WATCH is relieved that General Synod has today adjourned the final vote on consecrating women as bishops in the Church of England. 288:144 with 15 abstentions.

There has been widespread opposition to the inclusion of an amended Clause 5 and this adjournment gives the House of Bishops the opportunity to reconsider.

WATCH hopes that the bishops will withdraw Clause 5(1)(c) so as to allow General Synod the opportunity to vote on legislation that is as close as possible to that which was approved by 42 out of 44 dioceses.

WATCH’s petition asking the House of Bishops to withdraw Clause 5(1)(c) has now attracted nearly 6,000 signatures after just over a week.  See link on our website www.womenandthechurch.org

The Reverend Rachel Weir, Chair of WATCH, said

“We are very relieved that the House of Bishops now has the chance to reconsider Clause 5(1)c and we hope that there will be a thorough consultation process over the summer so that whatever is presented to General Synod in November keeps faith with the dioceses that voted overwhelmingly for the unamended Measure’

The WATCH committee met on Saturday to consider the House of Bishops’ amendments to the draft legislation for women bishops and agreed the following statement:

“WATCH recognises that some amendments were rejected by the House of Bishops. However, the WATCH committee is unanimous in its serious concern about the amended Clause 5 and is therefore consulting further about how to proceed as we approach General Synod in July.”

A consultation paper has been sent to WATCH members reporting the arguments that WATCH has heard both for and against the Clause 5 amendment. This is a work in progress and does not represent WATCH’s considered view but shows that, at the time of writing, the arguments against the amendment heavily outweigh those in favour.

The principal arguments WATCH has heard in favour of the amendment are pragmatic. Those against come under a variety of headings: the problems with process; the unforeseen legal effects; the institution of a permanent state of ‘reception’ for women; the consequences of qualifying ‘maleness’ and including taint on the face of the Measure. For full details see attached paper ‘For and against’.

Many people continue to express enormous anger that these changes have been made at this late stage.

The WATCH committee will meet later in the week to consider the merits of these and other arguments. We will then consider how best to respond to the House of Bishops’ intervention.

The Rev’d Rachel Weir, Chair of WATCH said:
“We have not found anyone who thinks the Clause 5 amendment is helpful in substance. The Church Times poll currently shows 68% people consider it will not improve the chances of the legislation passing in July. This is a very serious situation and we need to consult more widely before deciding our response.”

WATCH (Women and the Church) is deeply disappointed to hear that the all male House of Bishops has, in a closed meeting, decided to make two amendments to the draft legislation on women bishops that had been so carefully crafted after years of debate and scrutiny from all sides and had commanded the support of 42/44 dioceses across the Church of England.

They have failed to listen to the voice of ordained women and those who support their ministry and been swayed by those who are opposed into making concessions that can only undermine the ministry of women in future years.

Their decision to intervene in this way will significantly undermine the credibility of the House of Bishops both inside and outside the Church.

The exact wording of the amendments is not in the House of Bishops’ Press Release, nor are the figures of how many bishops voted for and against them.  WATCH will be considering the amendments in detail over coming days and will issue a full response in due course.

The Reverend Rachel Weir, Chair of WATCH said
“The House of Bishops’ intervention will be an enormous blow to the morale of women clergy who were looking to their bishops for clear affirmation of their ministry as a welcome gift to the Church.”

The decision to appoint another diocesan bishop to Chichester who will not ordain women will cause widespread disappointment throughout the diocese and across the rest of the Church of England.  After a full consultation, many in the Diocese were hoping to work with a new bishop who follows normal practice in the Church of England in accepting ordained women on the same terms as men.

The message this gives to the wider Church of England is that it still acceptable for women to be seen as a problem that some people feel they need to be protected from rather than a gift to the Church. We wonder how the ordained women of Chichester will feel supported with a bishop who does not recognise their orders? We wonder how the lay women and men of Chichester will feel seeing their female priests compromised in this way?

At a time when 42 out of 44 Dioceses have voted for women to be made bishops and large numbers in the Church are looking to the day when women will become bishops this decision seeks to preserve a past that has long gone.

Even in Chichester the Diocesan Synod voted (informally) “in favour of ordaining women to the episcopate in the Church of England”, but the three Bishops did not support the motion. Total clergy + laity figures were 86 for, 61 against including 3 Bishops.

