Episcopal Church bishop led denomination through change
As the Episcopal Church’s Bishop of Chicago from 1971 until 1987, James W. Montgomery steered his denomination through some challenging transitions, including the ordination of women and the revision of the Common Book of Prayer in 1979.
Montgomery also was known for serving as a mediator during meetings between Mayor Richard J. Daley and Martin Luther King Jr. during the 1960s.
“Bishop Montgomery led the Diocese of Chicago through some of the great upheavals in 20th century American culture, and he did so with grace, love and a steady hand,” said Jeffrey Lee, who is the bishop of the Diocese of Chicago. “Much of who we are today was shaped by his generous spirit and his love for Chicago and the people of the Episcopal Church in this region, and his example continues to sustain us even as we mourn his loss.”
Montgomery, 98, died Oct. 23 at his home, according to the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago. He had been a resident of the Edgewater neighborhood.
James Winchester Montgomery grew up in Rogers Park and graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University in 1943. He received a divinity degree from General Theological Seminary in New York City in 1949, and was ordained that same year.
Montgomery conducted his priestly ministry exclusively in the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago.
Montgomery served as a curate at St. Luke’s Church in Evanston from 1949 until 1951 and then served as a rector at St. John the Evangelist
Church in Flossmoor until 1962. He was consecrated as a bishop in 1962 and was named suffragan bishop, or assistant bishop, of the Chicago Episcopal diocese.
In 1971, Montgomery was named bishop of the Diocese of Chicago. During his tenure, he developed a reputation as a theological moderate and as a pragmatist. That included making public his opposition to the nuclear arms race of the 1970s and 1980s and also voicing his objections to abortion.
During the 1960s, Montgomery was a visible presence in public disputes regarding civil rights and open housing.
Montgomery also was one of Chicago’s religious leaders to work with business and political leaders to try to strike an accord on the city’s racial housing disputes. The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. had been holding regular marches in all-white neighborhoods in Chicago during the summer of 1966, and Montgomery, who at the time was chairing the Chicago Conference on Religion and Race, was working with then-Chicago & North Western railroad Chairman Ben Heineman on ways to resolve differences. That included working with King with then Mayor Daley to find common ground.
In late August 1966, religious, political, business, labor and civic leaders reached an agreement on open occupancy with the Chicago Freedom movement, which was headed by King.
The following year, Montgomery was part of a group of Chicago religious leaders urging the state’s general assembly to enact an open housing statute.
One hot topic that threatened church comity during Montgomery’s time as bishop was the debate over ordaining women to the priesthood. The Episcopal Church granted approval of the ordination of women in 1976, and while Montgomery opposed the measure, he accepted the outcome and moved forward with encouraging the ordination of women.
“We came through the period of turmoil when there was a commitment to social action as opposed to more spiritual things,” Montgomery told the Tribune in 1982. “Now, we recognize more clearly that there doesn’t have to be a dichotomy between pietism and social action.”
Another dramatic change for the Episcopal Church was the revision of the 1928 Common Book of Prayer in 1979, which involved adding rites in contemporary language. Montgomery supported that revision.
In 1987, Montgomery retired as bishop and moved to Alexandria, Virginia, while keeping a home in Chicago.
“I’m most proud of having tried to be a good pastor, of keeping the diocese in unity during a time of great change in the world,” Montgomery told the Tribune in 1987. “I look back with some pride in ecumenism, social concerns and the civil-rights movement.”
There were no immediate survivors.
There will be a vigil from 4 to 7 p.m. Nov. 3 at Church of the Atonement, 5749 N. Kenmore Ave., Chicago. Services will be at 10 a.m. Nov. 4 at St. James Cathedral, 65 E. Huron St., Chicago.