Women bishops and all that

All eyes were on General Synod (of the Church of England) last weekend as they met in York to discuss women bishops.

As the dust begins to settle, arguments abound as to whether the archbishops' amendment should have been passed, or whether what was passed was the best possible outcome.

And while some are saying, 'full steam ahead for women bishops' - it only has to go to dioceses and parishes and come back to Synod, and go before Parliament! - some of those opposed are warning that by not producing legislation with the protection they desire, General Synod is heading for a train crash.

I have deep sympathies with those who feel marginalised, particularly those who are evangelicals. It's their church which is changing, just as it is also my church which, in my view, is moving in a particular direction. I really liked a sentence in the pastoral letter written on 14th July by the Bishops of Oxford, as he reflects on the fact that the Body of Christ is both hurting and rejoicing: women priests should not feel blame, 'women priests have borne their cross of ambivalence and prejudice very graciously for a long time'. I can still remember back in 1992 when we were not allowed to rejoice too much over the vote for women priests.

What I find really frustrating is the way those on the side of 'bible' or 'tradition' treat their 'opponents', people like me. Beyond Equal Rights is a recently published booklet from the Reform stable. Well, some people might argue that this debate is about 'equal rights', but many would not.

According to the author, egalitarians stress Galatians 3:28 'and largely ignore the other passages or write them off as cultural'. So why do my bookshelves groan with scholarly egalitarian books which seek to understand those passages often called 'difficult'; they conclude that the evangelical scholarly consensus is that the Bible endorses the equal participation of men and women in leadership. I would not be writing this if that were not the case!

Nor do I think this debate about 'innovation'. I was equally frustrated by someone I was in conversation with recently who claimed that having women bishops (and priests) was a complete novelty in the church, an innovation after 2000 years of male-only leaders.

Is this true? There are plenty who see current moves as an attempt to restore the Church of England to the position of the early church. I remember writing an essay at theological college about the decline of women leaders in the first centuries of the Church. The recent work of Dorothy Irvin and others has uncovered archaelogical material including frescoes and tomb inscriptions attesting to women as prophets, stewards, deacons, presbyters and overseers, and other research points in a similar direction.

Let's keep the lines of communication open, and be accurate in the way we represent those who disagree. Then, perhaps, the train won't crash, but will take us into a better future.

The stories of our lives

A couple of days ago I had one of those serendipitous moments. I was talking to someone about one thing, and then the conversation turned:

'I'm writing a series of songs based on the women's stories in the Bible.' That's certainly not something I hear every day, so I wanted to know more.

Charity Quin is a singer/songwriter based in Suffolk. She's writing these songs, which focus in particular on the meetings with Jesus, where he interacts with women across religious, cultural and racial divides....

He seemed to come from nowhere
He seems to fill this space
Now he's asking me to draw him water
He walks across the lines -
of gender and of race...

There are other songs too, about women's lives now, and a take on the prodigal son - who is a daughter.

I know from talking to many women that some of the great stories in the Bible which are about women are not that well known. I have more books on my shelves than most about women in the Bible. But this sounds like a great idea, and I hope the songs will be heard.

Charity Quin's latest album is called 'The Patience of the Fisherman', and clips can be heard at http://www.charityquin.com/ and www.myspace.com/charityquin

Empowering Relationships

I've just returned from an Arrow residential. One subject we covered was 'empowering relationships'. That can mean mentoring, coaching, spiritual direction - or just a friendship which has been empowering.

When I got back to my desk, there waiting for me was a biography of Kathy Keay. Kathy died of cancer at the age of only 40 in 1994. Flicking through the book has reminded me already how 'empowering' she was for me.

To some extent she was a friend of a friend, someone whose lectures I listened to, whose books I read, and who came to meals occasionally. But as with all those people who are passionate about a cause, there was more to it than that.

Kathy was the founder of Men Women and God, a group promoting biblical equality, and which itself stimulated the founding of the much larger group in the US, Christians for Biblical Equality. I joined the steering group of MWG as a theological student in 1992, and have remained with it ever since, being both inspired by its work and its members, and in turn trying to inspire and inform others. That connection has probably formed my life and career more than I realise.

I'll be reviewing Whatever Happened to Kathy Keay as soon as I've read it. But to whet your appetite, here's a short extract from the promotional material:

For nearly twenty years until her tragic death in 1994, Kathy Keay engaged, challenged and inspired the Christian world, speaking, writing and debating on a myriad of subjects. Using Kathy's own writing, including personal diaries and letters, and interviews with those closest to her, Marion Osgood reveals the intense inner struggles that accompanied her achievements as she endeavoured to follow her calling in the midst of human frailty.

You can find out more on the author's website.

Of Deans and Dignitaries

I was very excited to hear a few days ago that a third woman has been appointed to the position of dean.

Canon Catherine Ogle has been appointed as the next Dean of Birmingham Cathedral. Catherine is currently vicar of Huddersfield, and has previously been vicar of three parishes outside Barnsley, and also religious affiars editor for BBC Radio Leeds.

