Explanation

Barbara C. Harris (1930 – 2020) became the first woman to be ordained a bishop in the worldwide Anglican Communion on February 11, 1989. Her years of episcopal leadership were filled with traveling and witnessing, preaching, and teaching and administering the sacraments. A gifted storyteller known for her quick wit and raspy-voiced delivery, she was also a spirited and sought-after preacher of hymn-laced, Gospel-grounded sermons, and an outspoken advocate for, in her words, “the least, the lost and the left out.” With great grace, she worked tirelessly serving the people of The Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts as their suffragan bishop for 13 years, until her retirement in 2002.

​After her retirement, she served from 2003 until early 2007 as an assisting bishop in the Diocese of Washington (D.C.). She continued to volunteer and preach at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Boston during her retirement, even while continuing to be in demand worldwide as a preacher.

​Barbara Clementine Harris died on March 13, 2020, at Care Dimensions Hospice House in Lincoln following a hospitalization in Boston, faithfully attended throughout by close friends, and upheld by the prayers of many. She was 89.