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| Female bishops supporter: 'Although I'm gutted, it's not the end of the road' | Female bishops supporter: 'Although I'm gutted, it's not the end of the road' |
| (10 days later) | |
| The candles were not lit, but they would be one day, the campaigners said – just as soon as there are female bishops in the Church of England. In the afternoon drizzle, with imaginative lyrics, the cluster of clerics and laypeople belted out John Bunyan's To be a Pilgrim to a nonplussed Dean's Yard. Instead of the usual version, they changed all the "hes" to "shes". | The candles were not lit, but they would be one day, the campaigners said – just as soon as there are female bishops in the Church of England. In the afternoon drizzle, with imaginative lyrics, the cluster of clerics and laypeople belted out John Bunyan's To be a Pilgrim to a nonplussed Dean's Yard. Instead of the usual version, they changed all the "hes" to "shes". |
| It was not the way the Rev Prebendary Pat Hawkins, vicar of Oxley in Wolverhampton, had hoped to spend her lunchtime on Wednesday. As a supporter of the female bishops legislation, she had prayed for a very different outcome from the General Synod's vote on Tuesday. | It was not the way the Rev Prebendary Pat Hawkins, vicar of Oxley in Wolverhampton, had hoped to spend her lunchtime on Wednesday. As a supporter of the female bishops legislation, she had prayed for a very different outcome from the General Synod's vote on Tuesday. |
| But, as it was, the measure she had voted for had failed. The hopes she and many others in the church had nursed for years had been dashed. She found herself, in the rain, mounting a very genteel kind of protest. "What we did yesterday was miss a very good opportunity," said Hawkins. She was angry, and sad, she said, but "although I'm absolutely gutted, I don't believe it's the end of the road." | But, as it was, the measure she had voted for had failed. The hopes she and many others in the church had nursed for years had been dashed. She found herself, in the rain, mounting a very genteel kind of protest. "What we did yesterday was miss a very good opportunity," said Hawkins. She was angry, and sad, she said, but "although I'm absolutely gutted, I don't believe it's the end of the road." |
| Nonetheless, she will have to explain to her parish quite how it is that, despite having been approved by the vast majority of grassroots churchgoers, the synod failed to pass the historic measure. | Nonetheless, she will have to explain to her parish quite how it is that, despite having been approved by the vast majority of grassroots churchgoers, the synod failed to pass the historic measure. |
| "[There will be] utter incomprehension," she said. "I think what they won't understand … is how something that the majority of people in the Church of England want should have been lost … I hope people understand that this is not the full story of the church." | "[There will be] utter incomprehension," she said. "I think what they won't understand … is how something that the majority of people in the Church of England want should have been lost … I hope people understand that this is not the full story of the church." |
| In her day-to-day life as a vicar in one of the country's most deprived areas, Hawkins, a former social worker, spends a lot of time in schools and performing baptisms, funerals and the odd wedding. Among the many challenges she has regularly faced during her eight years there, discrimination is not one of them. | In her day-to-day life as a vicar in one of the country's most deprived areas, Hawkins, a former social worker, spends a lot of time in schools and performing baptisms, funerals and the odd wedding. Among the many challenges she has regularly faced during her eight years there, discrimination is not one of them. |
| "My parish do not understand why women can't be bishops. I am their first experience of a female vicar [and] it hasn't been an issue. There were one or two people who were asked, before I applied, who said they would leave the church if I was appointed." Have they? "No. I wouldn't say that it's an issue. My ministry is supported by my congregation, by the wider area, and by my male and female colleagues." | "My parish do not understand why women can't be bishops. I am their first experience of a female vicar [and] it hasn't been an issue. There were one or two people who were asked, before I applied, who said they would leave the church if I was appointed." Have they? "No. I wouldn't say that it's an issue. My ministry is supported by my congregation, by the wider area, and by my male and female colleagues." |
| Her acceptance as a female cleric on the ground does not stop her from occasionally feeling "very angry and very frustrated" with the church's continuing inability to get women into the episcopate. And, Wednesday was without doubt one of those days. But Hawkins was refusing to mud-sling. | Her acceptance as a female cleric on the ground does not stop her from occasionally feeling "very angry and very frustrated" with the church's continuing inability to get women into the episcopate. And, Wednesday was without doubt one of those days. But Hawkins was refusing to mud-sling. |
| "I'm not sure I think it's very helpful to blame people," she said. "I'm perhaps more sad than angry, and I'm sad about what this says about our inability to trust each other. I have always been, and remain, somebody who wants to keep as many people in the church as possible. I was very happy to vote for the measure as it stood, which made what I understood to be proper provision for those who opposed, and I'm very sad that people weren't able to trust that." | "I'm not sure I think it's very helpful to blame people," she said. "I'm perhaps more sad than angry, and I'm sad about what this says about our inability to trust each other. I have always been, and remain, somebody who wants to keep as many people in the church as possible. I was very happy to vote for the measure as it stood, which made what I understood to be proper provision for those who opposed, and I'm very sad that people weren't able to trust that." |
| Hawkins' position is particularly interesting as she comes from the church's Anglo-Catholic wing, a section of the synod whose traditionalists were vehemently opposed to the measure. But, as a proud member of the inclusive faith movement Affirming Catholicism and the Society of Catholic Priests, she had no qualms about voting for the measure. "It's to do with what I believe about the nature of orders," she said. "But in principle, if a woman can be a priest, then she can be a bishop." | Hawkins' position is particularly interesting as she comes from the church's Anglo-Catholic wing, a section of the synod whose traditionalists were vehemently opposed to the measure. But, as a proud member of the inclusive faith movement Affirming Catholicism and the Society of Catholic Priests, she had no qualms about voting for the measure. "It's to do with what I believe about the nature of orders," she said. "But in principle, if a woman can be a priest, then she can be a bishop." |
| Hawkins could, like many others, have spent Tuesday evening licking her wounds with fellow supporters of the measure that was rejected. But she chose instead to have dinner with other members of her diocese – not all of whom shared her opinion on the issue. For her, such exchange will be key in getting the legislation the church's women – and men – deserve. | Hawkins could, like many others, have spent Tuesday evening licking her wounds with fellow supporters of the measure that was rejected. But she chose instead to have dinner with other members of her diocese – not all of whom shared her opinion on the issue. For her, such exchange will be key in getting the legislation the church's women – and men – deserve. |
| "We sat and had dinner together. It was lovely. What we're learning, speaking for myself, is that we need to build trust with one another." | "We sat and had dinner together. It was lovely. What we're learning, speaking for myself, is that we need to build trust with one another." |
| She remains certain that there will – one day – be female bishops in the Church of England. "The bottom line is because I believe it is of God, because I believe it is timely, and because I believe it is what the church wants." | She remains certain that there will – one day – be female bishops in the Church of England. "The bottom line is because I believe it is of God, because I believe it is timely, and because I believe it is what the church wants." |
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