Virginia Episcopalian Magazine Summer 2012 Issue | Page 5

The Consecration
All are welcome at the consecration.
Saturday, July 28, 2012, 11 a.m.
St. Paul’s Church, Richmond, 815 E. Grace St.
Clergy: Red Stoles
Assisting Bishops: Rochet & Chimere
Co-Consecrators: Cope & Mitre

(Above) Goff strikes a meditative pose
as an infant.

an interdenominational school where
half of her classmates were also women.
“After visiting Episcopal seminaries, I
felt that I would need to be spending
too much time justifying why I was
there,” said Goff. “Being political about
the ordination of women – that’s not
what I was called to.”

Two years into her seminary
education, after the ordination of
women to the priesthood was approved
by the General Convention, Goff decided
to pause. “I had gone to college right
out of high school, went to seminary
right out of college – I felt I really
needed to do something different for
a little while.” She felt she needed “an
opportunity to experience the world
outside of an educational institution.”
But there was an added purpose. “I also
felt like I needed to test my vocation

once becoming a priest was actually a
possibility” explained Goff.

She decided to live, work and
test her call on the Wind River Indian
Reservation in Wyoming, extending
a partner relationship between the
reservation and St. James’, Madison
Avenue, where she had done field work
for two years. On the Wind River, Goff
worked at St. Michael’s Mission, which
ran youth homes for boys and for girls.
“I was not accepted into the culture,
into the community at all when I first
got there,” said Goff. It took some time
to develop relationships – and so Goff
extended her stay from one year to two.
“I felt my sense of call to the priesthood
very much affirmed by a community of
people that at first had not accepted me
– where women were not permitted to
be out-front leaders,” said Goff.

Upon graduation from seminary
and ordination, Goff headed south. Her
first vocational calling was as chaplain
at St. Margaret’s School, Tappahannock.
“Ministry of education really became
important to me during my work on
the reservation, so I felt a particular
continued on page 4

(Right) Goff upon graduation from
Douglass College in June 1975.
(Below) Goff leads Vacation Bible
School worship.

Summer 2012 / VIRGINIA EPISCOPALIAN

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