RIP: The Rev. Margo Maris, Episcopal priest and advocate for justice
The Rev. Margo E. Maris, an Episcopal priest known for her pastoral wisdom, courageous advocacy, and unwavering commitment to inclusion and justice in The Episcopal Church, will be remembered at a celebration of life service on Sept. 16 at St. John the Baptist Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She died on May 19 in Portland, Oregon, at age 82.
“Margo was a pioneer in the field of clergy wellness and a prime mover in the Episcopal Church’s efforts to address clergy misconduct and come to terms with its effects,” Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe said. “Her powerful voice for the Gospel imperatives of reconciliation and forgiveness helped shape our disciplinary canons and our approach to ministry with both victims and abusers, and her legacy continues to guide us today.”
Maris served the church in Wyoming, Minnesota, and Oregon, including as canon to the ordinary in the Diocese of Minnesota from 1981 to 1994. She graduated from Church Divinity School of the Pacific in 1978, and was ordained in 1979–three years after General Convention approved the ordination of women. She was the first woman to serve as rector in the Diocese of Minnesota and, in that diocese in 1988, became the second woman in church history to stand for election as bishop suffragan.
Maris’s ministry in the area of clergy sexual misconduct began in 1984 when a hospital chaplain in Minnesota called her for assistance.
“A patient had requested Holy Communion only from a woman priest, a patient who had been the victim of clergy sexual abuse,” reads a citation by Seabury-Western Theological Seminary, which in 1994 granted her its Distinguished Christian Service Award.
The citation continues: “In the decade which has followed that telephone call, Margo has become a recognized authority in the field of clergy sexual misconduct. . . .Out of her vision for clergy and institutional wellness has grown her commitment to intervene into clergy misconduct and to assist in the healing of their victims. In Margo’s vision for wellness, there is the possibility of redemption for abused and abuser alike.”
“She was a force of nature — visionary, tenacious, fearless, disciplined, focused, compassionate, resilient, and resolute,” said the Rev. Gay Clark Jennings, president of the House of Deputies from 2012 to 2022. “She changed the face of the church to make justice for victims more important than protection of offenders.”
Maris served as co-chair of the Committee on Sexual Exploitation, which was established in 1991 by General Convention Resolution B052. Under the auspices of this committee, she co-authored a series of booklets, including a 1996 booklet titled “For Persons with Complaints: Information on Episcopal Church Discipline,” which helped victims and complainants learn to navigate church disciplinary processes.
She also served as a personal advocate for scores of victims and complainants and urged the church to include their voices in the disciplinary process and provide them with pastoral care.
In 1997, when Virginia Theological Seminary granted her an honorary doctorate, the citation read, “You became advocate, counselor, and healer to many. Often without compensation and unknown to all but a few, you selflessly gave and still give of yourself, spending your time and energy to help these wounded persons regain emotional health and restored faith in God and in the Church.”
“Margo’s persistence and commitment to justice was legendary,” Sally Johnson, advisor to Presiding Bishop Rowe and former House of Deputies chancellor , said. “Her vision was a church that was a safe and healing place for both ordained and lay people. Her influence reached far beyond the places she served, impacting lives across the Episcopal Church and ecumenical communities. The Episcopal Church is a safer place because of her leadership.”
Maris was preceded in death by her husband, John Pearce, in 2015, and is survived by her daughter, grandson, great-grandchildren, brother, niece, and nephew.
— Sally Johnson is advisor to Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe and trustee of the Margo Elaine Maris Trust.