Watertown filmmaker shares an untold civil rights story

In 1974, 11 women defied the leadership of the Episcopal Church to become ordained as priests. While no canon law forbade their ordination, the norm was to deny women priesthood. These women, who are now known as “The Philadelphia Eleven,” became a catalyst for change in the Episcopal Church. Their defiance paved the way for the Church to authorize the ordination of women to priesthood two years later.

Struck by these women and their collective story, Watertown resident and documentary filmmaker Margo Guernsey decided to bring their history to the big screen. She has partnered with Boston-based photographer Nikki Bramley to co-produce a documentary about The Philadelphia Eleven.

Guernsey said the film’s message is likely to change as she continues the production and editing process. She described filmmaking like peeling an onion.

“There are always more layers, and it is important to me not to oversimplify,” she said.

Her goal is for people to walk away from the picture knowing the history of the 11 women who claimed their call to priesthood and changed the Church.

A story not taught in American History

Guernsey first came across The Philadelphia Eleven in 2012, while researching for a different film project. Her research led her to Rev. Isabel Carter Heyward, one of The Philadelphia Eleven. Guernsey called Heyward, who agreed to answer her questions for the project.

“I literally had no idea I was reaching out to one of the most famous lesbian, theologian seminist priests in the country,” Guernsey said.

In order to answer Guernsey’s questions,  Heyward had to tell Guernsey about her background as one of the 11.

“I couldn’t believe I didn’t know, and I couldn’t believe it wasn’t a part of our American History classes,” Guernsey said. “I felt like that was a film I should be making.”

At the time Guernsey did not have the bandwidth to pursue another film project, but over the next three years she said she kept coming back to the story. In 2015 Guernsey decided the time was right to begin work on a new film. She decided to make a documentary about The Philadelphia Eleven.

One reason Guernsey said she wanted to tell The Philadelphia Eleven’s story is because often times the Women’s Rights Movement separates itself from religion, and she believes that is a huge mistake.

“There are so many women of faith, and we should all be working together,” Guernsey said. “This story struck me as a time when as women we did come together.”

That the country's historical narrative had largely left out 11’s story also inspired Guernsey to pursue the film.

“Storytelling is old as human beings. We tell stories to understand who we are. If we only tell stories about certain leaders and certain parts of our people, than that is who we start to understand we are. It is really important to tell everyone’s story,” she said.

Guernsey has conducted interviews with all the women of the 11 who are still alive. She said the stories they told her were both inspiring but also hard to hear. During the interviews, Guernsey learned about the hate mail and death threats the 11 received, and Rev. Carter Heyward told Guernsey she was physically attacked while practicing the Eucharist. Hearing how the 11 were both physically and emotionally attacked was challenging, Guernsey said, because these were real stories and experiences.

“I think anytime any human being is denied something based on who they are, in this case it’s gender, but it could be anything, then really none of us are free,” Guernsey said.

What’s next for Guernsey?

The next step for Guernsey will be to conduct a deep archival dive. She said when the events occurred they were in the limelight, so there is a lot of news footage to sift through. Her plan is to do another year of production and another year of editing to bring the film to life.

At the end of May, Guernsey started a kickstarter campaign to fund the rest of the project. She reached her $70,000 goal a few weeks later. Guernsey said many female clergy donated and send enthusiastic messages that the 11’s story was being told.

To donate to the project visit: kickstarter.com/projects/724829692/the-philadelphia-eleven To read Guernsey's director statement visit: timetravelproductions.com/directors-statement.html