Queering the Pulpit: Gay and Lesbian Ordination in the Episcopal Church

Tayten DeGarmo (0:00):

The church and the LGBTQ community often seem at odds with one another, but there is a large community of queer people who not only choose to stay a part of Christianity but who seek leadership and ordination in their churches. This podcast will explore the history and lived experience of gay and lesbian clergy in the Episcopal Church through conversations with the Reverend Madeleine Harris-Lerew and author Obie Holmen.

[Music]

Obie Holmen (0:24):

Big deal. Obviously, a heresy trial against one of your bishops. Imagine. 

Reverend Madeleine Harris-Lerew (0:30):

We’re there right now. We’re at the next 500 years.

Tayten DeGarmo (0:32):

My name is Tayten DeGarmo, and this is Queering The Pulpit. 

The Episcopal Church is an American Christian denomination founded by Samuel Seabury following the American Revolution. It is part of the larger Anglican Communion. In the Episcopal Church, the story of gay and lesbian ordination starts with the fight for women’s ordination. In the 1970s, the feminist movement led to the ordination of women in many Protestant denominations. But the Episcopal Church, which places huge emphasis on the sacraments, refused. This all changed in 1974. Obie Holmen, author of Queer Clergy: A History of Gay and Lesbian Ministry in American Protestantism, explains: 

Obie Holmen (1:07):

The Episcopal experience was largely centered around what has come to be known as the Philadelphia 11. At a time when females were not allowed – could not be ordained within the episcopal Church. And 11 women simply said, well, we’re going to do it anyway. We’re going to be ordained outside the rules. And it obviously riled up the Episcopal Church. So we’ll present the church with ordained women, as a matter of fact. And as the church gets used to that and recognizes the gifts of women and recognize the fairness of it, the church will change its policies. And that’s exactly what happened. That’s exactly what happened within the Episcopal Church. And then later, that was the same strategy, basically, that queer advocates used. We can’t be ordained? Well, we’ll do it anyway. We’ll do it outside the rules and present the church with ordained gays or lesbians. And eventually, the church will grow into accepting that as a matter of church policy.

Tayten DeGarmo (2:17):

Reverend Harris-Lerew, an ordained priest in the Episcopal Church, expanded on the spiritual significance of this event.

Reverend Madeleine Harris-Lerew (2:24):

When the Episcopal Church started ordaining women, it was an act of disobedience and a trusting of the Holy Spirit. You know, a bishop decided to do something without the official, like, stamp of approval from everybody, actually necessary. But because we believe that the sacraments are real and actually do something, it’s like, well, once it’s done, it’s done.

Tayten DeGarmo (2:47):

This radical move to irregularly ordain 11 women as priests forever changed the Episcopal Church. And the fight for women’s place in the pulpit inspired queer, aspiring clergy.

Obie Holmen (2:57):

Absolutely. These. These progressive people who are advocating for reform, whether it’s against the patriarchy or whether it’s against homophobia or whatever, they’re birds of a feather who flock together – and work together. Within a few years, the whole. The tactics, the process, the ideas just rolled naturally into promoting gays.

Tayten DeGarmo (3:21):

The radical changes sparked by the Philadelphia 11 led to a push for radical rejection of liberalism within the church. Progress, as it so often does, was met with backlash. This animosity is evident in the story of the trial of Bishop Walter Righter.

[Music]

Obie Holmen (3:39):

Well, the conservatives decided to put him on trial for heresy for ordaining an openly gay man. Big deal. Obviously, a heresy trial against one of your bishops? Imagine.

Tayten DeGarmo (3:50):

In 1995, Bishop Walter Righter was charged with heresy for the 1990 ordination of Barry Stopfel, a partnered gay man. Bishop Walter Righter considered this charge to be an attack not just on LGBTQ persons, but on the church as a whole.

