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NEWS REASONS TO BE OPTIMISTIC 1. Synod’s decision is good news for
the Church 2. A Generous Compromise 3. The draft legislation had overwhelming
support – other
ways of accommodating those opposed did not. THE NEXT STAGE Discussion in the dioceses New Synod PLEASE CONSIDER STANDING FOR GENERAL SYNOD You will not split the vote. We can support you. Papers are out already. The deadline for nominations is 3rd September. This
text above is available as a
Word document to download
here (to
facilitate easier printing).
The Venerable Christine Allsopp paid tribute to the outgoing Chair Christina Rees and thanked her on behalf of all members for her long years of service to the organisation. Thanks were also given to Revd Charles Read who has served as Vice-Chair for many years and also stepped down at the meeting. The new team is looking forward to the challenges of the next few months as WATCH prepares for the crucial debates in General Synod this July. But beyond July, WATCH will be broadening its focus. "We want to celebrate the gifts and perspectives that women bring to the church and affirm the renewal that their ministry brings to our corporate life" said incoming Chair Rachel Weir BIOGRAPHIES
Rachel trained at Cuddesdon for three years full time before being ordained in 1997. In the first part of her curacy, Rachel's time was shared between parish and national inter faith work. The second part of her curacy has been split between parish life and the life of WATCH. Rachel joined the national committee in 2008 and was elected Vice-Chair
in 2009. She looks forward to leading WATCH through the next crucial
period. Revd Mark Bennett (Vice Chair)
1. The original Steering Committee appointed by General Synod to
see the legislation through the process: The understanding is that these two bodies will work together in
looking at the submissions that have been sent in and arrive at recommendations
for the Feb 2010 meeting of General Synod. RECENT APPOINTMENTS
Canon
Lucy Winkett to be Rector of St James's Piccadilly It has just been announced that Canon Lucy Winkett has been appointed
as Rector to St James's Piccadilly. On making the announcement the
The Bishop of London, Dr Richard Chartres said, "Lucy
Winkett is among the most talented priests in her generation in the
Church of England. I am delighted that after such a fruitful ministry
at St Paul's Cathedral she will be moving to Piccadilly to work with
a gifted and diverse congregation.”
Catherine is Vicar of Huddersfield at the moment. After her ordination in 1994 – one of the first – she became vicar of three parishes outside Barnsley and was also religious affairs editor for BBC Radio Leeds for four years. WATCH wishes Catherine all the best for her future in Birmingham.
She is expected to move to her new post in the summer.
"Diane is a skilled pastor and a proven leader," said
Los Angeles diocesan Bishop Jon Bruno. "Her gifts and expertise
are major assets in this diocese and the wider church and I am delighted
with the opportunity for us to continue to serve together in new
ways." "I'm very excited about the future of the whole Episcopal Church,
and I see the Diocese of Los Angeles leading the way into that future," Glasspool
said after the election. "But just for this moment, let me say
again, thank you, and thanks be to our loving, surprising God." Now in April 2010 we have the news that these two women's elections as bishops have been confirmed so they were consecrated on 15 May 2010.
