Alison Mary Cheek (April 11, 1927 – September 1, 2019) was an Australian-born American religious leader. She was
one of the first women ordained in the
Episcopal Church in the United States
The Episcopal Church, based in the United States with additional dioceses elsewhere, is a member church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. It is a mainline Protestant denomination and is divided into nine provinces. The presiding bishop of ...
and the first woman to publicly celebrate the
Eucharist
The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...
in that denomination.
Early life and education
Cheek was born on 11 April 1927 in
Adelaide
Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
,
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
, where she graduated from the
University of Adelaide
The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...
in 1947
[Episcopal Clerical Directory 2011, p. 161] and married her economics tutor, Bruce Cheek.
[Bird (2013)] The couple moved to
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
for his fellowship at
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
and then back to Australia two years later. They returned to the United States in 1957 when Cheek's husband was hired by the
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Inte ...
in Washington, D.C.
[
Cheek had become active as a lay leader at St. Alban's Episcopal Church in ]Annandale, Virginia
Annandale () is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia.[Virginia Theological Seminary
Virginia Theological Seminary (VTS), formally called the Protestant Episcopal Theological Seminary in Virginia, located at 3737 Seminary Road in Alexandria, Virginia is the largest and second oldest accredited Episcopal seminary in the Unit ...]
because she was increasingly being asked to lead programs at the church. She was admitted into the seminary's B.D. program in 1963 with no intention of seeking ordination, but suddenly felt a call to become a priest while on a retreat.[McDaniel, p. 2.4] With four young children at home, her bishop dissuaded her from considering ordination, and it took her six years to complete her degree part-time.
Path to ordination as an Episcopal priest
Following graduation from the seminary, she was hired as a lay minister at Christ Church in Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...
, where she was in charge of pastoral ministry and allowed to preach a few times. She then began training and working with the Pastoral Counseling and Consulting Centers of Greater Washington and the Washington Institute for Pastoral Psychotherapy, returning to St. Alban's to continue pastoral ministry as a laywoman. Eventually, however, her rector encouraged her to enter the ordination process in the Diocese of Virginia, and she was ordained as the first woman deacon in the South on January 29, 1972.
When the House of Deputies voted against women's ordination in 1973, Cheek was motivated to work with other women and supporters to change the church's mind. On July 29, 1974, she and 10 other women were ordained at the Church of the Advocate
The George W. South Memorial Church of the Advocate, also known as the George W. South Memorial Protestant Episcopal Church, is a historic church at 18th and Diamond Street in North Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
History
The church was built ...
in Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
, and in August she was installed as assistant priest at the Church of St. Stephen and the Incarnation in Washington. That November, Cheek became the first woman to celebrate the Eucharist
The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...
in an Episcopal church, in defiance of the diocesan bishop. She also became active in marginalized groups such as the gay movement, black movement, and women in poverty, sticking to the margins of the church to exercise her ministry.
In 1976, ''Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...
'' magazine named her as one of 12 Women of the Year for her advocacy and action on behalf of women's ordination. She later served at Trinity Memorial Church in Philadelphia before going back to school at the Episcopal Divinity School
The Episcopal Divinity School (EDS) is a theological school in New York City that trains students for service with the Episcopal Church. It is affiliated with the Union Theological Seminary. Students who enroll in the EDS at Union Anglican st ...
in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston ...
, where she was hired as the Director of Feminist Liberation Studies in 1989 and earned her D.Min. degree in 1990. In 1996 she joined the Greenfire Community and Retreat Center in Tenants Harbor, Maine
St. George is a town in Knox County, Maine, United States. It includes the villages of Port Clyde and Tenants Harbor, with the latter being town's commercial center. A favorite with artists, writers and naturalists, St. George is home to the B ...
, where she served as a facilitator, teacher, and counselor, and later became active with St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Rockland.[
]
Death
Cheek died at her home in Brevard, North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...
, on September 1, 2019.
See also
* Philadelphia Eleven
Notes
References
*Bird, Mary Alice (August 2013), "Celebrating Summer Passages: Farewell to Our Good Friend, Alison Cheek,"
The Rock
', retrieved 09-08-2013
*McDaniel, Judith Maxwell (2011), ''Grace in Motion: The Intersection of Women's Ordination and Virginia Theological Seminary'', Brainerd, Minn.: RiverPlace Communication Arts
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cheek, Alison
1927 births
2019 deaths
American Episcopal clergy
Australian Anglicans
Australian priests
Australian Protestant ministers and clergy
Australian emigrants to the United States
Episcopal Divinity School alumni
Episcopal Divinity School faculty
Women Anglican clergy
People from Adelaide
University of Adelaide alumni
Virginia Theological Seminary alumni
20th-century American Episcopalians