John Richardson on synods and women bishops
…Apparently, though, from reports in the press, that is precisely how some in Wales and elsewhere feel about the Synod’s decision. The Revd Giles Fraser, not himself a Welsh resident, declared the decision an “absolute disgrace". The Archbishop of Wales, the Rt Revd Barry Morgan, confined himself to saying he was “deeply disappointed”, whilst Canon Mary Stallard, chaplain to the bishop of St Asaph, said, “’The moment will come back.”
Each of these, and others, however, ought to ask themselves if they seriously believe the Synod made a wrong decision, and if it did, why.
Surely, the point of a Synod is to discern what is right, and the presumption, as I have outlined above, must be that it usually does. In that case, the proper response to the vote on Tuesday by the proponents of women bishops ought to be wholehearted acceptance, even if this is tinged with personal disappointment. This should be accompanied with a determination not simply to bring the issue back at a later date but to ask whether the proposed action is right at all. If the Synod says no, the presumption must be it has said no to the right thing.
The only alternative is to say that the Synod got it wrong, but as I have again outlined above, this is a very serious conclusion to reach, for it says, in effect, that the Synod was dominated by people who are “not governed with the Spirit and Word of God” — at least, not at this point. Of course, that may be true, but it would be a strange state of affairs if it turned out that every time the Synod voted against my views it was because the Synod was not open to God!
Read it here: http://ugleyvicar.blogspot.com/2008/04/when-synods-fail.html
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