Archbishop Fred Hiltz, primate of the Anglican Church of Canada (pictured left with the new bishop), Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, primate of The Episcopal Church, and Archbishop John Holder, the new primate of the Church of the Province of the West Indies, celebrated the Eucharist as members of the Metropolitan Council of Cuba. (The Council has overseen the Cuban church since it separated from The Episcopal Church in 1967 because of difficult relations between the governments of Cuba and the United States.) The Episcopal Church of Cuba already has the Rt Revd Nerva Cot Aguilera serving as a suffragan bishop. This brings the total of women bishops in the Anglican Communion
to 26. Some of these are retired. Ever since she was ordained a priest in 1998, Barbara Andrews said she had always served the Anglican Church of Canada "kind of on the fringe of the church." That all changed in June, when she became the new suffragan (assistant) bishop for the Kamloops-based Anglican Parishes of the Central Interior (APCI). Until her election as bishop, she had worked as executive director of the Sorrento Retreat and Conference Centre in British Columbia. Prior to that she served as a director of Christian education, and
had been in street ministry for four years in an inner city parish
in Winnipeg. In an interview, Bishop Andrews said her experience
puts her "in a unique position because I come from a totally
different experience and point of view."  From left to right: Right Reverend Barbara Darling is Assistant Bishop in the Diocese of Melbourne, Province of South Australia Right Reverend Kay Goldsworthy is Assistant Bishop in the Diocese of Perth, Province of Western Australia Right Reverend Jane Alexander is Bishop of Edmonton, in the Diocese of Edmonton, Canada Recent appointments in the Church of England Congratulations to WATCH member Paula Gooder who is to be a Lay Canon of Salisbury Cathedral. If you get the Church Times you will have been reading extracts from her book This Risen Existence. Paula used to be our Book Reviews editor for OUTLOOK. She is Canon Theologian of Birmingham Cathedral, Hon Lecturer of the University of Birmingham, and Associate Lecturer of St Mellitus College, London already! Congratulations to Revd Christine Wilson, currently Vicar of Goring-by-Sea in Diocese of Chichester, who has been appointed as Archdeacon of Chesterfield in the Diocese of Derby. More info is available at www.derby.anglican.org/news/?i201 This brings to fifteen the number of women Archdeacons in the CofE. Congratulations to Nikki Arthy (Nicola
Arthy), Team Vicar in the Winchcombe Team Ministry, who is to be
Priest in Charge of the Gloucester City Benefice and Honorary Canon
of Gloucester. Nikki was on our WATCH Committee for a number of years
and has written the Prayers on our Prayer cards. Another Archdeacon in the Church
of Wales Congratulations also to the Revd Shirley Griffiths who will be the next Archdeacon of Wrexham and Rector of Llandegla in St Aspah diocese in Wales. Peggy Jackson became the first woman Archdeacon in Wales when she became Archdeacon of Llandaff last year – but Peggy is English and Shirley is actually Welsh, so she is the first Welsh woman to be made archdeacon in Wales! Shirley held posts in Ripon & Leeds diocese before moving to be vicar of Abergele and St George in the diocese of St Asaph. An Archdeacon in the
Church of Wales
In a packed Cathedral in Llandaff, on a wonderfully sunny Whit Sunday the Venerable Peggy Jackson was installed as Archdeacon of Landaff along with the Rt Revd David Wilbourne, new Assistant Bishop and other Canons and Honorary Canons. Peggy was the only woman amongst them but she was warmly welcomed by the Archbishop of Wales and the whole congregation. Peggy’s supporters included her old schoolmaster, friends from the time she was an accountant, people from all the parishes in which she had served, other friends and relations and fellow campaigners from MOW, WATCH, GRAS and SMWC (Ecumenical) After the service Peggy was greeted by many friends as she stood in the sun dressed canon’s robes, complete with an almus trimmed with fur. Next we all trouped off to the Archbishop’s reception for tea and cakes and then some of us on to the Archdeacon’s reception for wine and lasagne! Laughing, happy people then went on their way. In the evening of Monday June 1, both bishops came to install Peggy in Llancarfan Parish Church – a beautiful building with recently discovered frescoes, magnificently decorated with huge displays of flowers. This time the church was crowded with friends and relations and people from all three parishes. It was a relaxed and happy service with another excellent sermon by the Rt Revd Barry Morgan, Archbishop of Wales and Bishop of Llandaff. During