David Pocklington and Frank Cranmer at Law & Religion UK ask Are the laity revolting?
Rachel Weir the chair of WATCH has her own blog and yesterday she published her Advent Reflections.
She has also recently published these two guest contributions:
Rose Hudson-Wilkin writes: “Sitting in the gallery…”
Anne Stevens writes: “The Synod Vote on Women Bishops – a personal reflection”
For a different perspective read what Martin Dales, a Synod member from York, has to say: Church failed to respect its minority voices.
29 CommentsWATCH (Women and the Church) issued this press statement tonight.
WATCH (Women and the Church) PRESS STATEMENT
Monday 2nd December, 2012 – For immediate release
WATCH urges the House of Bishops to bring back a Single Clause Measure
Women clergy and supporters of their ministry have had enough of the wasteful wrangling over women bishops. Years have been spent in trying to make legal provision that would satisfy those opposed. The cost in human and financial terms has been enormous. Since 2000, there have been three major church reports, and the work of a legislative drafting group, revision committee and steering committee. General Synod has discussed the question at 10 of its meetings, and it has been debated at every level of the church. (Full details of the progress of the debate can be found here.)
The draft Measure represented the furthest possible compromise for those in favour. It was not enough for those opposed. After all these years of discussion, debate, and drafting it is clear that that there is no legal settlement that can be devised that will allow women to be bishops whilst satisfying the demands of those opposed. We therefore have to ask whether it is wise to allow the entire church to be held to ransom by minority factions who resist a change that the Church of England has discerned and declared to be entirely consistent with its understanding of the Christian faith. These same voices have spoken out repeatedly against any of the compromise proposed by the Church, and supported widely, including by WATCH.
Bishop John Gladwin said “What a small minority has done is blow up the bridge to any compromise solution. There is now only one route which must be travelled to that outcome. That is the route which removes all discriminatory provisions from the life and ministry of the Church”
It is now time to go for the simplest possible legislation – a single clause measure. This would enable people to vote for or against legislation simply enabling women to be bishops. Provision can be made at local level as appropriate for those who find this difficult. This option will maintain the greatest degree of unity and open dialogue between those of differing views and prevent ghettos forming within the Church. This is the way that every other Province in the Anglican Communion that has voted to ordain women as bishops has chosen to proceed.
It is also time for honesty in this debate. Those opposed do not want women bishops. They do not want resolution of the issue but to extend the decision-making process as long as possible. We cannot see how further conversation will result in any proposals that have not been tested and rejected before. They will simply prolong the process.
With the disproportionate number of conservatives in the House of Laity, the nature of the internal debate within the church has been so weighted to accommodating small minorities that we have lost sight of the legislation’s main objective – to make women bishops. We are now in a changed landscape. It is clear from the debates in Parliament and the response in the country at large that those outside the church are scandalised by the acceptance of gender discrimination in the established church. As Helen Goodman MP said in the emergency Commons debate on 22nd November,
“too many concessions have been made to those who are opposed to women priests… It is simply unjust to do that at the expense of women in the Church.”
For the sake of the future of the church we need to act swiftly and unequivocally to make women bishops without any discrimination in law. WATCH urges the House of Bishops to recommend a single clause measure be returned to Synod in July with the aim of getting Final Approval in a newly elected Synod.
In the meantime, it is imperative that women are present at the discussions of the House of Bishops in December and beyond. We call on the bishops to open their proceedings to the public and invite senior women to play a full part in their discussions. As Diana Johnson MP said in February 2012
“It is inconceivable to anyone engaged in equality and diversity work in other contexts that the Church would make decisions about consecrating women as bishops without seriously engaging during this last phase with those who will be most directly affected by the decision.”
The Reverend Rachel Weir, Chair of WATCH said
“We have spent enough time in exploring how to accommodate the views of those who do not want women as bishops. Generosity is laudable but without limits it becomes a kind of profligacy. We are wasting the Church’s precious resources, both its money and its people if we seek to continue the debate about provision in law. The House of Bishops must act decisively now to legislate for women bishops in the simplest possible way.”
74 CommentsJonathan Petre of the Mail Online is reporting today that sufficient signatures have been obtained to force a meeting of the House of Laity of the General Synod to discuss a vote of no confidence in its chair, Dr Philip Giddings: Synod ‘may oust chairman’ after defeat of legislation to allow women bishops.
The standing orders of the House of Laity state that in these circumstances the chair of the house shall convene the House, and give at least 21 days’ notice. I cannot see anything to specify the longest he can wait before calling the meeting, but I have heard that the meeting will probably be in January.
