Sunday 13 June 2010

Women clergy in the Church of England

I was astonished to read that Tessa Sanderson - the Olympic athlete - refused to be married by a female vicar. While I am all for freedom of choice I can just imagine what would have happened if she'd refused to be married by a male member of the clergy. I can understand why some people might wish to discuss their health with a member of their own sex - impossible where I live as our GPs are three men. But I actually cannot understand the preference when it comes to almost any other service. When it comes to professional services I'm far more interested in someone's qualifications than I am in what they wear, what sex they are, what religion they practice or what country they come from.

I am concerned at the slant the media will put on it. There will be all the comments about if woman can't even support each other why should anyone else support them?

2 comments:

  1. Good for Tessa! If you can't understand it, Jilly, best not to blog about it. It is a theological matter, nothing to do with equality or feminism. Many women don't accept women priests for very good reasons - we believe that women cannot be priests any more than they can be fathers. (Too big a subject, though, for a simple soundbite, but take my word for it.)

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  2. You're entitled to your views just as I'm entitled to mine. Plenty of people in the Church of England think the same as I do.

    I also didn't say it had anything to do with feminism. It does have everything to do with the fact that there are female clergy in the Church of England and that if she had refused to be married by a male member of the clergy there would have been far greater outcry.

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