Obie Holmen (4:06):

Well, as it turns out, the conservatives made a huge tactical, strategic error because they lost. And now suddenly, it’s judicially affirmed, judicially affirmed within the Episcopal Church, that gay ordination is okay.

Tayten DeGarmo (4:23):

On May 16, 1996, the court ruled in favor of Bishop Righter.

Obie Holmen (4:28):

So it really then became a very slippery slope, to which the church was going to adopt policies to effectuate what their ecclesiastical court had said. So again, an ecclesiastical trial just has the effect of showing the unfairness of the policy, showing the bigoted nature of the policy. And as a consequence, when it’s shown in the light, the church has a change of mind.

Tayten DeGarmo (4:57):

The trial of Bishop Walter Righter cemented the affirmation of queer clergy members. But cultural attitudes within congregations are still extremely varied.

Reverend Madeleine Harris-Lerew (5:06):

Racism and homophobia and all of it are very alive in the Episcopal Church, even if the church itself doesn’t condone it. You know what I mean? So, yeah, I mean, there’s still cultural work to be done. We live in a society where things are becoming progressively more and more violent. But as far as being an Episcopal clergy who identifies in these ways, I feel profoundly supported by the structures in place within the church. For example, I know that my bishop has my back at every turn, which is huge as far as that kind of thing, like the structural support of the church, I feel very strongly, and there have been safeguards put in place to prevent that kind of backlash and abuse. Like I said earlier, cultural change takes a longer time. The safety of my family comes to mind more than the safety of me as a queer clergy person. My wife and I have to make certain kinds of considerations when we think about where we can live and the kind of daycare our daughter’s in. And those kinds of things feel like more pressing in terms of, like, a fear of regression or backlash, but less so because of the clergy part.

Tayten DeGarmo (6:14):

Regardless of church politics, queer people continue to exist within the church, bringing their own experiences and perspectives.

Reverend Madeleine Harris-Lerew (6:21):

I think if I hadn’t come out, I wouldn’t have been able to be a priest because I wouldn’t have understood some – I think coming out taught me something really important about love. The church falls prey to the kinds of oppression that the world falls prey to, and even more so sometimes, because we shore up ourselves with biblical walls. But what happens, what the really beautiful thing is, is that when we’re actually trusting in the work of the Spirit, which is creativity, when we’re allowing new things to enter into our midst, when we’re allowing things to be reborn, liberation always happens. That’s always the result. And the church is always like that. About every 500 years, it goes through a massive transformation, or reformation, whatever you want to call it. And we’re there right now. We’re at the next 500 years. That’s what’s happening right now, which means that things are going to die. And so in many ways, I think the work of a priest is the work of a doula, helping something to die and helping something else to be born, which requires that we set aside our fears of the unknown. And that’s always where the work of liberation comes.

Tayten DeGarmo (7:28):

Special thanks to Obie Holmen, the Reverend Madeline Harris-Lerew, and the Smith College Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Department. This has been Queering The Pulpit.

Holmen, R. W. Queer Clergy: A History of Gay and Lesbian Ministry in American Protestantism, (Pilgrim Press, 2013).

“History,” The Episcopal Church, Accessed November 29, 2025. https://www.episcopalchurch.org/organizations-affiliations/lgbtq/history/.

Obie Holmen, interviewed by Tayten DeGarmo, Zoom, November 25, 2025.

The Reverend Madeline Harris-Lerew, interviewed by Tayten DeGarmo, Zoom, November 21, 2025.

Photograph, The Voice of Integrity, Spring 1996. Jane Garrett Collection. Smith College Archives, Box 2. Northampton, MA.

Cover Image depicting Bishop Walter Righter, Vermont Sunday Magazine, March 10, 1996, Jane Garrett Collection. Smith College Archives, Box 2. Northampton, MA

Who’s on Trial – The Heretic or the Church?, New York Times Magazine, April 7, 1996, Jane Garrett Collection. Smith College Archives, Box 2, Northampton, MA.