Pamela Pauly Chinnis (August 12, 1925 - August 24, 2011) was the first woman to serve as president of the

House of Deputies The House of Deputies is one of the legislative houses of the bicameral General Convention of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. The other is the House of Bishops. Membership Each diocese of the Episcopal Church, as well as the ...

, one of two houses, with the

House of Bishops The House of Bishops is the third House in a General Synod of some Anglican churches and the second house in the General Convention of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America.

, that makes up the

General Convention The General Convention is the primary governing and legislative body of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. With the exception of the Bible, the Book of Common Prayer, and the Constitution and Canons, it is the ultimate authority ...

of the

Episcopal Church in the United States of America 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 o ...

. She served three three-year terms, elected in 1991, 1994 and 1997. Pamela Chinnis was born Mary Permelia Pauly in

Galena, Missouri Galena is a city in Stone County, Missouri, United States. The population was 455 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Stone County. Galena is part of the Branson, Missouri Micropolitan Statistical Area. History Galena was platted in 1 ...

and graduated

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal a ...

from the

College of William and Mary The College of William & Mary (officially The College of William and Mary in Virginia, abbreviated as William & Mary, W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia. Founded in 1693 by letters patent issued by King William III ...

in 1946. After moving to

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

in 1948, Chinnis joined and served in leadership positions at the Episcopal Church of the Epiphany. Her growing involvement in the Episcopal Church included election as president of the diocesan chapter of

Episcopal Church Women Episcopal may refer to: *Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church *Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese *Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name ** Episcopal Church (United State ...

, serving as presiding officer of the national ECW's Triennial Meeting in 1976. Chinnis served in a wide variety of church organizations, including the

cathedral chapter According to both Catholic and Anglican canon law, a cathedral chapter is a college of clerics ( chapter) formed to advise a bishop and, in the case of a vacancy of the episcopal see in some countries, to govern the diocese during the vacancy. In ...

Washington National Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in the City and Diocese of Washington, commonly known as Washington National Cathedral, is an American cathedral of the Episcopal Church. The cathedral is located in Washington, D.C., the ca ...

, vice president of Province 3, the mid-Atlantic region of the Episcopal Church, vice chairwoman of Executive Council, which governs the church between General Conventions, and vice president of General Convention. Chinnis also has served as a member or delegate to numerous Anglican and ecumenical bodies: *Delegate to the Faith and Order Commission of the

World Council of Churches The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, most juri ...

Bangalore, India Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

, 1978 *Delegate to the

Anglican Consultative Council The Anglican Consultative Council (ACC) is one of the four "Instruments of Communion" of the Anglican Communion. It was created by a resolution of the 1968 Lambeth Conference. The council, which includes Anglican bishops, other clergy, and lait ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

(1979),

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

(1987),

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

(1990),

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(1993); standing committee, 1987 - 1993 *Member of ACC delegation to

Lambeth Conference The Lambeth Conference is a decennial assembly of bishops of the Anglican Communion convened by the Archbishop of Canterbury. The first such conference took place at Lambeth in 1867. As the Anglican Communion is an international association ...

, 1988 *General Board,

National Council of Churches The National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA, usually identified as the National Council of Churches (NCC), is the largest ecumenical body in the United States. NCC is an ecumenical partnership of 38 Christian faith groups in the Uni ...

, 1988 - 2000 *Led Episcopal delegation to 8th Assembly,

Harare, Zimbabwe Harare (; formerly Salisbury ) is the capital and most populous city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of 940 km2 (371 mi2) and a population of 2.12 million in the 2012 census and an estimated 3.12 million in its metropolitan ...

, 1998; elected to Central Committee *Plenary,

Consultation on Church Union The Consultation on Church Union (COCU) was an effort towards church unity in the United States, that began in 1962 and in 2002 became the Churches Uniting in Christ. It was a significant part of the Christian movement towards ecumenism. This ef ...

, 1999 She was a member of

Mortar Board Mortar Board is an American national honor society for college seniors. Mortar Board has 233 chartered collegiate chapters nationwide and 15 alumni chapters. History Mortar Board was the first national honor society for college senior women ...

(Virginia Alpha chapter at the College of William & Mary). She volunteered as editor of the ''Mortar Board Quarterly'' for seven years in the 1960s. For 13 years through 1983 Chinnis was trustee and treasurer of the Mortar Board National Foundation. Chinnis died of pneumonia at her home in

Virginia Beach, Virginia Virginia Beach is an independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous city ...

, on August 24, 2011.Schjonberg, Mary Frances (08-25-2011)
UPDATED: Pamela Chinnis, first female House of Deputies president, dies
''Episcopal News Service'' She was buried in Galena Cemetery, located in

, on September 3, 2011. Chinnis' uncle was U.S. Representative,

Dewey Jackson Short Dewey Jackson Short (April 7, 1898 – November 19, 1979) was an American politician from Missouri. He was US Representative for 12 terms (1929-1931, 1935-1957). A member of the Republican Party, he was a staunch opponent of President Franklin ...

References

*''Decently and In Order: Selected Reflections of Pamela P. Chinnis'', compiled and edited by Pamela P. Darling (Cincinnati: Forward Movement Publications, 2000)
Report of the Standing Commission on Ecumenical Relations, Blue Book, 73rd General Convention, 2000

External links

Episcopal Church Web site
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chinnis, Pamela 1925 births 2011 deaths American Episcopalians American Protestant religious leaders College of William & Mary alumni People from Stone County, Missouri People from Galena, Missouri