wfn.org | Episcopal Church elects first Native American woman bishop

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2001-334

Episcopal Church elects first Native American woman bishop

by Chris Herlinger

     (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."

--Chris Herlinger is American correspondent for Ecumenical News International, 
headquartered at the Ecumenical Center in Geneva, Switzerland.