Flashback Friday: The Role of Women in the Episcopal Diocese of Nebraska

 This photo by Edric Eaton shows the interior of one of the buildings used as Trinity Cathedral before construction of the existing cathedral building. NSHS RG2341-944On a spring evening in April 1873, a large crowd gathered in Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, a small frame building near the southeast corner of Eighteenth Street and Capitol Avenue in Omaha, Nebraska. They had come to witness a most unusual event in city and Episcopal Church history. Mary Ellen Hayden, a widow with four teen-aged children, was going to recite vows by which Bishop Robert Harper Clarkson would set apart as a deaconess in the Episcopal Diocese of Nebraska. She was one of only a handful of women whose calls to serve Christ in His Church were acknowledged by the institutional Episcopal Church in the late nineteenth century. In Nebraska and on the Great Plains, the pastoral role and responsibility of accepting that call had heretofore been acknowledged only when it was heard by a male. Over the next dozen years in the Diocese of Nebraska, two other deaconesses served in Trinity Cathedral parish. Their work was reflective of women’s growing professional role beyond the home, and their efforts were extensive and unique in diocesan program ended abruptly. Over a century passed before the first four women were ordained as permanent deacons in December 8, 1985. Across America in the late-nineteenth century, women were generally welcomed as participants in secular parish and community-building activities. Their efforts ranged from the organization of fundraising events, such as pie sales and harvest festivals, to the administration of social reform activities, such as suffrage and temperance rallies. However, some women experienced a spiritual call to pastorally minister to the ill and marginalized in their communities. Although by the early 1870’s some Episcopal clergymen in the eastern United States acknowledged that women also had spiritual gifts for ministry, the Church offered no avenues through which women could exercise their pastoral skills. While the early church had ordained women to assist with gender-sensitive rituals, women had not had an ordained role in the Church for several hundred years.

However, as women’s roles in society expanded in the post Civil-War era, several deaconess programs emerged in the dioceses. Although distant from his East Coast colleagues, Bishop Clarkson’s experiences led him to conclude that women were also called to pastoral ministry. By establishing a deaconess program, he placed Nebraska women at the intersection of secular and spiritual community. Interested in reading the rest of this article by Jo L. Wetherilt Behrens? Check out the Fall 2016 issue of Nebraska History. The article is entitled “Women at the Intersection of Secular and Spiritual Community: The Deaconess Program in Episcopal Bishop Robert Harper Clarkson’s Nebraska Diocese.”

Become a Member!

Our members make history happen.

Join Now

You May Also Enjoy

The Story of Omaha Police Fingerprint Expert Emily Byram

The Story of Omaha Police Fingerprint Expert Emily Byram

Marker Monday: Cather Childhood Home

Marker Monday: Cather Childhood Home

Yutan Tornado – March 23, 1913

Yutan Tornado – March 23, 1913

About History Nebraska
History Nebraska was founded in 1878 as the Nebraska State Historical Society by citizens who recognized Nebraska was going through great changes and they sought to record the stories of both indigenous and immigrant peoples. It was designated a state institution and began receiving funds from the legislature in 1883. Legislation in 1994 changed History Nebraska from a state institution to a state agency. The division is headed by Interim Director and CEO Jill Dolberg. They are assisted by an administrative staff responsible for financial and personnel functions, museum store services, security, and facilities maintenance for History Nebraska.
Explore Nebraska
Discover the real places and people of our past at these History Nebraska sites.

Upcoming Events

View our new and upcoming events to see how you can get involved.

Become a Member

The work we do to discover, preserve, and share Nebraska's history wouldn't be possible without the support of History Nebraska members.

Latest Hall of Fame Inductee

The Nebraska Hall of Fame was established in 1961 to officially recognize prominent Nebraskans.

Listen to our Podcast

Listen to the articles and authors published in the Nebraska History Magazine with our new Nebraska History Podcast.

Nebraska Collections

History Nebraska's mission is to collect, preserve, and open our shared history to all Nebraskans.

Our YouTube Video Collection

Get a closer look at Nebraska's history through your own eyes, with our extensive video collections.

Additional Research Resources

History Nebraska Research and Reference Services help connect you to the material we collect and preserve.

Support History Nebraska
Make a cash donation to help us acquire, preserve, and interpret Nebraska’s history. Gifts to History Nebraska help leave a legacy and may help your taxes, too! Support the work of History Nebraska by donating to the History Nebraska Foundation today.

Volunteers are the heroes of History Nebraska. So much history, so little time! Your work helps us share access to Nebraska’s stories at our museums and sites, the reference room, and online.