Although the Mail calls the meeting “secret”, meetings of the House of Laity are open to the press and public on the same terms as meetings of the General Synod. The House can vote to exclude the public, or the press and public, whilst it is sitting, but I see nothing to allow such a decision to be made in advance.
41 CommentsFrank Cranmer at Law & Religion UK The House of Lords “doing God” – or, at any rate, debating religion
Simon Barrow for Ekklesia Disestablishment debate back in the spotlight
Doug Chaplin asks What would disestablishment mean?
James D Tabor writes for The Huffington Post about Christianity Before Paul.
David Pocklington at Law &Religion UK writes Of Vesture – I
Stephen Cherry compares Rowan and Justin.
7 CommentsHere is an interesting perspective from Nigeria: Paul Obi for This Day Live Anglican Church Rejects Women Bishops amid Rancour
Alan Wilson Church & State: Another fine mess?
John Lloyd for Reuters A church divided against itself cannot stand
The Bishop of Liverpool spoke about women bishops in the House of Lords yesterday (during a debate about preventing violence against women).
Jody Stowell asks Are Women Really Human?
Ed Thornton has two articles in today’s Church Times that are available to non-subscribers.
C of E to set about resolving deadlock on women bishops
Campaigners seek to change the system
The Guardian had this news report in today’s newspaper: Lizzy Davies Church of England urged urgently to revive female bishops plan.
Affirming Catholicism has issued this Affirming Catholicism Press Statement the full text of which is reproduced below the fold.
0 CommentsWe published earlier today details of a letter to The Times. It was signed by eight people who are supporters of women bishops, but voted against the Measure last week because they thought that the provisions for opponents were inadequate.
I have prepared a table of the recent relevant voting records of the signatories. This may give an indication of what they would find acceptable.
The main items are these three from July 2010 (the last meeting of the 2005/2010 Synod)
In each case a vote for the item was a vote in favour of adding the provision to the measure.
The links in the first column of the table are to our articles giving more details of the various votes.
25 CommentsThe Archbishops’ Council issued this statement today.
Statement on the Conclusion of the Meeting of the Archbishops’ Council November 2012
28 November 2012
“The Archbishops’ Council of the Church of England met on November 27-28th to consider a wide ranging agenda. A substantial amount of time was given over to the discussion of the recent vote by General Synod on Women in the Episcopate.
“As part of their reflections, many council members commented on the deep degree of sadness and shock that they had felt as a result of the vote and also of the need to affirm all women serving the church – both lay and ordained – in their ministries.
“In its discussions the Council decided that a process to admit women to the episcopate needed to be restarted at the next meeting of the General Synod in July 2013. There was agreement that the Church of England had to resolve this matter through its own processes as a matter of urgency. The Council therefore recommended that the House of Bishops, during its meeting in a fortnight’s time, put in place a clear process for discussions in the New Year with a view to bringing legislative proposals before the Synod in July.”
Notes
The Archbishops Council is a body of 19 members which acts as the standing committee of the General Synod and has a number of other responsibilities as a trustee body.
The members of the council include the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, the chairs of the House of Clergy and the Chairs of the House of Laity. Full membership of the groups is available here.
47 CommentsFirst, here are two press reports on yesterday’s release of the General Synod voting lists.
Lizzy Davies in The Guardian Almost half the lay members who voted against female bishops were women
John Bingham in the Telegraph Half of women bishops opponents in Synod were women
And then there are several comment articles.
Bruce Kaye for ABC Religion and Ethics The triumph of the radicals: Women bishops and the Church of England
Savi Hensman for Ekklesia Women bishops: how to move forward?
John Coles, director of New Wine Synod Vote: Women Bishops
Paul Roberts A possible way out of the Women Bishops bind
Colin Coward of Changing Attitude The deeper (mis)understandings which divide us
Alice Udale-Smith for Varsity Female bishops and me: a defence of the General Synod
And finally, WATCH has issued a press release “Pressure for simple legislation mounts as first analysis of voting patterns shows General Synod House of Laity dramatically out of step with lay members of diocesan synods” which is copied in full below the fold.
22 CommentsElectronic voting results for last week’s General Synod on the women bishops legislation have now been published. These take the form of a pdf file, arranged by house, by vote (for/against/abstain) and then alphabetically.
Arun Arora, the Church of England Director of Communications, in announcing the publication of these results has reminded us all that Matthew 5:43-48 applies.
For convenience I have put the results into a spreadsheet arranged by synod number (which brings members together by diocese) for each house and added absentees and vacancies.
