| 12:30 pm - 1:00 pm | Sanctuary

Lenten Preaching Service

The Rev. Margaret Rose

The Rev. Margaret Rose has been Director of Women’s Ministries for the Episcopal Church USA since June of 2003. The Ministries roles are to serve as advocates for women in and outside the church and to assist the church in its work for justice and inclusion of women. Rev. Rose is responsible for collaborating with the many program areas of the Episcopal Church to ensure that the voices of women are heard at all levels. She works with others in ecumenical and interfaith program areas as well as global partnerships working for peace and justice.

The Ministries serve as a resource for women in the church in the areas of liturgy, leadership, and job search, as well as participate in traditional women’s organizations of the church. Particular concerns in the current triennium are domestic violence and trafficking in women. One of the most exciting projects at the moment is partnering with the Anglican UN Observer’s Office to gather women from around the Anglican Communion to participate in the United Nations Committee on the Status of Women. Delegations of women from the 38 Provinces of the Anglican Church worldwide and a delegation of Episcopal Church women have formed a network to engage and implement the work of the Beijing Platform for Action and the Millennium Development Goal for gender equality

Margaret spent her childhood in the rural South during the early years of desegregation.  Her memories of that experience ignited her passion to work on issues of social justice in the community and through the church.  At Wellesley College, her participation in an activist chaplaincy program and work as a legal services volunteer in East Boston connected the nurturing faith of her childhood in the Episcopal Church and her commitment to work for a just world.

Margaret went to Harvard Divinity School in the 70’s (before women’s ordination passed) on a fellowship from the Rockefeller Foundation with a mandate to explore the possibility of ordination.  She is sure she received that fellowship, not only because she was a theological seeker, but also because she wrote in her application that she wanted to stay in Boston, the “ice cream capital of the world.” She was ordained in the Diocese of Massachusetts and served parishes there until 1992. 

Before coming to the Episcopal Church Center, Margaret was rector of St. Dunstan’s parish in Atlanta and worked with the Ford Foundation on a project to identify innovative women leaders in Christianity, Islam and Judaism. 

Margaret has two daughters, Miriam and Hannah, who are 19 and 17.  She loves the city, hiking, running, traveling the globe and eating good food, especially coffee ice cream with hot fudge sauce.