Father Carol

There is a bubbling conversation in the Diocese of Maryland. Unless otherwise requested by the clergyperson, the bishop will call men priests Father and women priests Mother. Since I am not called to be the head of a monastic order of women, since I am not called to be celibate but instead called to be and have lived for the last 24 years as married woman, I have asked the bishop not to call me Mother. I consider the call to monastic life and the call to celebacy as particular vocations within the church and for certain individuals. Mother expresses this monastic and celibate call.

I am called to preach, teach, and celebrate the sacraments in the life of a congregation and on behalf of the church. I am called to be a steward of property and administration, a care taker of souls, an guide for the spiritual lives of people of St John's, and light by which these same people celebrate the ministries to which they have been called. Traditionally, the church has called members of the church called to the minstry to which I am called, Father. And, in the last thirty years it has been recognized that God calls both men and women to this particular life in the church.

Now, consider King Peggy. Morning Edition on NPR shared her story on November 11, 2010. Briefly, she was named as King of her village in Ghana after the King, her uncle, died. The village never had a woman king before nor did Peggy every anticipate being King. But, she has accepted her new 'destiny' and now works to make the lives of her people better.

So, King Peggy's story leads me to ask, why not Father Carol? Is it necessary to divide women and men clergy by name since the function of a parish priest has always been called Father? Why is the gender distinction needed when those names, Father and Mother, speak to very different ministries?

I am trying Father Carol 'on' in this post but also on my new Twitter page. We'll see how it unfolds.