'Father, Make Her a Priest'

By the end of January, 43 women will have been ordained priests in the Episcopal Church, as authorized by the church's General Convention last September. As for the famed "Philadelphia Eleven " and the four other women who underwent disputed ordinations before the convention, so far eight have arranged for "services of recognition " as priests. In Indianapolis TIME Correspondent Anne Constable covered the ordination of Jacqueline Means, 40, the first officially recognized Episcopal woman priest. Constable 's report:

Gazing at the overflow congregation in All Saints' Church, Bishop Donald Davis recited the statement that precedes all Episcopal ordinations: "If any of you know any impediment or crime because of which we should not proceed, come forward now and make it known." Immediately Indiana Layman Robert 'Strippy rose to condemn the proceedings as "heresy" and "sacrilege." Said he: "The result can only be schism from the body of Christ." With that a dozen people, many of them in tears, marched out of the church.

Tickled Pink. Bishop Davis, a guest officiant from Erie, Pa., then went on to make history. At 3:20 p.m. he laid his hands on the frizzy blonde head of the white-robed woman kneeling before him and intoned: "Therefore, Father, through Jesus Christ your Son, give your Holy Spirit to Jacqueline; fill her with grace and power and make her a priest in your church." Some of the 45 priests who joined in the service clothed her in a white chasuble, the outer vestment of her new office.

After the ordination, Means' friends gathered in celebration around a motel bar. "It was a fantastic event," said Richard Pelley, a neighbor who provided homemade wine for the service. "She's worked like hell to get here under some of the worst conditions." Remarked the new priest's husband Delton, "Being a truck driver I've been associated with women drivers before, so it's not really so new." Then he added: "I'm tickled pink for her."

The next morning 75 people gathered at All Saints', a racially mixed inner-city parish, as Means for the first time celebrated Communion, and Rector John Eastwood pleaded for the flock to be charitable. His concern stemmed from vocal opposition to his new priest, and the fact that ten people out of a parish membership of 150 have resigned in protest. Some of Means' opponents are alienated by her. aggressive, mildly profane style. (She will, for example, say "Oh Jesus" on occasion.) Other parishioners disapprove of ordaining women on principle. But many members are delighted. Said Sarah Mallory, 65: "Now I've seen God's man put together as he should be--male and female. Remember where it says in Genesis: 'He gave them dominion.' " On her first regular work day as a priest, Means cleaned her house, then visited Larue-Carter psychiatric hospital, where she calls on the sick. Declared a woman patient: "She will be a keystone because of her love of people, her stamina, her inner strength." Later at the Women's Prison, inmates greeted the new priest with hugs and kisses. "Maybe I can make it too," one said. As the diocese's institutional chaplain, Means will have priestly duties similar to those she had as a deacon for the past two years, except that she can now celebrate the entire Communion service.

"I'd probably be the last person you'd expect to be ordained," says the informal and modest new priest, who likes to be called Jackie. Born in Peoria, Ill., to a traveling salesman and his wife, both of whom became alcoholics, she attended Catholic schools wherever her father took the family. She dropped out at 16 to marry Delton. The couple settled in Indianapolis, joined the Episcopal Church and raised four children.

"I was the resident bitch," she recalls, "very dissatisfied with my life and a very unhappy person who channeled my energy in a negative direction." She started to change when she passed her high school equivalency test and became a licensed practical nurse. Then she turned toward the priesthood. At first she and Delton argued so violently over this that they even considered divorce, but "when I found out that he was only afraid that I would be hurt, I understood." She took courses at Catholic and Disciples of Christ seminaries in town and has continued privately directed studies. After being ordained a deacon in 1974, she was assigned to All Saints'.

Jackie tries to be tolerant toward her opponents. Said she: "I've just been so hurt. But God never said life would be easy, and maybe the fabric of the church will be stronger for this."

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