THE House of Bishops at their residential meeting this week discussed the part played by women in the Church of England, and agreed that each diocese should have at least one adviser on women’s ministry.
They discussed commissioning a “significant piece of work to assess ongoing disparities and discrimination based on gender in the Church of England”, a press release issued on Thursday said.
The work would seek to “identify how women and men may work better together at local and national levels and offer a vision for a diverse church that works together for the flourishing of all.
“The overall aim of the work is to enable the inclusion and positive treatment of women in the Church, rather than mirroring negative elements of wider culture, to offer Gospel hope and transformation.”
Earlier this year, the campaign group Women and the Church (WATCH) launched a campaign to abolish the Five Guiding Principles and the settlement associated with the legislation for women bishops in 2014 (News, 4 April); and the traditionalist group Forward in Faith responded that the promises made at that time to conscientious objectors to the change should be kept (News, 11 April).
The Bishop of Aston, the Rt Revd Esther Prior, subsequently defended the 2014 settlement at the Forward in Faith Festival this month, saying that, although she took a contrary view on the ordination of women, “I don’t think I want the C of E without you: we would be the poorer for it” (News, 16 May).
Last month, the House of Bishops responded to a review published last year of the process for the appointment of the Bishop of Blackburn, the Rt Revd Philip North — a process that had been criticised by WATCH (News, 19 April 2024).
The Bishops’ statement said that “more work is required” on reviewing issues that were “impacting the ministry of women as priests and bishops”, and reaffirms the Bishops’ commitment to “ensuring that all traditions within the Church can continue to flourish together” (News, 2 May).
At the meeting this week, the Israeli blockade and bombardment of Gaza was also discussed, and bishops who had visited the region in the past year spoke about their experiences.
The House of Bishops agreed a statement, released on Thursday morning. The statement described the war in Gaza as “a grave sin that violently assaults God-given human dignity” (News, 23 May).
At the meeting, held in the Marriott Hotel, York, the Bishops also discussed the latest developments in the Living in Love and Faith (LLF) process. Further proposals will be brought to the House in autumn, after further consultation in dioceses.
Other topics discussed included the findings of research on the openness of Generation Z to faith, and proposals by the Archbishops’ Council to restore clergy pensions to two-thirds of pensionable stipend (News, 23 May).
