Des Plaines, IL – M.E. and Katie Eccles of The DeBoccles Foundation matched a $100,000 grant to help finish the feature documentary film, The Philadelphia Eleven.
The Philadelphia Eleven film tells the story of the brave women who dared to get ordained as priests at the Church of the Advocate in Philadelphia in 1974. After eight years of production, the film will be ready to release as soon as the remaining production funds are raised.
“The DeBoccles Foundation stepped up at just the right time to ensure we can start showing the film and engaging in the important conversations that will follow each screening,” said the Rev. Cynthia Black of the Film Funders Circle, a group of lay women and clergy who are working to raise funds to finish the film.
The film’s trailer premiered at the Episcopal Parish Network conference in March of 2023. It is now available to the public by visiting the online campaign in honor of Women’s History Month.
“The 50th Anniversary [was July 29, 2024]. It is crucial to reflect on our past in order to plan for our future,” observed Dr. Fredrica Harris Thompsett, author of Looking Forward Looking Backward: Forty Years of Women’s Ordination.
The DeBoccles Foundation’s support enabled filmmakers to order expensive archival footage and book screenings [for] the 50th Anniversary of the groundbreaking ordinations.
To learn more about The Philadelphia Eleven, visit the film’s website.
