Epiphany gets first female rector

Published 2:45 am Friday, January 27, 2023

For the past 18 months, the Rev. Annie Etheredge has quietly been making history at the Episcopal Church of the Epiphany in New Iberia.

After taking on an interim role as priest of the church following the departure of the Rev. Matt Woolett, Etheredge became the first female to preach, administer sacraments and perform the priestly duties of the historic Episcopal church.

Email newsletter signup

After more than a year at the role, Etheredge will be taking the next step by being called as Epiphany’s rector, making her the first woman designated as the leader of the church in its 179-year history.

For Etheredge, the role is something she never thought was possible. Despite the Episcopal Church has allowed women to take the role of priests since the 1970s, Etheredge said she has been a member of the Episcopal community in Acadiana for years and knew that many still didn’t agree with the doctrine.

“The first bishop I ever had said he did not believe women should be ordained,” Etheredge said. “This has been a very conservative parish for years, I didn’t think it would ever happen.”

Etheredge recounted a story from the 1990s when she was the head of a calling committee, and an older congregant left a note saying that if the committee hired a woman or homosexual he would leave the church.

“His exact words were Canterbury will return to Rome,” Etheredge said.

But the years of work Etheredge has done at the Church of the Epiphany seems to have made a change. After her formation as a priest, Etheredge said she could recount a bishop who had been against women’s ordination in the priesthood being impressed by the first sermon she had ever given.

After spending time at other Episcopal churches throughout Acadiana, Etheredge said she was initially hesitant to take the role as interim priest when she was asked.

“My mom is 90 and I didn’t want to be her pastor because she deserves her own pastor,” Etheredge said. “But by the time I was back she was comfortable with it.”

“I wrestled with it for a while because I’m a grandmother, I have a 90-year-old mom, I have stuff,” she added. “I didn’t know if I could do it with all those responsibilities, so that’s why it took a while.”

The decision to become the new rector of Epiphany came in late 2022, with the official installation ceremony to take place in mid-February.

Taking on the role in her home parish is an exciting prospect for Etheredge, and after months already filling the role for months the congregation is equally excited.

“They are used to me in ways that are really affirming,” she said. “I’ve done some bold things that I never would have attempted anywhere else, and we all just roll with it. They know who I am, and I don’t ask them to do anything that I’m not willing to do.”