Jane Holmes Dixon, second female bishop in Episcopal Church, dies at 75

From The Washington Post-

Jane Holmes Dixon, a stay-at-home Bethesda mom who became a priest in her 40s and later became the second female bishop in the Episcopal Church, died in her sleep early Christmas morning at her home in Washington. She was 75 and died of heart disease, her family said.

Bishop Dixon was seen as a warm, empathetic mentor, particularly to female lay leaders and clergy in the Episcopal Church, which has wrestled in recent decades with rifts over gender roles, sexuality and biblical literacy.

Her 17-month temporary term as bishop pro tempore of the Washington Diocese in 2001 and 2002 was dominated by a standoff with a rural parish in Prince George’s County whose rector, the Rev. Samuel L. Edwards, refused to recognize female authority.

The issue wound up in the headlines, including a scene of Bishop Dixon preaching on the church basketball court after church members refused to admit her to the sanctuary. Bishop Dixon filed a federal lawsuit, charging that Edwards had been improperly hired by the church, without her approval and in violation of canonical law.

More here-

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/rev-jane-holmes-dixon-second-female-bishop-in-episcopal-church-dies-at-75/2012/12/27/236d183c-4f88-11e2-839d-d54cc6e49b63_story.html