Source: The New York Times

On December 17, 2000, The New York Times reported that "when the Rev. Harold E. Quigley retired after almost 20 years at Stevens Memorial United Methodist Church here, he turned to a parishioner, Pat Gannon, and said, 'You know, it's all women now.' Rabbi Carla Freedman of the Jewish Family Congregation, a mile down the road, was thinking the same thing when she was driving around this bucolic hamlet not too long ago. All four houses of worship in South Salem, an upscale northern Westchester community approximately 50 miles from Manhattan, are now led by women. And yet, to listen to church members, it happened purely by chance. The first to arrive was the Rev. Lynn Harrington, who was called to St. John's Episcopal Church in 1988 after the church had been without a permanent pastor for three years...Then in 1994, the Rev. Nadine Hundertmark became the second clergywoman in the community, officially installed as the pastor of South Salem Presbyterian Church after a two-year search by the church's Pastor Nominating Committee...In 1996, the Jewish Family Congregation, a Reform synagogue, was experiencing a 'fragile time' with the sudden departure of its rabbi, according to Laurie Wolkin, who led the temple's Rabbinical Search Committee. Congregants were relieved when the committee hired Rabbi Freedman...There was only one male clergy member left when Mr. Quigley decided it was time to bid farewell to his church and retire to Meriden, Conn...Replacing him was the Rev. Mary Hoynes, who came aboard as pastor at Stevens Memorial United Methodist Church in July. Ms. Hoynes said that during the two years the church was seeking a new pastor, many candidates were interviewed. But Ms. Gannon, who headed the church's Pastor Relations Committee, said that when Ms. Hoynes came to call, the decision was made in a heartbeat...'Historically, those are the kinds of churches that reflect society. Women today play a much larger role in society and community affairs. These community churches are therefore more apt to place women in full-time pastorate positions,' he said, adding that the percentage of female pastoral candidates available to these churches now is far greater than it was 20 years ago. Nancy Ammerman, a professor of sociology of religion at Hartford Seminary, agrees that it is not unusual to see all female clergy in a community like South Salem. Given a place 'where you have well-educated, affluent, more-liberal-than-not-thinking people, you're looking at a community where women clergy are definitely least problematic.'...Still, some feminist theologians were surprised that a community like South Salem has all female clergy...When all four women were asked about the role their sex has played in their work, some seemed uncomfortable that the question was posed at all. 'It has and still does remain a nonissue,' Rabbi Freedman said. Others viewed their calling as a testimony to the embracing qualities of the community that called them. 'I think that the presence of so many women in leadership positions is a tribute to the openness, intelligence and sophistication of the people in South Salem,' Ms. Hoynes said, adding that she has never experienced prejudice because of her gender."