Women Priests:Coming to a Church Near You

My Friend, the Reverend Katrina van Alstyne Swanson, one of the Philadelphia Eleven

November, 2017 (Updated May 9, 2018) When eleven Episcopal women deacons were about to be irregularly ordained as priests in Philadelphia on July 29, 1974, there was no way I wasn’t going to cover the story. I must admit that one of the women, Katrina Swanson, was one of my best friends. And I had already covered her advance to the priesthood in several articles I’d originated and had gotten editorial co-ahead.

To make sure of getting the story in the paper, as well as covering it myself, I went directly to the managing editor of the Washington Star where I was a reporter. Didn’t want to chance it with a religion editor who just might have been appalled at the very thought of women as priests in any religion. Not only did the ME agree, but the newspaper’s star photographer, Bernie Boston, immediately also signed on.

The story landed on the top of the front page of the feature section with Bernie’s beautiful photo of Katrina in the foreground.

1. A Deacon Now, She May Become a Priest, The Washington Star-News, April 22, 1973 (#37)
2. ‘Renegade Ordination’ a Real-Life Drama, The Washington Star-News, July 30, 1974 (#38)
3. Hell Breaks Out in Church of England, When Woman Gives Holy Communion, The Washington Star, October 19, 1977
4. Nun Publishes Magazine to Channel Her Idealism: She’s also the head of the new Center for Media and Values, Savvy Magazine, November 1989
5. Katrina Swanson and Alison Palmer Finally Accepted as Episcopal Priests: Katrina had been denied by a Missouri bishop who didn’t want women to be priests, Alison led a “rescue mission,” raising money to get Katrina, and her Episcopal priest husband, out of his jurisdiction. The Washington Star, July 29, 1977 — NEW May 6th, 2018
6. The First Episcopal Women Priests Are Going Through “Hell on Earth”: Limbo Plus says the Rev. Katrina Swanson. She’s lost faith in about everything “except God,” she says… The Washington Star, November 9, 1975 — NEW May 6th, 2018

[Section F (#44) in a collection of more than 100 newspaper articles by Judy Flander from the second wave of the Women’s Movement reflecting the fervor and ingenuity of the women who rode the wave.]