For this purpose an “absentee” is someone who did not record an electronic vote (for/against/abstention). There are various reasons for being an absentee; examples known to me include illness and being on sabbatical in New Zealand. In addition some at least of the three ecclesiastical judges consider it inappropriate to vote on church legislation which they may later have to enforce.
Update I have now added a webpage version of my spreadsheet.
68 CommentsUpdated Sunday afternoon and evening
The Tablet editorial Measure of compromise
ABC Religion and Ethics John Milbank Unrepresentative laity: The women bishops debacle demonstrates why bishops need more authority
Telegraph John Bingham Women bishops decision a ‘stab in the back’ to female clergy – Lord Carey
Adam Luser Reputation of Church damaged by decision on women bishops
Revising Reform Rachel Marszalek Women in Christian servant-leadership, with a look at Rev Angus Macleay’s summation speech from General Synod on Tuesday November 20th 2012
OurKingdom Charlotte Methuen Women bishops in the Church of England: No or not yet?
Guardian Catherine Bennett No to women bishops? It’s high time the Church of England was taught a lesson
Mail Online Marie-Elsa Bragg ‘I’m still proud of our history in the women’s ministry’: Melvyn Bragg’s curate daughter on how it feels to be stuck in the middle of the bishops debate
Lay Anglicana Rosemary Lain-Priestley A Very Significant Tipping Point
Modern Church Linda Woodhead It’s believing in the common good that’s got the Church of England into this mess over women bishops
Update
Anglican Ink Gerald Bray Evangelical supporters of women bishops are “liberals in disguise”
to which Peter Carrell has this response: Has Gerald Bray lost the plot?
Jody Stowell The Morning After
This morning’s Sunday programme on BBC Radio 4 included a major item on women bishops starting 20 minutes from the beginning.
Telegraph John Bingham Women bishops rejection has damaged Church, traditionalist bishop admits
Eureka Street Andrew McGowan Rejection of women bishops is not terminal
Ian Paul What does the decision on women bishops mean?
20 CommentsThere are a number of online petitions protesting in various ways against the decision by General Synod not to approve the legislation to allow women to be bishops. Here are the ones I am aware of.
No women Bishops, no automatic seats in the House of Lords
Responsible department: Cabinet Office
The Church of England on 20th Nov 2012 voted not to allow women to be Bishops. Though that is within its rights to do, this should worry the Government as Church of England Bishops are awarded legislative power through seats in the House of Lords.
The Church has chosen to be a sexist organisation by refusing women the right to hold highest leadership positions and therefore should not be allowed automatic seats in the House of Lords, as this clearly does not comply with the spirit of UK Equality law.
We call on the Govt to remove the right of the Church of England to have automatic seats in the House of Lords, in line with its commitments to equality and non-discrimination, set out in the Equality Act (2010) and the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979)”
To: Church of England “Group of Six”
Please authorise another vote in this Synod in 2013, to allow the House of Laity to reconsider the results of their vote of 20 November 2012 in the light of clearly-expressed wishes of their electorate.
Why is this important?
42 out of 44 Dioceses have voted for women bishops; the House of Laity vote clearly did not reflect the democratic wishes of the membership they are supposed to represent. A year’s delay will enable Dioceses to reflect again, and make their views even clearer to their Synodical representatives.
Unconditionally ordain Women as Bishops in the Church of England
To: The General Synod of the Church of England
The Anglican Episcopacy should be open to women. Synod and the Dioceses of the CofE have agreed this. The vote at Novembers synod has been deeply hurtful to many women, and damaged the Church as a whole.
The next time this issue is voted on it should be as a single clause: The Church of England may ordain women as Bishops.
As well as a campaigning tool, this petition is a way of gathering together people, especially lay Anglicans, who can organize to elect new and representative Deanery, Diocesan and General synods that will effect this change.
No Confidence in General Synod: Calling for an Urgent Review
9 CommentsWe the undersigned therefore hereby lodge a vote of no confidence in General Synod until such time as it can bring its affairs into order by effecting a genuinely democratic voting system that gives a fair and proper representation to its members in place of the current inequitable system.
The Petition
We call upon the Archbishops’ Council and the House of Bishops to conduct an urgent review into the rules of governance in Synod to correct this grossly unfair system; and if the matter is not resolved before his enthronement, we further call upon Archbishop Designate the Rt Revd Justin Welby to make addressing this inequitable situation one of his first priorities following his installation at Canterbury.
The Crown Nominations Commission (CNC) meets on two occasions per Vacancy in See to nominate candidates for diocesan bishoprics to the Crown. The dates for 2013 are now available and are listed below. They have been linked to particular vacancies, where these are known.
