Marjorie Matthews
Marjorie Swank Matthews (July 11, 1916 – June 30, 1986) was an American bishop of the United Methodist Church and the first woman to serve as a Methodist bishop.
Bishop Marjorie Matthews | |
|---|---|
| Church | United Methodist Church |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 1965 |
| Consecration | 1980 |
| Personal details | |
| Born | July 11, 1916 Onaway, Michigan |
| Died | June 30, 1986 (aged 69) Grand Rapids, Michigan |
Early life
She was born July 11, 1916 in Onaway, Michigan, to Jesse Alonzo and Charlotte Mae (Chapman) Swank.[1] She married young and divorced after World War II.[1] She had one son, William Jesse Matthews.[2] She worked at Lobdell-Emery Manufacturing Company in Elma, Michigan to support herself and her son.[2]
Education
Matthews graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor's degree from Central Michigan University in 1967.[2] She then went on to receive a Bachelor of Divinity degree from Colgate Rochester Divinity School in 1970.[3] Completing her schooling at Florida State University, she received a both a Master's in Religion and a Doctorate in Humanities in 1976.[2]
Ministry
While Matthews was completing her education, she served as an elder in churches in her home state of Michigan, as well as New York and Florida.[2] She was the second female district superintendent in the United Methodist Church.[2] She served as superintendent of the Grand Traverse District from 1976.[4]
Ordained Ministry
During July 1980, the North Central Jurisdiction of United Methodist Church met for an annual conference.[5] There were only 23 clergywomen in attendance out of 460 delegates.[5] The delegates in attendance represented the states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.[5] During the conference, there were 13 delegates, Matthews included, who were running for three bishop seats.[5] After twenty-nine ballots, two bishops were elected by acclamation on the thirtieth ballot at the North Central Jurisdictional Conference on July 17, 1980.[5] Matthews was elected the first woman bishop at the United Methodist Church North Central regional conference in Dayton, Ohio.[2] She served as bishop for the Wisconsin area for four years before retiring in 1984.[3] On June 30, 1986, Matthews died of breast cancer in Grand Rapids, Michigan.[5]
References
- "Background info". Archived from the original on 2013-05-09. Retrieved 2009-04-10.
- Goldman, Ari L. “Bishop Matthews, A Methodist, Dies.” The New York Times, July 2, 1986. https://www.nytimes.com/1986/07/02/obituaries/bishop-matthews-a-methodist-dies.html.
- Cantlon, Marie, Keller, Rosemary Skinner, and Ruether, Rosemary Radford, eds. Encyclopedia of Women and Religion in North America: Indiana University Press, 2006.
- "[Matthews, Marjorie, Bp, 1917-1986, Obit]." The Christian Century 103, no. 22 (July 16, 1986): 643. https://search-ebscohost-com.cordproxy.mnpals.net/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lsdar&AN=ATLA0000965901&site=ehost-live&scope=site.
- Rader, Sharon Zimmerman (16 April 2019). Women bishops of The United Methodist Church : extraordinary gifts of the spirit. Crain, Margaret Ann. Nashville. ISBN 978-1-5018-8631-7. OCLC 1090652655.
External links
See also
- List of Bishops of the United Methodist Church