First Episcopal woman deacon dies at 92

Episcopal Life celebrates the Rev. Phyllis Edwards, a priest and the first woman deacon in the Episcopal Church, who died earlier in the month.

Edwards was a civil rights activist who marched with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and fought for the ordination of women in the Episcopal Church. She was ordained to the diaconate in 1965 by California Bishop James Pike. (General Convention didn't officially recognize women deacons until 1970.)

Edwards was one of those all-important trailblazers who opened a way for others of us to follow. Thanks be to God for her life and ministry!