The 12th Season of CBS TV’s Amazing Race was broadcast last night, Sunday, November 4th 2007. It starts with 11 teams traveling all over the world the last team standing wins a million dollars. There is a Female couple competing on it, a Priest and Deacon Couple from the Episcopal Church.
Melissa Evans of the LA Daily News writes:
There weren’t any women ministers – much less lesbian ministers – when the Revs. Kate Lewis and Pat Hendrickson were young.
Although times have changed, role models are still hard to find, they say, even in the liberal-leaning Episcopal Church.
Lewis and Hendrickson, who have been in a relationship since meeting at a religious retreat in 1997, hope to change that with their appearance on “The Amazing Race,” the CBS reality show that launches its 12th season tonight.
“We’re happy to offer ourselves up to show people that Christians come in many different stripes,” said Lewis, a minister at St. Cross Episcopal Church in Hermosa Beach. “Some of us are progressive and inclusive.”
The potential for a $1 million prize, along with a globe-spanning adventure, didn’t hurt, either.
“We are very serious about our relationship with God, and we are very serious about winning this race,” said Hendrickson, a minister at St. Patrick’s Episcopal Church in Thousand Oaks. “We’re not afraid to have a good time, either. There’s nothing wrong with having a little fun.”
Amid the cast of brothers and sisters, co-workers and heterosexual couples, Lewis and Hendrickson are the only lesbian team ever to compete. The fact that they are both ordained ministers adds to their allure.
The teams travel nearly 50,000 miles by air, sea and land in a physically and mentally demanding race through several countries, including Ireland, Lithuania and Croatia. Eleven teams will compete this season to see who can master the geography, culture and climate of each country the fastest.
Here is the description of Kate and Pat’s Team from the show’s web site:
TEAM 11
Kate & Pat
Married Ministers
Kate: Thousand Oaks, CA, 49, Episcopal Priest
Pat: Thousand Oaks, CA, 65, Ordained Deacon
Kate & Pat dated for seven years before tying the knot three years ago. These well traveled Episcopal clergy are ready for the adventure of lifetime-but don’t let the collars fool you-they can play dirty too.
Kate is an Episcopal priest and has one grown son. She claims that the biggest difference between herself and Pat is that she avoids conflict while Pat dives right in. Kate describes herself as passionate and sarcastic while Pat says she is persistent and dependable.
Pat is a vocational deacon in the Episcopal Church and her ministry in the community is to people with disabilities. She is also the mother of two sons and grandmother of three. Pat’s biggest pet peeve about Kate is that she constantly misjudges her time, an issue that could surely cause problems on the Race.
Both are out to prove that they are not afraid to compete with anyone and they are extremely confident that their years of experience will help them combat the physical prowess of the younger Teams.
They already finished the first leg and survived.
Read more: epiScope: The race that is set before us and An Inch at a Time: How cool is THIS??????????.
Television Without Pity has a discussion board for each set of racers. Here is the link for Pat and Kate.