and theological ideologies. "One of the things that Bishop Bane has done here is to encourage people to be who they are, conservative and liberal, and yet all part of one family," she said.
Anglicanism in America first took root in what was originally the British colony of Virginia, and Gallagher told ENI that sometimes "it is harder to move when you have 400 years of history". But the state also played host to a ceremony in 1997 marking the 390th anniversary of the founding of the settlement of Jamestown, Virginia, with a church service of reconciliation acknowledging the church's role in the conquest of Native peoples in the United States.
"While the Virginia colony set the tone and tenor for [conquest that] came later, the church in Virginia now has an incredible vision," said Gallagher, who has long been active in the Episcopal Church's ministries for Native Americans and was a key participant in the 1997 service in Jamestown.
The church wanted to "be encouraged and challenged to do ministry together and provide a place at the table for everybody", she said. "That was what my election [as bishop] was about."