Nan Arrington Peete

Nan Arrington Peete (born 1938) is an American Episcopal priest. She was ordained in 1984 and, among other postings, she was the rector at All Saints' Church in Indianapolis and a staff member of Trinity Church in New York City. In 1988, she was invited by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Robert Runcie, to speak at the Lambeth Conference, a gathering of Anglican bishops that usually occurs every 10 years. She was the first ordained woman to ever address the conference and her speech is credited by some as having helped increase support of the ordination of women in the Anglican Communion.

Early life

Nan Arrington was born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1938. Her father, Maurice Arrington, was a civil engineer and worked in Michigan, traveling back and forth to Chicago on weekends. Her mother, Phoebe Clanton Arrington, was a teacher. Her parents were both Episcopalians and Arrington was raised in the church. Arrington attended the University of Chicago Laboratory School, graduating in 1955. where Arrington attended Occidental College, graduating with a BA in economics in 1975. She then completed a Master of Arts degree in human resource management from the University of Redlands in 1978. She worked for several years for Coopers and Lybrand Accounting Firm as a management consultant. She has served on the National Ministries Unit and the Inclusiveness and Justice Standing Committee for the National Council of Churches of Christ, USA.

Lambeth Conference In 1988, Peete was invited to speak at the Lambeth Conference by the then-Archbishop of Canterbury, Robert Runcie. The Lambeth Conference is a gathering of bishops from across the Anglican Communion and is usually held every 10 years. Discussion of the role of women in the Anglican Communion was a major topic at the 1988 Lambeth Conference. The issue of the ordination of women to the priesthood was particularly controversial; some bishops were strongly opposed and others strongly supported women's ordination. The Episcopal Church was moving forward to consecrate their first woman bishop, a move that was opposed by more conservative bishops.

Peete was the first female Anglican priest to ever address the Lambeth Conference. She expressed her belief that women priests helped to embody this message of equality, and that ordaining women would strengthen the church. Her speech has been noted as being one of the more memorable moments of the conference, and is considered to have inspired more bishops to support women's ordination.