the service we all sang with gusto two hymns by June Boyce Tillman – and one by Stewart Cross – a loyal MOW supporter until his untimely death. More wine and food followed in the village hall with people pouring out to stand and eat in the churchyard in the light and balmy evening. It was a great welcome and an oasis of joy, happiness , thanks giving and laughter on our long march towards equal opportunities for women at all levels of the Anglican Church.Revd Angela Berners-Wilson is to be made Prebendary of Wells Cathedral Her installation was on Tuesday, 24th February at 5:15pm. Angela was ordained at the first ordinations in Bristol Cathedral on 12th March 1994, and because the women were ordained priest in alphabetical order, Angela was actually the first woman to have hands laid on her in ordination as a priest in the Church of England. WATCH wishes her all the best in her new appointment. First woman Bishop in Great Britain The Lutheran Church of Great Britain consecrated the Revd Jana Jeruma-Grinberga Bishop on 17 January 2009 in the church of St Anne and St Agnes in the City of London. Jana is the first woman to be a bishop in the Lutheran Church of Great Britain. However, female bishops are not unusual in the Lutheran Church. Jana was chosen by her peers, many of whom are members of the Anglican Lutheran Society. There is much joy and anticipation about Jana's consecration. WATCH (London) Joyous News!! Great news for Edmonton. The Revd Marjorie Brown, previously priest-in-charge of St Matthews Upper Clapton, has been inducted as Vicar of St Mary the Virgin, Primrose Hill, London NW 3 in the Edmonton Episcopal Area. Sixteen years after the vote for women priests we have at last a woman incumbent in Edmonton. We rejoice for all of you. Congratulations to Reverend Jan McFarlane on her apppointment as the next Archdeacon of Norwich. Jan is currently Chaplain to the Bishop of Norwich and Diocesan Director of Communications. She will continue as Diocesan Communications Officer, combining the two roles. The first three women ordained priest in the Province of the Indian Ocean - Madagascar For more details click here
Wednesday 21 July 2010 WATCH (London) Summer Event and Invitation: Prayer Pilgrimage at Westminster Abbey 6pm Meeting by the Great West Door ou are cordially invited to a Summer Prayer Pilgrimage conducted by Canon Jane Hedges who will welcome us and take us round the ancient grounds and gardens of the Abbey. We will end with Compline at about 7.30pm, either in St Faith's Chapel, or the Shrine of St Edward. Jane has kindly invited us to have drinks with her in her garden in Little Cloisters. (The date is being sent to you early so that you can book this event in your diaries. I would be grateful if you could let me know if you are able to come by emailing, or, ringing me on 020 8731 9860. The Abbey likes to have a good idea of numbers attending. Do come if you are free. We would love to see you. Sally Barnes, Secretary, WATCH (London) Committee, 94 Hamilton Road, Golders Green, NW11 9DY Tel: 020 8731 9860 / 0775734333) August 2010
Since the last Outlook, WATCH (London) held a Quiet Day in September conducted by Canon Lucy Winkett at St Matthews Westminster. Those who came found it a welcome time for reflection and highly supportive. Lucy provided a number of poems to help contemplation interspersed with short talks on biblical passages. If anyone would like a copy of the poems please get in touch with Sally Barnes (address and email under branch contacts). One of our members browsing in the St Matthews Library found the following quote by the present Archbishop of Canterbury in 'An Introduction to Rowan Williams' by Rupert Shortt (2003). We all thought it apt under the present circumstances. "Theology is not a politically neutral or
innocent enterprise. Like all intellectual systems, it
is in fact operating in somebody's interest, and so long
as it is blind to this truth it will operate in the interest
of the status quo (because it is in the interest of the status
quo not to be questioning or relativised)." These two branches are linking closely together for joint action and events. Please would London and Southwark based members who are not on our email list and would like to be included contact either Sally Barnes (London) or Martin Carr (Southwark). Two London newsletters have been produced and sent to members by email and post giving the latest updates and views. Members on email are kept up-to-date with requests for action, such as supporting the WATCH banner outside the February General Synod when the proposed Women Bishops legislation was being discussed and responding to the request for their 'bottom line' thoughts on women bishops legislation. We now have our own Blog spot where you can comment on our posts
