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Women in Leadership blog

News and resources for women leaders in the church.

August 25, 2010, 10:06 am

Why so few younger women clergy?

There's a concern in the Church at the moment about the rising average age of clergy. We have been reaping the 'wisdom' of some years past, when young Christians who felt called by God to ordained ministry were told to go and 'get a life' first.

But now we're starting to see younger people coming forward, some of us have noted that there are distinctly fewer young women in training than young men. And looking round the church, there are not many young women in stipendiary ministry.

There are a whole variety of reason:

women don't get as much encourament as men do
there are fewer young women in churches
some of these younger women belong to more conservative churches which don't allow women to take on preaching or leadership roles
some women in their 20s and 30s have a young family and have chosen to keep their sense of call on hold.

But I was disturbed by a recent letter to the Church Times (13th August), which talked of the experience of one young woman at her first selection conference.

She was told when young, as many young men also used to be told, that she was 'inexperienced'. The subtext, according to the letter was 'go away, get a job, have babies, then come back.' This she did, and was finally accepted many years later.

The letter goes on to highlight other concerns which I've also noticed recently. When it came to a title parish, 'Ever present was the unspoken hint that a mature woman might be threatening to her training incumbent. And she had a family, all of whom had well-established ties to people and places,, which made things more "complicated" for the diocese. Would they have either of these concerns about a man?'

Some might, others would not. It is so hard to prove that anything like this is gender discrimination. The writer of the letter wonders why the Church seems so much more nervous about accepting inexperienced young women, when there are plenty of such men in training. A fair point. And then if those women return a few years later, they have other hurdles to overcome.

I believe that the discernment process is a good one, and that when the writer of the letter calls it 'secretive' and by implication, biassed, this is unfair. But that does not mean that it's not harder, often, for women than for men.

The Church of England needs more young women to offer themselves for a lifetime of ministry. I know some great young women who have been accepted for training at recent panels. But I think there is still more progress to be made in nurturing the vocations of women in their 20s.

And what is true for the Church of England is probably just as true in other denominations. I've read research which points to subtle or less subtle forms of discrimination in a variety of denominations. Where we are aware of barriers which make the selection process more difficult for women than for men, we need to keep raising concerns, until the process is truly equal for all.

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July 29, 2010, 3:40 pm

Reclaiming the F Word

It's funny how times change!

That's a terrrible cliche, I know. But when I recieved an email telling me about the publication of a new book, Reclaiming the F Word: The New Feminist Movement, I realised how I don't really use the word 'feminist' much any more. It took me back to the 1980s.

Then, I remember addressing 'The feminist case against God' at student missions - following the example of Kathy Keay, whom I mentioned in a previous blog. And talking with Christian friends who'd been asked questions like, 'How can you be a Christian, when God thinks that women are second class people?'

Now, do 'feminists' even care about God, or the church, enough to bother with such a discussion? I suspect not. While some Christians (in my view) allowed their feminist viewpoint to replace a Christian one, many saw everything associated with 'feminism' as a threat, and others ignored it.

Just another example of how the gap between the church and everyone else has got wider and wider.

I used to like the definition of feminism, 'Anyone who thinks that women are people.' Most people do think that these days - with the possible exception, sadly, of some inside the church.

So, having indulged in a little nostalgia, I'm looking forward to my copy of Reclaiming the F Word reaching my desk. I'm looking forward to seeing what Kristin Aune and Catherine Redfern have to say.

If you're intrigued, you can read more for yourself here. And I'll be reviewing the book when I've read it.

What has happened to feminism? What is the new feminist movement? And where is God in it all?

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July 16, 2010, 9:54 am

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.

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June 18, 2010, 10:19 am

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've just been listening to this song, 'The Corn', which has a simple melody and some striking images.

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

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May 20, 2010, 9:06 am

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.

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