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Bishop Bruce Caldwell gives a blessing to Mary Erickson as she is ordained a deacon Sunday surrounded by family and friends at St. John's Episcopal Church. After a lengthy process, Erickson may become a priest in May. NEWS&GUIDE PHOTO / PRICE CHAMBERS

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On Sunday, sunlight crept in through the windows of St. John’s Episcopal Church as Bishop Bruce Caldwell ordained Mary Erickson a transitional deacon.

“For three years we have been waiting for this,” the Rev. Ken Asel said.

As Erickson signed the Oath of Conformity, Margaret Hutton, her lay presenter, and the Rev. Ann Fontaine, her clergy presenter, stood on either side of her. When the bishop asked whether it was the congregation’s will that Mary be ordained a deacon, they jubilantly cried, “It is.”

In his sermon, Asel challenged Erickson to love the closed-minded, to engage those who have been disappointed by the church and to offer hope to those who believe in God’s promise.

Caldwell invited the congregation to lay their hands on Erickson. While the congregation and her family gathered round, Erickson’s son, Oscar, rested his palm on her back. Then the bishop placed his hands on her head and said the prayer of consecration, which, according to Episcopalian tradition, sets her apart for special service.

Caldwell reminded the congregation that Erickson’s success depends on their support.

“She is calling the priesthood out of you as well as out of herself,” Caldwell said.

As Wyoming’s 11th female deacon, Erickson may give sermons and provide pastoral care, but she will have to wait until she becomes a priest to pronounce absolutions in public and private confessions, or bless holy water or baptismal oil.

Erickson’s journey to priesthood began more than 15 years ago. Raised Episcopalian, she began attending the Unitarian church during her undergraduate years at the University of California, Berkeley.

Later, while working at a public relations firm in San Francisco, she found that the Unitarian church provided her a sense of spirituality that was lacking in other areas of her life. That’s when she applied to the Harvard Divinity School, where she eventually came back to the Episcopal Church.

After completing divinity school, she went back to public relations work and later moved to Aberdeen, S.D., to be with her husband. She had virtually given up on the idea of becoming a priest when years later she and her family moved to Jackson and Asel hired her for a pastoral care role.

Quickly, Erickson expanded her role beyond older members of the congregation and began working with young moms and the sick.

“I kept getting signs along the way that this was the right thing – the little old lady who said ‘I wouldn’t have gotten through this week if it hadn’t been for you,.’” Erickson said. “It’s those types of things that make you know you’re where you ought to be.”

One day Asel sat down with her and explained the steps she needed to take to become a priest. Although Erickson knew she wanted to do it, she had to weigh her family’s feelings, as well as the financial implications of changing careers. Erickson says she would not have been able to begin the process of becoming a priest if the vestry wasn’t so understanding of her role as a mother.

Like other priest candidates, Erickson passed through a series of committees and personal, psychological and physical examinations as she went through the stages of aspirant, postulant and candidate before ordination. 

Assuming she passes the General Ordination Exam and that the bishop, the Commission on Ministry and the Standing Committee approve her ordination, Erickson will likely enter the priesthood in May. 

Asel believes Erickson brings special talents to the table.

“Mary has the ability to spend wonderful compassionate time with people who are hospitalized or infirm, and she also has a sensitivity for women’s issues,” Asel said. “I don’t mean the big women’s issues so much as a woman coming in and saying, ‘My husband is unfaithful’ or ‘I am 40 years old and my children are teenagers now and is that all there is for me?’”

Erickson agrees women in crisis often feel more comfortable speaking with a woman, just as men often prefer speaking to a man about certain issues. She also says that there’s something incredibly gratifying about being able to be there and be present for someone who is going through a difficult period. Now she jokes with her husband that while she thought she moved here for his career, it turns out they moved here for hers.