See of Blackburn
10 January
30/31 January
See of Manchester
11 March
19/20 April
See of Durham
8 May
6/7 June
See of Bath and Wells
18 July
5/6 September
Vacancy 5
2 October
29/30 October
Guardian Aida Edemariam and Lizzy Davies Pressure piles on church to vote again on female bishops
Aida Edemariam Maria Miller interview: ‘It’s very disappointing that the Church of England has taken this decision’
Telegraph John-Paul Ford Rojas Lord Carey calls for Church of England to push through introduction of women bishops
Liverpool Echo Alan Weston Frank Field MP tables parliamentary Bill over women bishops
Here is a press release from Frank Field and this is the bill’s entry on the UK Parliament website: Equality Act 2010 (Amendment) Bill.
Stephen Croft, the Bishop of Sheffield, gave this presidential address to his diocesan synod this morning.
9 CommentsAll my choice of Opinion articles this week have been prompted by General Synod’s decision on women bishops, but they also have a wider relevance.
Simon Barrow Ekklesia Time to set church and state free
Zoe Williams Guardian Female bishops row: where could feminist Christians defect to?
Giles Fraser Guardian The puritans who scuppered female bishops revel in our criticism of them
6 CommentsMichael Perham, the Bishop of Gloucester, has questioned the Church’s equality law exemption in a statement issued yesterday. The full statement is available online and is copied below the fold. It is summarised in this press release from the diocese.
3 CommentsBishop questions Church’s equality law exemption
Friday 23 November 2012The Bishop of Gloucester is questioning the Church of England’s right to exemption from equality laws, following the recent voting against women bishops.
In a statement released today, the Rt Revd Michael Perham speaks of his huge disappointment and sadness at the outcome of this week’s voting. He said: “It has undermined the sense of value of our church’s more than 3,000 women priests. It has puzzled our society and brought ridicule upon the Church.
“There are questions that now have to be faced. Is the Church’s exemption from equality laws defensible? Does a system that requires 2/3rds majorities in three separate houses place the bar too high? Can it make sense for members of the Synod to be permitted to vote entirely contrary to the view of their diocesan synod?”
In the Diocese of Gloucester, more than 95 per cent of the diocesan synod voted in favour of the legislation. At General Synod 74 per cent voted for the legislation.
Bishop Michael continued: “It is really important to keep a welcome place in the Church for those who are unhappy with the idea of women bishops, but they must not hold the Church back, undermine its mission or make it a laughing stock in the mind of the nation.
“There will be women bishops in the Church of England. I have no doubt about that. Our response to the Holy Spirit and the effectiveness of our mission require it.”
Here are some more opinions on General Synod’s decision not to approve the legislation on women bishops, and transcripts of some of the speeches made in the debate.
Paul Vallely How a recalcitrant minority stopped the Church from entering the 20th let alone the 21st century
Jane Tillier Ekklesia Rejecting women bishops harms the church’s mission
Fulcrum Statement on the Decision of General Synod not to approve the legislation on Women Bishops
Sarah Coakley at ABC Religion and Ethics Has the Church of England finally lost its reason? Women bishops and the collapse of Anglican theology
John Gladwin Some reflections on the November 20th Vote
Nick Baines Get real
Jeremy Fletcher Women Bishops – After Tuesday
Kevin Lewis man boobs
Benny Hazlehurst Two feet in the grave…
Lesley Crawley I would like General Synod to pass a policy denouncing sexism
Justin Brett What now, then?
Sam Wells Response to Women Bishops Vote
Tom Wright Women Bishops: It’s about the Bible, not fake ideas of progress
Some of the speeches made to General Synod
18 CommentsElaine Storkey
Philip Giddings
Tom Sutcliffe
Justin Welby, Bishop of Durham
James Jones, Bishop of Liverpool
Here is the second of our articles republished from The Tablet with permission of the editor.
Enter the peacemaker
Jonathan Wynne Jones
Both conservative and liberal Anglicans have welcomed the appointment of Justin Welby. Can he really hold the two sides together when he starts to address the problems besetting the Communion?
Before Justin Welby had even been officially confirmed as Rowan Williams’ successor, African bishops were making it clear that he should not expect any honeymoon period in office. They sent messages of consternation rather than congratulation, warning that the Anglican Communion is “fractured”, in spiritual and institutional crisis, and suggesting that the Archbishop of Canterbury should be replaced as leader of the Anglican Communion by an elected chairman.
