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Women's Caucus Basks in Recent Victories -- but Vows to Press Advocacy Agenda

Episcopal News Service. September 16, 1992 [92190]

The 20th annual meeting of the Episcopal Women's Caucus (EWC) basked in the glow of some significant recent advances by women in the church -- and vowed to press its case for inclusiveness with even more vigor.

Calling advocacy the "bread and butter" of the caucus, EWC president Sally Bucklee of Maryland told over a hundred women gathered for the meeting in Baltimore, September 5, "We are lean, mean and designed for action."

Formed in 1971 to work for the ordination of women to the priesthood and to develop a "roster of qualified women to recommend to key elected and appointed positions, including the episcopate," the EWC was energized by the presence at the Baltimore meeting of two of the most powerful and visible women in the church -- Pamela Chinnis, president of the House of Deputies, and the Rev. Jane Dixon, suffragan bishop-elect of the Diocese of Washington (DC).

Tapping into the meeting's theme of "Weaving Stories," Chinnis wove a tapestry that included elements of her childhood in an extended family in the Ozarks, college in the East, and a rather traditional role as a suburban housewife.

Volunteer work at church was "one way women could move into positions of leadership in the church," Chinnis said. When she was elected president of Episcopal Church Women in her diocese, however, "a whole new world opened up," and she saw the importance of the ordination of women. After her election as senior warden of her parish, and through increased participation at the church's General Convention, Chinnis moved into increasingly powerful leadership positions, culminating in her election in 1985 as vice president of the House of Deputies "by four votes out of 950."

"One day we will overcome barriers -- but not in my lifetime or in yours," she warned her audience. "However small the gains are, or seem to be, we were and are not willing to make peace with the oppression of racism, sexism and classism," Chinnis said to a standing ovation.

Out of the kitchen into a new world

Bristling with obvious pride, Bucklee introduced her own rector, the "almost Right Reverend" Jane Dixon, elected last May as suffragan bishop of the Diocese of Washington.

Dixon thanked the caucus and "all the women who spent time in the trenches, fighting for the ordination of women." She wove her own story, beginning with strong support from a mother and grandmother during her privileged Presbyterian childhood in Mississippi, college at Vanderbilt, "following the track for proper young Southern women" into marriage, a short teaching career and life as a mother in suburban Washington, D.C.

Election to the vestry of her parish and a conversation with Verna Dozier, who was serving as consultant to a diocesan task force on Christian education, helped change her life. Encouraged by mentoring advice from Dozier to "be who you are," Dixon began to "step out of the kitchen into a new and different world," including the possibility of ordination.

Entering Virginia Theological Seminary at the age of 40, Dixon shared the pain of changing the patterns of her family life -- and the difficulties she faced in obtaining that first position after her ordination to the diaconate in 1981.

In 1986, Dixon was chosen rector of St. Philip's in Washington, the second woman to serve as a rector in the diocese. She described those years of wrestling together "as the people of God" and said one of the costs of her election to the episcopate will be the loss of that intimate relationship with a parish. Dixon will be consecrated at Washington National Cathedral on November 19.

In other action, the caucus
  • heard a report on the recent Worldwide Anglican Encounter in Brazil from Ann Smith, director of Women in Mission and Ministry, who promised another similar meeting;
  • passed a resolution commending Smith for her leadership and Presiding Bishop Edmond Browning for his support of the Encounter, for his participation and "for his understanding that change is required if women are to be fully free from violence and abuse and truly included in the church and in society";
  • called on the church's Executive Council to "reaffirm the policies on sexual harassment and sexual abuse and battery" and promote them throughout the church;
  • urged President Bush to take the initiative in endorsing the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women;
  • heard reports on legislative action from outgoing EWC board chair Marge Christie and Betty Coats of the church's Washington Office.
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