Ruth Gledhill Weblog: General Synod Day Two

At long last, General Synod has voted in favour of the principle of women bishops. A motion proposed by the Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, went through unamended on Saturday morning with the bishops 31-9 in favour, the clergy 134-42 and the laity, 123-68. Canon Jane Hedges, the first woman to serve as a residentiary canon at Britain's best known former Benedictine enclave, Westminster Abbey, is one of 20 female cathedral canons in England. There are a further nine female archdeacons and two women deans. There are also dozens of able women serving as Team Rectors, Vicars and curates, in total 2,000 parish priests.

Considering it is just 12 years since Jane was among the first women ordained in 1994, this is not bad progress. But it would have started to look bad if they could not go any further. Jane spoke to me about her work, which is as Canon Steward. This is a pastoral role dating from the Abbey's time as a monastery, when the monk steward would look after visitors and ensure they received spiritual and nutritional sustenance. No-one in the Church likes being highlighted by us in the media as potential bishop material, but with her pastoral, admin and leadership experience, Jane has got to be up there with June Osborne and Vivienne Faull, Deans of Salisbury and Leicester. She is also a role model for women in other ways. Her husband Chris was an engineer but became a house-husband when their two sons were little. When they began a school, he became a teaching assistant and enjoyed it so much he retrained as a teacher. He is about to start work next term as the new science teacher at Westminster choir school.

the rest