Retired bishop suffragan Barbara C. Harris set off for South Africa on Sept. 21, where she will preach during the Anglican Church of Southern Africa’s commemoration of the 20th anniversary of women’s ordination in that province of the church. The trip coincides with the anniversary of her own historic election, on Sept. 24, 1988, as the Anglican Communion’s first female bishop.
She was looking forward to the trip when she sat down for an interview in August, and, having just returned from the Episcopal Church’s General Convention in Indianapolis, she also had a few things to say about conventions past, present and future and what she thinks the church needs to recapture as it moves forward.
How many General Conventions have you been to?
Seventeen consecutive General Conventions. My first one was 1967. I also attended the special
Tracy J. Sukraw
The Episcopal Church's three bishops who are women of color: Gayle E. Harris, Barbara C. Harris and Carol Gallagher, at General Convention in Indianapolis
General Convention in 1969 at Notre Dame which is only the second special convention in the history of the church.
Which would you say were most memorable?
I think 1967 because that was when John Hines as presiding bishop inaugurated the General Convention special program as a response to needs in the inner city. Then in 1969, the Black Economic Development Conference issued its manifesto and, you know, asked for appreciable sums of money from all the denominations [as reparation for past exploitation]. The Episcopal Church found it difficult to respond directly to the Black Economic Development Conference, which we called BEDC, but wanted to make some response to the black community. The manifesto was rather intimidating for many, and so it was decided to give a sum of money through the Union of Black Clergy and Laymen, rather than give it directly to BEDC.
The 1973 convention was very memorable because that was the election of Jack Allin as presiding bishop, and when the House of Deputies reconvened to consent to his election, there was a black deputy standing at each microphone in the house to offer a protest. It held up the proceedings of the convention for a substantial period of time. Then of course 1973 also was the year when the convention turned down the ordination of women. Bishop Robert DeWitt, who was then the bishop of Pennsylvania, gathered a substantial group of the women present at that convention to commiserate with them and console them. The following year he was one of the ordaining bishops of the Philadelphia 11. The following convention in 1976 in Minneapolis, when ordination of women was approved, was a very joyous time for a lot of people, but I did encounter one priest whom I knew, a rather rotund guy, sitting on a curbstone, dissolved in tears. I asked him why he was crying, and he said, “Because the idea of women priests does injury to all of my images of the church fathers and, besides, what would a pregnant priest look like?” And a friend passing by overheard and said, “About like you.”
Those were very memorable conventions.
After that many conventions and that many years, did you feel like you’d seen and done it all by the time you got to Indianapolis this year?
I can’t say that I was really surprised by anything, but I was certainly very pleased at the election of Gay Jennings as the president of the House of Deputies and Byron Rushing as vice president. I was also very pleased that the persons elected as bishops who were confirmed at General Convention, because of the proximity of their elections to the convention, were confirmed without the rancor we experienced in 2003. That was very pleasing. And the rejection of the Anglican Covenant was, I think, the right thing, because I think the only covenant that we need is our baptismal covenant.
The newly elected bishops who received consent at General Convention—all but one were men. Are you concerned at all about the make-up of the House of Bishops in terms of gender balance?
Yes. I think at this stage, 23 years after my consecration, there should be more women in the house than there are, but in many places, women are declining to stand for election. We need to encourage more women to allow their names to be entered into the nominating process for bishops. Some have had some bitter experiences in the nominating and election process.
I have to ask you about church structure because a lot of people were talking about structure a lot of the time in Indianapolis. What’s your take on it?
I think we need to be very, very careful about restructure. We have a very sound church structure; it just needs to be better utilized. I don’t think that restructure for the sake of restructure is a wise thing to do, particularly if it’s simply rooted in the basis of cutting costs and saving money. There are other ways to cut costs and save money. I do think the present structure could be used more effectively. Efficiency does not always equal effectiveness.
What issues will you be keeping an eye on going forward?
In addition to the issue of women bishops, the global church, and also Palestine are going to be continuing issues, and certainly our relationships in the Anglican Communion. Issues around youth in the church continue to be important, and how the church can more effectively enable the mission of dioceses and local congregations.
Before arriving in Indianapolis, you said this would be your last General Convention. Have you changed your mind?
Yes, simply because we are facing the election of a new presiding bishop and I would like to participate in that. Then, that might be it. We will see what transpires.
You are traveling at the end of September to South Africa to take part in that province’s commemoration of the 20th anniversary of women’s ordination there. Can you give a preview of what you will preach?
Well, I will focus a little on the role of women in the life of the church and talk a little bit about the faithful women in the company of Jesus. And I’ll make reference to the book entitled The Magdalene Gospel: What if Women Had Written the Gospels? Not only will the Province of Southern Africa be observing the 20th anniversary of women’s ordination but also celebrating the election of the first woman bishop on that continent, Ellinah Ntombi Wamukoya, the bishop-elect of Swaziland. I look forward to spending some personal time with her during my visit. I’m excited about that.
I would hope that other provinces of the communion would move more aggressively on the ordination of women, and I’d like to see the question of women bishops effectively and in a just manner resolved by the Church of England without unnecessary provisions to accommodate those who feel they cannot accept the episcopacy of women.
One final thing I would say, and it has been the theme of some of the preaching I’ve done lately, is that I think the church as a whole has to recapture the sense of being part of a movement as opposed to being wedded to the institutional modality that seeks to preserve itself rather than serve all of the people of God, whether members or not.