On July 29, 1974 - the Philadelphia Eleven were the FIRST women ordained as priests in the Episcopal Church; two years before General Convention affirmed and explicitly authorized the ordination of women to the priesthood.

In 1976, the General Convention was in Minneapolis. Voting that year determined that women could and should be allowed to be ordained in the Episcopal Church of North America. The first woman to be ordained in Minnesota was our own Reverend Mary Belfry (soon to be Hansley) right here at Saint Mark's Episcopal Cathedral!!!

So, we celebrate both the Philadelphia Eleven and women's ordination in Minnesota!

You can watch Every Gift An Offering, a new documentary about women's ordination in Minnesota here:  https://vimeo.com/990652519

On July 26th, we celebrated the anniversary with a Eucharist service with Bishop Loya as Presider, Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde as Preacher, and Reverend Mary Belfry Hansley as associate. You can view the service online here