The Rt. Rev. Jane Holmes Dixon believes the promises that are evident after two decades of women being ordained in the Episcopal Church have outweighed its costs in the faith community and in the world.

Speaking at the Blandy Lectures at the Episcopal Seminary of the Southwest Sept. 23-24 that celebrated the 20th anniversary of the ordination of women, Bishop Dixon said, "I believe that the church and the world know that the promise of the ordination of women outweighs the real cost that it has wrought. We know it in our scripture. We know it in our baptismal covenant. And we know it when we think rationally about all of these things. So, for those of us who are Episcopalians, it's Hooker's three-legged stool: scripture, tradition and reason."

The Suffragan Bishop of Washington pointed out that "in every decision there is both cost and promise." For example, the ordination of women completely fulfills the image of God - "We as women represent for the church and the world the other half of the intended image of God ... (because) God's image is truly male and female." When women were ordained, "we became active participants in representing the image of God and the sacrifice of Jesus."

But for those who believe that the image of God is exclusively male, the decision to ordain women was viewed as heresy, an anathema and even "ontologically impossible," she said. "For those for whom this is at the center and core of their faith, (ordination of women) is a terrible and sacred cost."

Though most of the initial opposition to the ordination of women has faded, Bishop Dixon noted pockets of pain remain. "There's been a rupture in the collegiality of clergy and lay, clergy and clergy, and lay folk and lay folk since women have been ordained," she said. "Some men don't trust other men. Some women don't trust other women. And some women and men don't trust each other. I see that more profoundly than I've ever seen it in my 59 years, in the House of Bishops. That is a terrible and awesome cost for all of us."