‘God can call whoever God wants to call’
Bishop Susan Moxley of the Diocese of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island became the first female bishop to preach at Westminster Abbey in London on Sunday, according to Rev. Laura McCue.
It was just another first for Moxley, who became the first mother to be appointed bishop within the Anglican Church worldwide in 2007, she said.
“I don’t believe anyone should exclude someone on the basis of gender from serving in church,” McCue said Sunday.
“I think I can say with certainty that Bishop Sue would feel somewhat the same way. If you have all the gifts required for the job, and you’re a good leader, I don’t see why you couldn’t fullfil the job requirements.”
Women holding leadership roles in the Church of England has become a hot topic in recent years.
While women in Canada have had the right to be ordained as an Anglican bishop since 1993, it remains against church doctrine in England.
Although diocesan voting on draft legislation to allow women to be ordained as bishop has shown overwhelming support from 42 of the church’s 44 English dioceses.
A final vote on the proposed legislation will take place at a meeting of the church’s legislative body, the general synod, in July.
Members of the synod will be debating the results of the diocesan consultation this week.
Moxley, who is based in Halifax, will be a key member of a panel today discussing women’s roles within the church at the opening of the four-day February general synod at the Anglican church of St. Margaret, Westminster Abbey, the parish church of the British House of Commons.
She will speak on her experience in the episcopal ministry, as will Bishop Geralyn Wolf of Rhode Island. They will be joined by four high-ranking female members of the Church of England.
The group Women and the Church has been campaigning to allow women to serve at every level of the church.
However, the tradition of having only men serve in high-ranking positions in the church can be hard to break in some instances, McCue said.
“Even in this diocese, we still have parishes that do not want a woman priest,” she said.
“It doesn’t really have much to do with whether she can do the job or not, they just don’t want a woman priest. I don’t take it personal.
“But I do believe that God can call whoever God wants to call.”
Related Story:
Church of England has 'no plan B' on female bishops
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/feb/06/church-of-england-female-bishops?newsfeed=true
