So Where Now? After the Synod's 'No'
It’s a dark evening for the Church of England. The Measure to allow the ordination of women as bishops failed at the General Synod by six votes in the house of laity. The Church remains a place where discrimination on the grounds of gender is permitted. How can we seriously proclaim a God who loves all people, when we qualify how different groups of people are to be treated? How can we expect people to take seriously the discussion tomorrow about the Living Wage when we institutionalize treating some people as less than others. This is a night of sorrow, of grief and of anger. Earlier this evening, leading evening prayer at the Cathedral I prayed for the Synod (then in the last throws of the debate) that the Holy Spirit would guide them. I can’t honestly say that I believe that the result was the will of God. But that doesn’t mean that there aren’t things to learn. First of all, buried in the agony there is in fact something to celebrate. 42 of
