Movement for the Ordination of Women

The Movement for the Ordination of Women (MOW) was the name used by a number of organisations which campaigned for the ordination of women as deacons, priests and bishops in the Anglican Communion.

England

In the Church of England it operated from 1979 until women were ordained as priests, disbanding in 1994.[1] The first Moderator was Stanley Booth-Clibborn, Bishop of Manchester, who served from 1979 to 1982.[2] MOW in the Church of England was effectively succeeded by Women and the Church.

The decision in 1978 by the Church of England General Synod to refuse women's ordination led to the foundation of MOW.[3]

MOW followed in the footsteps of the League for the Church Militant, the 1930 re-grouping of the Church League for Women's Suffrage.

MOW published the first edition of All Desires Known by Janet Morley.[4]

Australia

The Australian Movement for the Ordination of Women was founded in 1983 to advocate for the ordination of women as deacons, priests and bishops.[5] Patricia Brennan was the founding national President.[6] She was succeeded by Dr Janet Scarfe in 1989.[5]

There were several pre-existing Australian state-based groups supporting the ordination of women, including:

  • Anglican Women Concerned in Sydney established in 1975 by Colleen O'Reilly and Zandra Wilson. Anglican Women Concerned organised a demonstration outside St Andrew's Cathedral during General Synod in 1977.[7]
  • Women in Holy Orders? was established in Adelaide on 30 May 1980 and the first meeting was held at the home of Alison Gent.[8]
  • Action Group for Women's Ordination in Melbourne was formed in 1983 as an umbrella group under the mentorship of Ryl Currey. Weekly services were held at St Oswald's Church, Glen Iris.[9]

There were differences within these Australian groups about styles of protest and activism. Some members were uncomfortable in the public arena and feared that "engaging in political strategy and power games" might divert the issue from its spiritual path.[10]

In May 1984, English author Monica Furlong accepted an invitation to tour Australia and was influential in supporting and energising the Australian campaign.[11][9]

Ordinations

The movement celebrated the first ordinations of women as priests in the Anglican Church of Australia in March 1992 in Perth and continues to work to see ordination in all Australian dioceses.[12]

References
  1. Shaw, Jane (2012). Lindsay, Elaine; Scarfe, Janet (eds.). Preachers, Prophets and Heretics: Women's Ministry in the Anglican Church of Australia. Sydney: NewSouth Publishing. p. 25. ISBN 978-1-74223-337-6.
  2. "Bishop Retires". The Independent. No. 1662. London. 14 February 1992. p. 12.
  3. Daggers, Jenny (1999). "The Emergence of Feminist Theology from Christian Feminism in Britain". Journal of the European Society of Women in Theological Research. 7: 137–144. doi:10.2143/ESWTR.7.0.2002946. 1978 marked a high point of optimism among those wishing to see the Anglican ordination of women. Prior to the 1978 Church of England Synod debate on the matter, Canon Sister Mary Michael Simpson, who was ordained within the American Episcopal Church, made a visit to Britain. Invited by Una Kroll, her visit occasioned co-operation between component groups of the broad constituency in the organisation of her tour. The subsequent Synod refusal of women's ordination led directly to the founding of the Movement for the ordination of Women.
  4. Morley, Janet (1988). All Desires Known. London: Movement for the Ordination of Women and Women in Theology. ISBN 0951303902.
  5. Scarfe, Janet (2012). Lindsay, Elaine (ed.). Movement for the Ordination of Women: Their hearts in their mouths. Preachers, Prophets and Heretics: Women's Ministry in the Anglican Church of Australia. Sydney: NewSouth Publishing. p. 130. ISBN 9781742233376.
  6. O'Brien, Anne (2005). God's willing workers : women and religion in Australia. Sydney: University of New South Wales Press. pp. 240–241. ISBN 0-86840-575-2. OCLC 65165585.
  7. "Protest?". Sydney Morning Herald. 29 August 1977. p. 1.
  8. McLean, Lesley (2018). Woman: The Church's buried talent. Adelaide. p. 40. ISBN 9780646992549.
  9. Porter, Muriel (1989). Women in the church : the great ordination debate in Australia. Ringwood, Vic., Australia: Penguin. p. 105. ISBN 0-14-013041-1. OCLC 24703277.
  10. Scarfe, Janet (2012). Preachers, prophets & heretics : Anglican women's ministry. Elaine Lindsay, Janet Scarfe. Sydney: University of New South Wales Press. p. 125. ISBN 978-1-74224-605-5. OCLC 811406174.
  11. Piggin, Stuart (2012). Lindsay, Elaine (ed.). The Diocese of Sydney: "This terrible conflict" in. Sydney: NewSouth Publishing. p. 179. ISBN 9781742233376.
  12. Henry-Edwards, Sue (17 February 2022). "Celebrating 30 years of women priests in Australia". Guardian. Retrieved 7 March 2022.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.