My sympathy to all my friends in the Church of England, especially to women friends and women priest friends. Whenever the next opportunity to vote on women bishops comes around, the measure must be a single clause - the Church of England will ordain women as bishops. Take it or leave it - no ifs, ands, or buts.
My dear English friends, perhaps now you can put behind you feelings of sympathy for those with tender consciences that can be appeased only by assigning others to a lower place. You may not wish to put so crass a name on such a practice, but I call it what it is - misogyny.
Blessings and peace.
UPDATE: The Second Church Estates Commissioner Sir Tony Baldry:
Thanks to Erp for the link. I've heard various opinions about when a measure may be brought up again at General Synod, but Baldry's words seem to settle the matter.There have been some suggestions in the press that it is impossible for the Church of England or General Synod to return to this issue until after a new General Synod has been elected in 2015. That is not correct: the rules prevent the same Measure from being reconsidered by the General Synod without a special procedure. It is perfectly possible for a different and amended Measure to consecrate women bishops to be considered by the General Synod. Although this is for the Church of England to resolve, as the Prime Minister made clear yesterday, I suspect that there will also be those in the Church of England who will wish to consider whether the election process to the General Synod is sufficiently representative, particularly of the laity of the Church of England, as Tuesday’s vote clearly did not reflect the overall and clear consensus of dioceses across England in support of women bishops.It is my earnest hope that during the time I serve the Queen—whose appointment I am—this House and the Church of England as Second Church Estates Commissioner it will prove possible for me to bring before this House a Measure that will enable women to be consecrated bishops in the Church of England.
This is not enough action! Parliament needs to repeal its exemption to the Church of England (as an established church) of equality legislation. And General Synod itself needs to be more representative in its structures of the people it serves and the nation.
ReplyDeleteJill, I don't know what the possibilities are, but I agree something must be done quickly. That the established church is exempt from equality legislation seems strange indeed.
DeleteGrass roots organizing to elect Synod members more representative of the membership of the church seems a good idea, too.
Uh, Mimi . . . do you really want HM Government - or any government - telling the Church - or any church - exactly who it must or must not ordain?
DeleteReally?
I do well understand that the CofE is a state church, and the whole set-up is very different from this country - but . . .
Really, Mimi?
I don't think the church should be exempt from equality legislation either and am writing to my current and near-future MPs to say so.
DeleteRuss, there's a price to pay for being the established church. The CofE is in a different position than the other denominations in England.
DeleteAnyway, what I want doesn't count, but the church looks silly and out of touch.
Good, Cathy, do write to your MPs.
DeleteParliament certainly seems quite upset as seen in the Hansard record. Note the large number of Conservatives complaining. The Speaker's chaplain is a woman, Rose Hudson-Wilkin, one of the first ordained in the CoE.
ReplyDeleteThe CoE may get a sharp reminder about what being an established church means.
Thank you, Erp. I added an update with a link. Tony Baldry's words seem to settle the question as to whether a motion can be brought up again before a new General Synod is elected.
DeleteAll of the commentary is a very interesting read, Erp.
DeleteI'm wondering how many women are bishops in TEC. We don't have any in the South (I believe), and in our election in Louisiana a few years ago there weren't even any women candidates.
ReplyDeleteOrmonde, I searched around, and, so far, I have not been able to find the number of women bishops in TEC.
DeleteIf the way our parish responded to a woman candidate for rector is representative of other churches in the diocese, we will not soon have a woman bishop
But you do have, even in the South, a woman Presiding Bishop, Ormonde. ;-/
DeleteThat we do, JCF, and she was present at the consecration of Bishop Morris.
DeleteGrandmere,
ReplyDeleteI hesitate to point this out, but a claim that the Diocesan synods of the Church of England are in any way representative of the church's wider membership is a large one, and my personal experience suggests very much otherwise.
(I rather think that if the members of DiocSynod were representative of the wider church we would have had women bishops a decade ago)
The Diocesan Synods voted for women bishops 42 out of 44. An overwhelming majority of members voted for women bishops at GS. The problem seems to be the super-majority needed in all three houses to pass the measure allowing women bishops.
DeleteThe Gang of Six must meet (they're going to meet in December) and if they declare that it's essential for the measure to be reintroduced, and a majority of each house in Synod agrees, it can be reintroduced.
ReplyDeleteThe Gang of Six is: the two Archbishops, the two Prolocutors of the Northern and the Southern Province, and the Chair and Vice-Chair of the House of Laity. The Prolocutors are essentially the Chairs of the House of Clergy.
Parliament is likely to push the Gang to meet. I hope the measure is different, a clean measure which simply allows for women bishops. Perhaps my hope is vain.
Delete