Tying a Bow on Women’s History Month

Trigger Warning: This post is not about politics or religion. It’s about finding common ground while respecting what divides us.

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The Long Journey Across the Street

Palm Sunday 2026 fell on March 29. It is the Sunday I dread most because, if you are a Catholic who slid into the Episcopal Church, you know the routine. Three hours is a marathon: two-plus hours for the service and another 30 minutes for the essential socializing.

I found my church home shortly after retiring in 2012. It sits across the street from the Catholic church and school where I was indoctrinated and married. I left that church to move to NH and eventually return to my childhood home. It took me forty years to make the journey across Edmondson Avenue, “shopping” various denominations along the way. When I finally arrived, I witnessed something transformative: a service where every person on the altar was a woman that Sunday.

Episcopal Church: Making Women’s History

The year 2024 marked the 50th anniversary of the first ordination of women as priests in the Episcopal Church (July 29, 1974). The hurdles didn’t vanish with ordination; women priests faced immense pushback while striving for equal footing.

The leadership continued to evolve:

• 2011: Mariann Budde became a Bishop in DC and Maryland. She noted, “There’s nothing that says a Christian can’t be involved in politics…. Scripture teaches us to be committed to the issues that affect the common good.”

• 2025: After Trump’s 2025 inauguration she asked him to “have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now,” she said, “invoking gay, lesbian, and transgender children, as well as undocumented immigrants and asylum seekers.”

• March 25, 2026: Dame Sarah Mullally was installed as the 36th Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury, the first woman to hold the role.

“Once a Catholic, always a Catholic, but Episcopalians rock regardless of gender.”

Finding a Place to Belong

During the Palm Sunday 2026 service, the Right Rev. Carrie Schofield-Broadbent delivered the sermon. She did not tell us who to vote for, but she did say that politics is part of any congregation like ours where all are welcome regardless of all the labels that can divide us. It is a safe place where we respect differences and handle tough discussions. She said we had what many people long for today: a place to listen to great music (Our organist and choir master earned his Ph.D. at the Peabody Institute), and active involvement with each other and our neighbors.

Later Sunday afternoon I half listened to an NPR program where the speaker spoke about the need to belong to groups. He mentioned how a person could watch a sports game on TV all alone and feel the exhilaration when their team scored.

Lately, I’ve been thinking about this need to belong. I heard actor Edward Norton mention that we are “one of a crowd” needing a way to deal with the anxiety of a world designed to drive us insane. Between a broken legal system and the “madness in the night,” we need something bigger than ourselves.

For me, that “something” is a trio of communities:

1. My Church

2. A Silent Book Club

3. The Lithuanian Hall Association

In Baltimore, these spaces are populated by diverse individuals. We may not always agree, but we enjoy respectful conversation.

Writing Away the Madness

I write to keep the madness at bay. This past Thursday, I joined a group of local authors at a book fair. About 170 readers showed up. Many people came up to ask me what my book was about. Bookstores remain one of the best places to find your tribe.

One woman asked if my father played table tennis; apparently, her father knew a “Sabalauskas” who did. I never expected that. I knew my bachelor dad had a tennis racket, but ping-pong? It makes sense. It’s another small thread of connection in a world that often feels disconnected.

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Join the Conversation: How was your March? Did you travel, take a class, go on a cruise, travel abroad, see a game, drink green beer or find a new group? What resonated with you this month?