This brings the number of women deans to three: the other two are Vivienne Faull, Dean of Leicester, and June Osborne, Dean of Salisbury.

It's not hard to count to three! It's not so hard to count to 15 (the number of women archdeacons). It is, however, difficult to keep track of how many women hold other posts which are regarded as 'dignitories', or as 'senior posts' in the Church of England.

This is a sad state of affairs. The statistics are hard to find; and there seem to be few people who are interested enough in the progress of women in the Church to keep up with noting who is appointed. The Revd Dr Sr Teresa CSA is a notable exception, but (in the very valuable Distinctive News of Women in Ministry) she notes appointments rather than numbers.

So let me recap on the latest stats I've got. in 2007, or a total of 359 dignitaries, 31 were women. The percentage of women who are stipendiary clergy has grown to 19%, and the percentage of women when NSM and OLM are included is 28%.

Going back to deans and other dignitaries, not all women (any more than all men) would want to be a dean or any other kind of dignitary. Most clergy are inevitably going to be in parish ministry, perhaps including some kind of specialist role as part of this. But in my view, the Church of England will only look like a whole church when the proportion of women and men in any particular kind of post looks much more equal.

Discerning Leadership

Discerning Leadership: co-operating with the Spirit of God.

This is the title of the first booklet in a new series being launched by Grove Books in June. It's a series on leadership! And for the series, Grove is in partnership with CPAS.

I'm excited by this first title by Bishop Graham Cray, who recently moved from being Bishop of Maidstone to heading up Fresh Expressions.

All too often, he argues, the 'vision process' in a church can involve the 'hero' leader 'going up the mountain' like Moses, and coming back with his vision. Cray proposes a different model, one which involves more consciously listening to the Spirit of God and a more consultative process, but which is also more flexible, and open to the awareness that maybe a clear vision is not God's agenda at the moment when we think we need one! I'd like to think that women tend to use a more 'post-heroic' leadership style - but then I don't believe in gender stereotypes, do I?!

Perhaps it's fair to say that most women are less likely to adopt a 'heroic' model of leadership, but we need as much as men do to listen to God and be sensitive to his spirit. A consultation process approach could be just as detached from God's agenda as a 'God has given me the vision' approach.

You can hear Graham Cray talking about this subject on one of CPAS' podcasts. And you can hear him talk about 'discerning leadership' at the Leadership series launch event at LICC in London on Tuesday 8th June, 6.15-8.30. More information is available on the LICC website (scroll through 'events' to June).

Bringing Hope

It seems strange to me that it took a message from the US to tell me about a conference taking place in Colchester! But such is life.

The conference is called 'Bringing Hope', and aims to help Christians understand more about domestic violence and support those who are experiencing it. It's long amazed me that much of the church seems oblivious of something which affects one in four women during their lifetime - and which is as common inside the church as outside it.

This important subject has long been one of my passions, and after working as a volunteer on Women's Aid's national helpline and researching the subject, I wrote a Grove booklet in 1994, entitled Home is Where the Hurt is. The booklet went out of print several years ago, but the text is available on CPAS' website here.

According to the conference literature, Bringing Hope aims to launch a new alliance called Restored. (What it's an alliance of, I'm not entirely clear.)

Over the last 15 or so years there have been a number of church initiatives, but none seem to have brought this subject to wide attention. The Church of England debate and report were excellent - but probably not widely read. The Baptists and some other denominations are well served with information, yet this does not appear to have influenced the agenda of most churches.

Perhaps this will make a difference, to a new generation of Christians.

Half the Sky

The new book Half the Sky seems to be making waves already.

I have not read it, but I've read about it, and I'm looking forward to August, when the paperback version comes out. In the meantime, it's already caught my attention, and that of many other Christians who are concerned about how women are viewed.

We've often been told that 'women hold up half the sky'. At birth, the male/female ration is close to 50:50. But apparently, when govenments count the relative numbers of males and females later on, some of the women have disappeared. Where have they gone?

Half the Sky, which has become a New York Times bestseller, seeks to explore what it sees as our era's most pervasive human rights violation - the oppression of women. The authors, Nicholas Kristof and Sherl WuDunn (who are married to each other) explore how believing that women are inferior to men is causing women to disappear. It's already created a movement.

We all know that women are disproportionately impacted by poverty. But the claims are scary. Will they also be the catalyst for greater awareness and action? What I've read so far certainly suggests this.

In different cultures the customs, religious beliefs and prejuduces work diffferently: women are less likely to get medical help, less likely to be educated, and more likely to be trafficked, more likely to be raped and rejected, more likely to be killed because of 'honour'.

The good news story in the book is about organisations around the world which are helping to empower women.

Where is God in all this? The book is not a Christian one, but Christians have cause to be concerned about such abuses. But for some Christians, the disturbing question is: are some Christians actually contributing to such abuses? Are we part of the problem - or part of the answer?