Given the scale of the task that awaits Welby when he arrives at Lambeth Palace, it was fitting that he was introduced to the world’s media with his sleeves rolled up. He inherits an Anglican Communion that has fallen apart over the issue of homosexuality and a Church of England similarly divided, not to mention struggling with dwindling congregations and a huge shortfall in pensions for its clergy. On the face of it, turning to someone who has been a bishop for little more than a year might seem like an act of desperation.
Yet the Crown Nominations Commission took a bold decision to look past his episcopal inexperience because they realised that if there is any bishop in the Church of England who has a chance of steering it away from the rocks, it is Justin Welby. His time at Coventry Cathedral’s Centre for Reconciliation will have given him excellent preparation for trying to resolve the seemingly intractable differences between the Church’s warring factions, and his comparatively late ordination could well work in his favour.
3 CommentsWith the kind permission of the editor we are republishing two articles from the current issue of The Tablet.
Here is the first.
Archbishop who means business
Christopher Lamb
Justin Welby’s appointment as Archbishop of Canterbury puts a man at the helm of the Church of England and wider Anglican Communion formed by deep faith, personal tragedy, Establishment Britain and the business world. It makes for a combination of strong pastoral and managerial skills
Despite his meteoric rise to be named last week as the new Archbishop of Canterbury, the Bishop of Durham, Justin Welby, is not a man who takes himself too seriously. At his diocesan synod this month, he and his suffragan, Mark Bryant, opened their joint presidential address in the style of the British comedy duo, the Two Ronnies: Corbett and Barker. “So it’s a hello from me,” said Bishop Welby. “And it’s a hello from him,” Bishop Bryant replied amid much laughter.
Given the scale of the task facing the incoming archbishop, a self-deprecating sense of humour might be useful. But who is Justin Welby, the one hundred and fifth man to sit on the throne of St Augustine?
1 CommentMajor Update on Wednesday evening
Updated Thursday morning
Guardian Patrick Wintour Female bishops controversy: government says it will not step in
Andrew Brown Why the church’s house of laity is vulnerable to capture by interest groups
Alan Wilson What next for the Church of England?
Telegraph PMQs: David Cameron said the Church needs a ‘sharp prod’ over women bishops
Independent Jerome Taylor Church of England in crisis: Archbishop of Canterbury attacks members for voting against women bishops
Channel 4 News Archbishop: Church less credible after women bishop vote
Huffington Post Female Bishops Deal Will Happen, Says Justin Welby, Archbishop Of Canterbury
Mail Online Steve Doughty and Matt Chorley ‘Very grim day’: Next Archbishop of Canterbury tweets his verdict after Church of England Synod rejected women bishops
BBC Women bishops: PM ‘very sad’ at Church of England rejection
Update
Church Times Women-bishops legislation falls
Guardian Lizzy Davies Female bishops and the Church of England: what happens next?
Lizzy Davies Church of England bishops plot response to vote to exclude women
Patrick Wintour and Lizzy Davies and agencies David Cameron: Church of England should ‘get on with it’ on female bishops
Patrick Wintour and Lizzy Davies Cameron warns priests of turbulence after church votes no to female bishops
Lizzy Davies Female bishops supporter: ‘Although I’m gutted, it’s not the end of the road’
Giles Fraser After the bishops vote, I’m ashamed to be a part of the Church of England
Simon Hoggart Prime minister issues prod for God after vote against women bishops
Suzanne Moore The Church of England can no longer continue as an arm of the state
BBC Women bishops: A century-long struggle for recognition
Mail Online George Pitcher It’s not really about women bishops, it’s a fight for the Church of England’s soul
Steve Doughty The troubles that brought the Synod vote have been building up for decades
Telegraph Allison Pearson Swaziland has a woman bishop – why not Suffolk?
Rowena Mason and Tim Ross David Cameron: Church needs to ‘get with the programme’ after rejecting women bishops
Martyn Percy Women bishops: a failure of leadership
Tim Stanley In its search for ‘relevance’, the Anglican Church is losing relevance
Independent Susie Leafe Why I voted no to women bishops
Jerome Taylor Strong-arm tactics vs misplaced niceties: how the legislation was sunk
Huffington Post Susan Russell A Seriously Sad Day for the Church of England
Ekklesia Symon Hill “Too good for a girlie”? Sexism and women bishops
Fran Porter The Church of England and women: a rare moment of clarity?
Changing Attitude Colin Coward Reform and Forward in Faith achieve unexpected success
Miranda Threlfall-Holmes My reaction? Incredulity, hurt – and anger
Archbishop of Canterbury Archbishop tells women “this is still your Church”
Thursday update
Rachel Weir Time to reform General Synod
19 Comments