Wanting to affect social change, Schiess became trailblazer for women’s
rights in the Episcopalian Church. Inspired by the Civil Rights Movement
and outraged by the discrimination against women, she won a hard fought
battle to become one of the first female priests in 1974. She then
went on to become acting Chaplain at both Syracuse and Cornell Universities.
She is currently finishing up a book entitled Laws and Prophets about
her experience in the Episcopalian Church.
QUOTE:
"Absolutely there is a discrepancy between who I really am and
how people perceive me. Mostly when people meet me and hear that I
am Episcopal Priest, they think that I’m very sweet and saintly.
It drives crazy! It’s an occupational hazard. They have expectations
of me as a saint but you be I want to spice it up. That’s exactly
it. I feel freer with age. People in general may think of me as an
old person, the man who comes to paint my house, but I really don't
care in the least what he thinks of me. It is absolutely idiotic to
suggest that people are over the hill at 65 or 75. Really nutsy. So
I think that society has to change. But as you get older you have
more capacity to deal with it. |
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