Anyhow, the women who contributed to this book would most certainly not agree with me. Some because they've interpreted the Bible differently to me. Others, however, because they've take a more pragmatic, felt approach. The editor, Barbara Field starts by simply observing that:
Until fifteen years ago, women were non-existent in the official ministry of the Anglican Church. Public and liturgical functions were carried out by men. The
administering and governing of the Church were done by men. There were no women in the three orders of minstry - deacon, priest and bishop. The people in the sanctuary were men. The people in the procession were men, except for members of the choir where women were allowed because there were not enough men who would join. The whole public face of the Church was, and indeed mostly still is, male. The chief contradiction to this up-front male scene was that most of the congregation were women, and most of the people at prayer meetings and Bible studies were women.2
She simply assumes that lack of leadership equals lack of respect and value. This assumption echoes throughout the book and results in talented, caring women experiencing great pain and suffering. As they see it, God has given them gifts to lead his people that they are unable to exercise. This is something that they feel very deeply. And it is because of this that they put themselves forward - not because they're ball-breaking feminists, but because they believe they it is what God is calling them to do. They accept the leadership positions and responsibilities that their denomination or area is prepared to give them, and humbly, patiently wait for that time when they will be given more.
I'm really glad I read the book. It helped me understand why people are so ardent about women needing to be ordained. But it made me sad that (as I understand it) these women have too quickly bought into our society's view that your worth is measured by your function. This belief has all manner of ugly repercussions - like for the elderly and people with disabilities. But God sees things differently. Everywhere in Scripture women are respected, affirmed and told their worth, and men are commanded to treat their women well. But Scripture also presents two different sexes, each with a different, complementary role. And fulfillment of gifts can be found within that role.
The book ends with some very wise words from Beatrice Pate:
Above all, we must have confidence in God. We are members of his Church, visible and invisible. Victory is his; it was won through the Cross. Each of us called to follow him will share that victory with him. How dare we suggest that only those who view the world in a particular way are being true to him - he had called us all, with all our differences and in spite of our wilful sinfulness. We must treat each other as brothers and sisters, with love and acceptance. This applies to a person totally opposed to the ordination of women when approaching a women who is ordained. It applies to the proponent of ordination of women when faced with one who rejects even the possibility that ordination could 'work' on a women . . . . The model I am proposing calls for us to act with love towards each other, to begin to grow to maturity in him in whom we will all one day come to completion, and to stop squabbling like two-year-olds deprived of their toys. What I suggest is easy to reject. Those opposed to the ordination, believing right is on their side, feel obliged to fight the ordination question as a matter of fundamental importance. Similarly, those in favour of the ordination of women can easily beliee that as a part of a persecuted 'minority' they must stridently demand their 'rights'.
. . . . But this does not let us ignore the call to continue striving in the path of love.3
1 B Field (ed), Fit For This Office: Women and Ordination (Melbourne: Collins Dove, 1989)
2 Field, "Introduction," 1.
3 Pate, "Rights or Reconciliation: A Personal Statement," 121.
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