Mtr Taylor Devine

Dear Friends,

There is a Link here that will take you to a short write up about Priscilla and Aquila, “coworkers of Paul,” whose minor feasts are today. Their story is one of a few that have been referenced to show how women can indeed be called to religious leadership, and Priscilla and Aquila (a wife and husband in the case of their story) work together as an example of shared gifts in Christian community. I realize for some of us the idea of women in religious leadership, and particularly as clergy, is old news and quite settled. There are women clergy who have been in ministry in the Episcopal church for about 50 years - we’re coming up on the 50th anniversary of the ordination of the Philadelphia 11! I know for others there is some surprise still associated with women clergy. There have been a few services where a newcomer will say something like “I’ve never seen a woman do what you did,” or “I was amazed to see you do the whole thing.” I do not take offense at these kinds of statements, but join them in their surprise that they have not seen ordained female religious leadership in the past. It can still be surprising to see a woman do something that culturally has long been the purview of men, and in many communities, still is. I don’t want to make this Daily Bread about me - too late I suppose - but want to highlight a few ways that we see Priscilla in particular following the way of Jesus. She is mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles, 1st Corinthians, 2nd Timothy and Romans!

Together this couple and Paul planted house churches and were early missionaries, spreading the Gospel in the very earliest context of Christianity. It appears that God used their human gifts to spread the Good News in their contexts, and their work took them all over the near East. They’re likely the kind of Church Mothers and Fathers whose work lives on in ways that are now indistinguishable from Christian practice, the kind of ancestors who have formed who we are. They’re mentioned in greeting after greeting between the early churches, and invoked as careful followers of the Way, and leaders within it.

In several of the places where they are mentioned Priscilla/Prisca’s name comes first. We know with the careful canonization of these texts that every word is chosen carefully, and that it denotes a truly shared leadership that her name is routinely mentioned first. Not only were Priscilla and Aquila partners in ministry, they were also tent-makers, a trade they shared with Paul. It’s mostly not surprising to us in the modern era that people of any gender might cultivate gifts of leadership, teaching, practicing medicine, caring for others, etc. and Priscilla and Aquila are certainly not the only or even most prominent historical example, and sometimes the power of surprise is powerful in and of itself. I feel fortunate to have not had to champion arguments about my gender being welcome to discern and live out the calling to the Priesthood, and hope that Priscilla experienced the same kind of reception of her gifts and challenges that I feel that I have. Being different than expected when shepherding a community as she did could have been warmly received as a part of this new way, but I’m guessing it had its challenges.

This is such a rich topic that there’s more to be said than can and should be said in one Daily Bread. Please look out for a follow on in next week’s Bell and Tower. Being who we are - and following the calling to love, seek, and serve in the pattern of Jesus is an ongoing calling for all of us. Thanks be to God who meets us where we are and loves us enough to call us more deeply into God’s story.

In Christ,

Mtr Taylor