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| The congregation at a service in Lambeth Palace celebrating 25 years of women’s ordination in the Church of England. Source: ACNS (Photo Credit: Photo Credit: Lambeth Palace) |
The campaign theme #BalanceforBetter for International Women's Day 2019 on Friday, 8 March is explained thus:
"Balance is not a women's issue, it's a business issue. The race is on for the gender-balanced boardroom, a gender-balanced government, gender-balanced media coverage, a gender-balance of employees, more gender-balance in wealth, gender-balanced sports coverage...Gender balance is essential for economies and communities to thrive."
If it is a business issue, the drive for gender-balance in the Church has been a complete disaster as regular attendance at Sunday services has declined to the point that after "decades of falling church attendance and dwindling religious observance" the Church of England will no longer be obliged to hold regular Sunday services.
Successfully applying their secular, gender-balance values to the Church, feminists have succeeded in their campaign for women's ordination to the priesthood and their admission to the episcopate but they have shown no concern for the many other women and men who in conscience are unable to accept the innovation on theological grounds.
Women and the Church (WATCH) oppose the appointment of men who, in common with the vast majority of Christians throughout the world, cannot accept the sacramental ministry of women. They are accused of misogyny and not believing in equality even though provision was made to maintain the twin integrities when the ordination of women was approved in Synod.
Other obstructions have followed such as frustrating worshippers by concealing the sex of the celebrant yet women's ordination is celebrated as a great success. It may be for those involved and their sympathisers but for others it has been a disaster leaving other women with no church where they can worship in conscience.
It is right that women and men have equal opportunities in the workplace but faith is not something to be compromised for political purposes.
Success for some leads to despair for others. There is no balance in that.
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ReplyDeleteWhat you forget to mention, AB, is that in the run-up to the vote on the ordination of women to the priesthood, we were told that women priests would be the answer to all the Church's problems. It would lead to more priests (not true), more people in our congregations (not true), and a more people-friendly Church (not true). The evidence lies in the fact that in the Anglican Church in this country, congregations are dwindling; vocations to the priesthood are dwindling (if you take out all the Mickey Mouse ordinations); parishes are being amalgamated to compensate for it; services are being cut - try and find a service of Evensong; morale isn't at rock bottom, it is somewhere down a coal mine. We were sold a lie in order to make the bench-sitters feel good.
ReplyDeleteSeymour
Quite correct Seymour, and the celebration therefore can only be about women getting their 'rights', not the furtherance of the Church's mission. Anglicanism has been damaged not sustained.
DeleteInterpol
The numbers speak for themselves.
DeleteAs the coven grows, the church shrinks.
The impetus driving the move to ordain women has always centred on the equality argument: 'Why can't I do this as well as men?' That is a distinctly different matter from receiving a personal call to the priesthood. Most people are so overwhelmed by the first that the second eludes them. At least Joanna is traditional and reverent in her daily Lenten videos. Such a pity about her other opinions!
ReplyDeleteRob