The Philadelphia Eleven
Wednesday, May 1, 2024 at 6 p.m.
Sponsored by Christ Church Christiana Hundred and St. Barnabas Church
In an act of civil disobedience, a group of women and their supporters organize their ordination to become Episcopal priests in 1974. The Church of the Advocate in Philadelphia welcomes them, but change is no small task. The women are harassed, threatened and banned from stepping on church property. In this feature-length documentary film, we meet the women who succeed in building a movement that transforms an age-old institution, and challenges the very essence of patriarchy within Christendom
Director's Statement
I am not Episcopalian. I was raised in a Congregational Church, and to me this story is for everyone. It is about how to break down barriers with grace, and be true to oneself in the process. And it is about standing up to institutions that do not allow all people to be who they are called to be.
The story of the first Episcopal women priests has been under the radar for decades. Perhaps this is because they disregarded certain institutional edicts, or maybe because their story is inconvenient. After all, they challenged the very core of patriarchal culture. These pioneers have taught me new ways to think about whose history is recorded and remembered, and who does the work of remembering. And they provide a vision for what a just and inclusive community looks like in practice. If we are serious about loving every human being as they are, then we must find new ways forward that disrupt the hierarchies we have inherited, and replace them with the same kind of radical inclusivity demonstrated by these priests.
My greatest hope is that viewers will watch, listen deeply, and engage with others about how you might stand up so that all of us can live fully who we are called to be.
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