In a diocese where the courageous Bishop George Bell and the saintly Richard of Chichester served the Church with such distinction and foresight this is a missed opportunity

Nevertheless, it is hoped that the new bishop of Chichester will help to explore opportunities to move women’s ministry forward for lay and ordained alike and to make full use of the gifts and experience they offer.

We urge the House of Bishops not to make any change to the draft legislation that would further discriminate against women bishops and those male bishops who ordain women: if they do this then the Measure will be at serious risk of being voted down in July.

Over and over again last week speakers urged General Synod, and the House of Bishops in their deliberations in May, to acknowledge the huge majorities across the dioceses and not amend the draft legislation which already contains substantial provision for those opposed to the ordained ministry of women.

We trust that the House of Bishops has heard this message and in its discussions will leave the draft Measure unamended and in the form that the dioceses have debated and approved.

Reasons for standing by the present compromise

In WATCH’s view, anything in either the Code of Practice or the Measure that tries to spell out what kind of ‘male’ bishop should be offered to parishes that do not accept female bishops would be unacceptable. This is because it would set in law two strands of bishops in the Church of England: those who have had sacramental contact with women, and those who have not. On no other issue about which Bishops disagree (sometimes profoundly) has such a structure been written into law, indeed it is the essence of Anglicanism not to do so.

This debate is about the place of women

The opposition to women bishops is based on their being women – whether that is about an interpretation of the Bible which maintains that women are forbidden to have authority over a man, or about following the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches in not recognising that women can represent Christ at the altar.

Synod agrees that the Archbishops’ Amendment is not the right way forward

We are very pleased that the Archbishops’ Amendment has been fully debated by Synod for a second time, and that Synod has decisively voted not to follow that route.

Women lead the debate

It was particularly significant to see two women leading the debate: surely a foretaste of the way that women will lead as bishops – with wisdom, grace and understanding for those who have difficulty in accepting their ministry.

Next week the General Synod meets for its February Group of Sessions (Feb 6th – 9th) and four items of business concerning the ordination of women to the episcopate will be on the agenda.

1. On Tuesday afternoon the draft illustrative Code of Practice will be presented and questions taken.

We are very pleased that a draft Code of Practice to accompany the women bishops Measure (legislation) has been published. The legislative position is that it cannot be properly considered or agreed until after the Measure has been given final approval by General Synod and then passed by Parliament, and so there is little point in commenting in detail on it at present. One key issue for us – that there should be no additional restriction on a diocesan bishop’s ministry (male or female) beyond that in the Measure – appears mostly to be adhered to in the draft Code.

The draft Code of Practice is accompanied by a Foreword by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York. News reports have focused on this Foreword in which they pledge, with the House of Bishops, to continue to ordain those opposed to the ordination of women, and to seek to maintain a supply of bishops who have not ordained women or been ordained by women.

Though the status of the Foreword is unclear, WATCH is extremely concerned by these assurances, which we believe may serve to prolong the sense of uncertainty in the Church over the validity of women’s orders. This would be bad for women and bad for the Church as a whole. We further believe that the choice of people to be made bishops should be based only on their gifts, abilities and experience. There should not be positive discrimination for those who oppose women’s ministry.

2. On Wednesday morning there will be a report on the recent diocesan consultation on the draft legislation.

42 out of 44 dioceses voted for the draft legislation as it stands, and only 9 dioceses passed following motions calling for additional provisions.  The vast majority of church members want the present draft legislation to be approved and implemented as soon as possible.

Having managed to get 42 dioceses and the General Synod to agree on this legislation it would be extraordinary to change it at the last moment.

3. On Wednesday afternoon the Manchester Following Motion will be debated calling on the House of Bishops to amend the draft legislation in line with the 2010 Archbishops’ Amendment. A second following motion from Southwark diocese, taken as an amendment to the Manchester Motion, will ask the House of Bishops not to amend the present legislation.