and events. If you would like to add a new post – in the first
instance email sarah@sarahlamming.com. The blog can be found at
www.watchlondon.blogspot.com Please make good use of it. A tribute to Margaret Wickstead 1923-2008
Margaret Wickstead died in hospital in Hereford in December after a few weeks of illness. She had attended the Friends of Cathedrals national gathering at Lincoln only shortly before having a serious stroke in late November. Margaret was thrilled to see old friends and to visit the house and neighbours she'd had during her years living in Lincoln. Margaret has meant much to many people. To the Hereford WATCH Committee, from which she had just stood down as Vice Chair, she was an inspiration. She had been a founding member of the Movement for the Ordination of Women and the photograph below shows her, with the Hereford MOW contingent, marching through London at the time of the 1988 Lambeth Conference. The march started at St Mary le Bow Church and ended on the steps of St Paul's Cathedral where the Bishops from Lambeth were attending a special service. There were about 1000 participants on the march. Margaret's indefatigable spirit and optimism was a great source of encouragement to those of us newly ordained deacon. No one can have been more delighted than she was at our ordination as priests. She will be with us in spirit when the first women bishops are ordained. Thank you Margaret for your warm hospitality to the WATCH Committee when we held our meetings at your home. And thank you Margaret, most of all, for the confidence you showed in us as women and as priests. Frances Hancock It is said that Margaret's brother Philip as he faced retirement as Bishop of Worcester said "Alleluia, on we go". This was the keynote of Margaret's life too and is I think, a good watchword for us in WATCH today. back to top The priest, the body, the bride and the whore The speaker at the WATCH annual lecture this year was Ali Green.
Ali is a non-stipendiary minister in Monmouth and was a doctoral
research student of Tina Beattie, Reader in Theology at Roehampton
University. Ali received her doctorate at the end of the summer.
The aim of her lecture to Guildford WATCH was to suggest ways in
which women could inhabit the symbolic role of celebrant of the
Eucharist in a culture which has, for most of the Church’s
life, seen this as a male preserve. Bishop’s new Advisory Group in Guildford Diocese Hilary Cotton reports: In a new venture, the Bishop of Guildford
has appointed a group of women (4 clergy, one lay) whose concern
is the ministry of ordained women. |
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Rachel is a non stipendiary Assistant Curate serving in Oxford
diocese. She read Economics and Law at Newnham College, Cambridge
and then practised as a barrister before switching direction to
study Theology.
Hilary Cotton is a laywoman from Guildford Diocese and a member
of Diocesan Synod. In 2002 she co-founded WATCH Guildford, and
served on the national WATCH Committee previously from 2003-2007. 
Revd
Mark Bennett is Team Rector in the Great Parndon Team in Harlow
– a local ecumenical partnership. He studied mathematics at Sidney
Sussex College, Cambridge, qualified as a Chartered
Accountant with KPMG, and worked as a forensic accountant with
KPMG, and lawyers Leigh, Day & Co before training for ordination
at Westcott House. 
News
has come from the Finnish Lutheran Church that they have elected
Pastor, Master of Theology, Irja Askola (born
1952) as Bishop of the Diocese of Helsinki on the second round of
the election, with 591 votes. She is the first woman to be elected
as bishop in Finland.
WATCH member Canon Dr Frances Ward is to become the next Dean of
St Edmundsbury and Ipswich Cathedral. She will be installed on Saturday
16 October at 2.30pm.
Canon Catherine Ogle has been appointed as the next Dean of Birmingham
Cathedral. This means there will now be three women deans as Vivienne
Faull is Dean of Leicester, and June Osborne is Dean of Salisbury.
The Revd Canon Diane Jardine Bruce became the first woman elected
a bishop in the Diocese of Los Angeles on 4 December 2009, pending
the required consents.
The 114th annual convention of the Diocese of Los Angeles made history
for the second time in as many days on 5 December 2009, electing
an openly gay candidate, the Revd Mary Douglas
Glasspool, as bishop
suffragan, pending the required consents from the majority of the
church's other dioceses.
We
are delighted to hear that Revd Barbara Andrews has
been appointed as the new Suffragan Bishop for the Anglican Parishes
of the Central Interior in Canada.
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Press contact: Sally Barnes 020 8731 9860 / 07759 343335
General enquires: info@womenandthechurch.org