‘Stop making bishops for specific groups’
This September I celebrated 40 years in ministry, first as a Deaconess, then ordained Deacon three years later. Seven years after that I was one of the first women to be ordained priest in the Church of England. So, those quick at maths will see that I have been a priest for 30 years. These anniversaries have left me very reflective about the Church of England.
To the outsider we can look as though all is well for women in this church. Women are priests, bishops, deans, one of the three ‘top’ posts, Bishop of London, is a woman. So the CofE looks like an equal opportunities employer, but it is not. Indeed it is exempt from parliaments equal opportunities act, and this conceals the minefield that has left me reflective, despondent, angry and not quite seeing the way ahead.
In November 1992 I joined many others standing outside Church House in London while the Church of England General Synod debated and voted on whether the C of E should ordain women as priests. The legislation had already been debated in Diocesan synods and passed in a substantial majority, so it was now coming for the main vote at General Synod, needing a two thirds majority in each of the three houses, laity, clergy and bishops. Outside the building with us were many journalists from all over the world. I was interviewed for an Australian radio station, many others contributed to newspaper reports. Women and men from theological colleges stood with a banner saying ‘Waiting’. We sang, hoped this time it would be different from the vote in the 1970’s, we prayed. And the vote was in favour of women as priests in all 3 houses by more than the required two thirds majority. We sang outside with joy, inside it was received in silence to respect those who were against the result. Vicars with knickers was the Sun’s headline next day.
We were very firmly told by our bishops that we were not to celebrate as the pain of those who had lost the vote was so great.
1993 was a difficult year and it was hard to believe that the Church of England had made a positive decision to ordain women. The talk among clergymen seemed to be around how many of their congregation would leave if their woman deacon was ordained priest. Colleagues, my own among them, changed from being positive about women priests to seeing us as a problem. Their feelings, now women as priests was a real possibility, did not match their thinking when it was only an idea. Gut-lag we called it. The old boys network in both the church and parliament got together and the House of Bishops was focussed on keeping as many clergy from leaving as they could. According to the press about 1000 had threatened to leave, some taking their congregations with them. They agreed to compensate those who left with large sums of money. The Roman Catholic church agreed that married men from the CofE could serve with them as priests, though all who took this path had to go through some further training.
There are two extremes in the CofE who were then and are still against women as priests. Those who are waiting for the pope to decide about women before they can accept it, this despite the fact that the CofE was formed as a departure from Rome and having to accept the pope’s decisions, and the other extreme who see the bible instructions about male headship as paramount. The pressure from parliament’s Ecclesiastical committee was for legal safeguards for those opposed to women, in consequence the CofE is the only province in the Anglican communion that has legal provision for those who will not accept women as priests. The other provinces managed the issue pastorally. The House of bishops agreed with those who said that they could not accept a bishop who ordained women as priests, they were ‘tainted’ by having done so. This led to bishops for each end of the argument being consecrated, and some diocesan bishops only ordaining deacons so that they could still be a focus for unity in their diocese. I was told this would be a short term arrangement, but it is a fixture still. This changed the nature of being a bishop, as bishops were never before selected by theological flavour as it were. I keep having fanciful ideas of poems and bishops and flavours…
I am seriously angry that the bishops of the time agreed with the idea that ordaining women tainted the bishop who did so. It is very suspect theology. Look at it this way, if a bishop said to a black man, ‘I’m sorry, but ordaining you will affect me so that I can’t ordain white men as I usually do, they just wouldn’t accept me, and no, I wouldn’t receive communion from you because, for me, only white men can be priests.’ He would rightly be called out for the appalling racism he had expressed, yet put woman instead of black man, and men instead of white men, and that is exactly what the CofE is practising. Men who think this are still being ordained. No-one seems to acknowledge the misogynistic sexism that the house of bishops agreed to and continues to agree to in the Church of England.
The Ecclesiastical committee enabled further delays by talking of expediency. Yes synod had voted for women as priests but was it an expedient time?!!! However come 1994, after many letters to MP’s, women were ordained and we did celebrate. I was ordained priest in St. Albans Abbey on 23rd April 1994, and St. Albans diocese had a magnificent celebration 30 years on, I loved it. Smiling women led the service in the Abbey, many people were there to celebrate as it had been well advertised. I caught up with some friends from long ago. Not so the diocese I have served for the last 25 years though, Lichfield. We were prayed for at the clergy conference.
In the intervening years I, along with many other women, got on with the job and kept my head down. This 30 year anniversary however, has caused me to revisit the decisions that were made and wonder why they are still there. I would like to see the House of bishops wake up to what was agreed then, the damage it has done to the office of bishop and stop making bishops for specific groups. I was shocked to discover we still accepted men for ordination who do not think women can be priests, there are other denominations they could more justly serve. I would love to see the C of E lead, for once, the society we allegedly serve in exposing and wiping out misogyny and sexism from every area of life, so women and men can work together as partners in serving the gospel.