The documentary The Philadelphia Eleven tells the powerful story of eleven women who in 1974 shattered barriers by becoming the first female priests ordained in the Episcopal Church – challenging tradition, defying expectations, and paving the way for future generations. Margo Guernsey, Director and Producer of the Philadelphia Eleven, felt it was important to tell their story.

“I felt like a little bit like I'd been punched in my gut and been told a story that having been an avid student of American history, both in high school and college and getting a master's degree in history and have never heard, it felt like a story that had gone untold in ways that was a disservice to all of us and that I wanted to pursue telling that story, “said Gurnsey.

She began working on the film in 2015 by making connections with the women that are still currently with us so they could tell the story from their experience.

“They're getting older. And so, it also meant that it was really important to connect with as many of them as quickly as possible because this was 2015. So not quite yet the 50th anniversary of the ordinations but still pretty far along. But having them tell their own story was always at the very top of our list of how to approach the storytelling of this moment in history, “said Gurnsey.

Rev. Nancy Wittig, one of the Philadelphia eleven, recounts the day she was ordained.

“I think there was a great deal of anxiety in the air. We knew that we were going against tradition, and we didn't know what was going to happen. I think all of us knew at some level that there would be a lot of anger about it and that we would just have to withstand it, “said Witting.

Rev. Cater Heyward on the other hand was extremely excited.

“Well, I was mainly excited because I mean all of us had been helping planet and we had some sense of what we hoped would happen and the bishops who were ordaining us had been perfectly wonderful and being accessible to us and helping us talk through what it was we were doing and what they were hoping for. and the 11 of us, we had not all known each other. I mean, I think each of us had probably known somebody among the 11, but none of us had known everyone, so. We had just begun to get to know each other, and that was a wonderful thing too. And we knew that there was some risk involved. We had been told that there had been threats against the church and against us. But we were also assured that every possible precaution had been taken to make sure that we and the entire congregation would stay safe. And so we were grateful for that, “said Heyward.

The documentary airs Monday March 10 at 9 p.m. on WITF TV.

Listen to the podcast to hear the entire conversation.

The documentary <a href="https://www.philadelphiaelevenfilm.com/public-television.html">The Philadelphia Eleven</a> tells the powerful story of eleven women who in 1974 shattered barriers by becoming the first female priests ordained in the Episcopal Church &ndash; challenging tradition, defying expectations, and paving the way for future generations. Margo Guernsey, Director and Producer of the Philadelphia Eleven, felt it was important to tell their story.
&ldquo;I felt like a little bit like I'd been punched in my gut and been told a story that having been an avid student of American history, both in high school and college and getting a master's degree in history and have never heard, it felt like a story that had gone untold in ways that was a disservice to all of us and that I wanted to pursue telling that story, &ldquo;said Gurnsey.
She began working on the film in 2015 by making connections with the women that are still currently with us so they could tell the story from their experience.
&ldquo;They're getting older. And so, it also meant that it was really important to connect with as many of them as quickly as possible because this was 2015. So not quite yet the 50th anniversary of the ordinations but still pretty far along. But having them tell their own story was always at the very top of our list of how to approach the storytelling of this moment in history, &ldquo;said Gurnsey.
Rev. Nancy Wittig, one of the Philadelphia eleven, recounts the day she was ordained.
&ldquo;I think there was a great deal of anxiety in the air. We knew that we were going against tradition, and we didn't know what was going to happen. I think all of us knew at some level that there would be a lot of anger about it and that we would just have to withstand it, &ldquo;said Witting.
Rev. Cater Heyward on the other hand was extremely excited.
&ldquo;Well, I was mainly excited because I mean all of us had been helping planet and we had some sense of what we hoped would happen and the bishops who were ordaining us had been perfectly wonderful and being accessible to us and helping us talk through what it was we were doing and what they were hoping for. and the 11 of us, we had not all known each other. I mean, I think each of us had probably known somebody among the 11, but none of us had known everyone, so. We had just begun to get to know each other, and that was a wonderful thing too. And we knew that there was some risk involved. We had been told that there had been threats against the church and against us. But we were also assured that every possible precaution had been taken to make sure that we and the entire congregation would stay safe. And so we were grateful for that, &ldquo;said Heyward.
The documentary airs Monday March 10 at 9 p.m. on WITF TV.
Listen to the podcast to hear the entire conversation.

When people come together and talk about really interesting topics, great questions spark better understanding and opportunities for new ideas to form. On The Spark from WITF, host Asia Tabb starts conversations about what’s happening in the world and at home. Share your ideas at https://witf.org/programs/the-spark.

When people come together and talk about really interesting topics, great questions spark better understanding and opportunities for new ideas to form. On The Spark from WITF, host Asia Tabb starts conversations about what&rsquo;s happening in the world and at home. Share your ideas at https://witf.org/programs/the-spark.

The Spark

When people come together and talk about really interesting topics, great questions spark better understanding and opportunities for new ideas to form. On The Spark from WITF, host Asia Tabb start the conversations about what’s happening in the world and at home. Share your ideas at https://witf.org/programs/the-spark.

When people come together and talk about really interesting topics, great questions spark better understanding and opportunities for new ideas to form. On The Spark from WITF, host Asia Tabb start the conversations about what&rsquo;s happening in the world and at home. Share your ideas at&nbsp;<a href="https://witf.org/programs/the-spark">https://witf.org/programs/the-spark</a>.

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