Other voices in the Women Bishops’ Debate – not often heard
It is often asserted that the proper recognition of the place and role of women in our church depends on the elevation of women to the episcopate, in particular with no statutory place for those who cannot accept their ministry. However, this view is not representative of the views of all women in ordained ministry in the Church of England, as the following testimonies bear witness.
‘The greatest privilege and joy of my life ….’
It has been the greatest privilege and joy of my life to teach the Bible and minister to women and children within the biblically ordained role for women. I was ordained as a deacon in the Church of England in1995, and for the last 15 years I have served as a permanent deacon in a parish; earlier I served as a lay member of staff at another church for 5 years.
I absolutely love my role of teaching the Bible to woman and children. I am completely content, and in no way am I unfulfilled. I, and many other women serving in churches in similar roles, have no wish for equality to mean that we have to be in roles identical to those of men. Rather, we believe that we are celebrating the God given differences between men and woman, and that as women we are serving the Lord as he intended.
Rev Caroline West, St Mary’s Basingstoke
‘I am well-placed to teach and model the Christian life to other women’
I am a distinctive Deacon working in the Diocese of Chichester in a conservative evangelical parish. I was ordained in December 2009 by Bishop Wallace Benn, the Bishop of Lewes. I am fortunate to find myself under the authority of a Bishop who is sympathetic to my views on male headship. I am also glad that I was selected for training while under another sympathetic Bishop.
My conviction is that women have an important role to play in full time paid Christian ministry. I do not support female headship, though, and see my role as complementary to the roles of the pastor teacher of the local church and the others on the leadership team.
My main responsibilities, at my church and within the community, are towards the women, youth and children whom I seek to evangelise and pastor. I also help with the leading of regular services, intercessions, baptisms, marriages and other occasional services.
I am very grateful for the opportunities I have to serve the gospel in this way, and count it a great privilege. I am fortunate to work under a very appreciative and supportive vicar, and also Bishop. They recognise my convictions and the gifts that I, as a trained woman, bring to the team and the parish. There is plenty of work for me to do, and as a woman I feel that I am well-placed to teach and model the Christian life to other women, in a way that a male pastor would find it more difficult to do. I also have many opportunities to train other women, both in my church and in the wider church, in how better to minister to other women, to their families and their communities.
Rev Rachel Browning, Emmanuel and St Mary in the Castle, Hastings
‘Women cannot serve the Church of God unless they first submit to the will of God.’
The essence of leadership is service – humble submission to the will of God in order to serve the people of God. Jesus submitted Himself to His Father’s will in order to serve the Church. Women cannot serve the Church of God unless they first submit to the will of God. By seeking to grasp hold of the leadership role that God has reserved for men, women are in danger of neglecting their God-given responsibility to other women. This undermines the pattern of leadership that God intends for the Church, and it maligns His Word. To say that ministry to women is restrictive and does not constitute a full ministry is to deny women their worth, and demonstrates a covert misogyny that I abhor.
In the last week I have met with a group of women and helped them to apply Hebrews 6 to themselves, following a sermon given by a man that they couldn’t fully identify with. I met with a young widow grieving the loss of her husband and a student who has an eating disorder. I spoke to a woman who has doubts about the extent of God’s love for her and another who is at a major crossroads in her career and worried about the effect it will have on her children. I prepared two women for baptism and led an enquirers group with a male colleague for men and women investigating the claims of Christ. I also taught Mark 8 to a group of women who are in turn going to teach their student groups what ‘denying yourself and taking up your cross’ might mean for women living in the 21st century.
No-one can tell me that ministering to these women doesn’t constitute a full ministry. I defy you to say that my ministry is inferior to those who minister to men. My male colleagues simply don’t have the time nor is it always appropriate for them to meet with and talk with women in this way. That’s not to say that I am an expert teacher in all these areas but I trust that, by the grace of God, I may be of some help. I fear that women in the episcopate will be playing at a role reserved for men and neglecting their God-given responsibility of ministering to other women. Ezekiel 34 has some harsh words for those called to pastoral ministry who neglect their intended flock.
The Revd Carrie Sandom, The Bible Talks, Mayfair, London
[Extract from a presentation made to the House of Bishops’ Working Party on Women in the Episcopate, whose report was published in 2004.]
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