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This week in Christian history: Ted Haggard resigns, female bishop consecrated, the Assumption of Mary

By Michael Gryboski, Editor Twitter

First female Episcopal Church diocesan bishop consecrated – Nov. 1, 1993

Mary Adelia McLeod, the first female diocesan bishop in the history of The Episcopal Church, blessing the people at her consecration on Nov. 1, 1993, while her son, the Rev. Harrison M. McLeod, is beside her.
Mary Adelia McLeod, the first female diocesan bishop in the history of The Episcopal Church, blessing the people at her consecration on Nov. 1, 1993, while her son, the Rev. Harrison M. McLeod, is beside her. | Public Domain

This week marks the anniversary of when Mary Adelia McLeod was consecrated as the first female diocesan bishop in the history of The Episcopal Church, specifically to lead the Episcopal Diocese of Vermont.

Also the first woman from Alabama to be ordained in The Episcopal Church, McLeod’s consecration ceremony was globally broadcast and held during a major snowstorm.

In an interview with The Associated Press published a few months before the ceremony, McLeod explained that she did not want to be considered a feminist icon, but rather a servant of God.

“The Diocese of Vermont has looked past the gender issue and was looking for the right person for them, and it just happened to be me,” said McLeod at the time. “But they have been very courageous in following the Spirit’s guiding.”

“I think there’s been a conscious effort, at least in the election of bishops, to include women in that process. That certainly wasn’t true 10 years ago.”

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