The draft legislation is a major compromise for us, as it requires that there will still be parishes where women priests and bishops are not allowed to minister. The Manchester Motion calls for amendment of the legislation to include the Archbishops’ Amendment, giving even more provision for those opposed to women bishops. We are against this on a number of grounds:

• The dioceses have indicated huge support for the draft legislation. The purpose of asking the dioceses to vote on an issue is to test whether it has support across the whole Church: for General Synod then to ignore the dioceses’ enthusiastic endorsement would be extraordinary.
• If the legislation were amended in this way it would need to be voted on again by the dioceses – prolonging the whole process.
• The Archbishops’ Amendment is as unclear now as it was when first presented: no further explanation has been offered as to how it would work in practice. WATCH wonders how co-jurisdiction can be expected to work when one of the bishops does not recognise the orders or authority of the other?
• The Archbishops’ Amendment would, we believe, be used by those who oppose women bishops to separate parishes from their diocesan bishop and undermine the traditional understanding of the diocesan bishop as having authority over his or her whole diocese. We believe it would be a disastrous precedent to allow in law that parishes could choose their own bishop on this issue, or on any other.

4. On Thursday morning the draft legislation will be presented for final drafting.

The Steering Committee for the legislation will propose a small number of minor technical amendments and then the whole Synod will vote to send the legislation forward for Final Approval, via the House of Bishops. We look forward to a large majority in support of the legislation at this point.

A Way in the Wilderness – Monday 6th Feb

WATCH is hosting ‘A Way in the Wilderness’ on Monday 6th Feb at St Margaret’s Church, Westminster Abbey. There will be a panel discussion followed by a service during which we will pray for the Holy Spirit to bless and guide the General Synod as they address these crucial issues and seek to find a way forward for the Church of England.

Overwhelming support for the draft Measure

“Follow on Motions” confirm the Dioceses’ desire for draft legislation to be passed unamended by General Synod in July

Background

General Synod has just consulted the dioceses on new legislation (a Measure and amending Canon) which would allow women to become bishops for the first time in the Church of England. This legislation outlined a scheme of delegation so that people who could not accept the ministry of a female bishop would have alternative provision – any parish can request a male priest or the oversight of a male bishop.

Such a scheme is a major compromise for many who are in favour of consecrating women as bishops and has been supported by many of them as a way of keeping the Church together.

Overwhelming support for the draft Measure

Of the 44 Dioceses which considered this, 42 voted for it and just two against with the overall majority of votes exceeding three-quarters. Overall 85% bishops, 76% clergy and 77% laity have said ‘yes’.

This is significantly better than the Diocesan voting in 1992 for the legislation allowing women to become priests, and is well clear of the two thirds majority required in General Synod for the legislation to pass.

‘Follow On Motions’

Alongside the main legislation 42 of the 44 Dioceses considered motions which would request consideration of additional provision for those opposed to the ministry of women as bishops.

9 of the 42 Dioceses passed such motions, while 33 did not. The two dioceses where this was not tested were amongst the strongest in favour of the main legislation with majorities of over 90% in favour.

Fewer than 25% of the dioceses therefore made requests for further provision, and even if the figure of a quarter advanced by some commentators were true, it would be below the one third figure which would be required to block the legislation in General Synod.

The failure to meet even that one third threshhold (let alone a majority) is also indicated by the overall voting figures on the motions for alternative provision.

Conclusion

The overall picture is clear. The Measure and Amending Canon on which General Synod consulted the dioceses were supported in the vast majority of dioceses with large majorities.

The case for an alternative approach was extensively tested, and fell well short of a majority, passing in just 9 Dioceses out of 44.

The case for changing the legislation has been put, considered, and lost in the Dioceses. The current legislation with its clear scheme of provision by delegation should be taken forward and passed so that we can, at last, have women as bishops in our Church.

Hilary Cotton, Head of Campaign said,

“The clear message from the Dioceses is: this is the right way forward. It would be very puzzling for the House of Bishops to amend the legislation in the face of such overwhelming endorsement from the Church at large. It would also seem dismissive of the ordinary Church of England membership if General Synod members chose to vote against such large majority opinion next July”

Notes for Editors

WATCH (Women and the Church) is a voluntary organisation of women and men who are campaigning to see women take their place alongside men without discrimination and at every level in the Church of England. This requires the removal of current legal obstacles to the consecration of women as bishops.  WATCH believes that the full equality of women and men in the Church is part of God’s will for all people, and reflects the inclusive heart of the Christian scripture and tradition