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ABSTRACT
It is twenty-seven years since women were first ordained priests within the Church of England. At that time, it was suggested that each diocese should have an advisor in women’s ministry who would support and advocate on behalf of these new female priests. This paper explores the role of Diocesan Advisers in Women’s Ministry (DAWM) – what they do in practice and whether they are still necessary. The research is firmly rooted in the discipline of practical theology and uses qualitative research. A brief background to the research will be given as well as an explanation of the methodology. The findings of the research questions will be viewed through four lenses: ministerial pathways, mainstreaming, pastoral issues, and the Five Guiding Principles. The main aim of this paper, however, is to put forward a theology of practice of Diocesan advisors in women’s ministry, a practice which, it will be claimed, is rooted in advocating, attending, and embodying.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1 The National Association of Advisors in Women’s Ministry. When the Church of England made the decision to ordain women as priests it saw the need for each Diocese to have an Advisor in Women’s Ministry. Their role would be to act as advocates on behalf of women clergy and to brief Bishops and Senior staff teams on all issues faced by ordained women. See https://nadawm.org.uk/.
2 All names have been changed.
3 The Five Guiding Principles are: (1) Now that legislation has been passed to enable women to become bishops the Church of England is fully and unequivocally committed to all orders of ministry being open equally to all, without reference to gender, and holds that those whom it has duly ordained and appointed to office are true and lawful holders of the office which they occupy and thus deserve due respect and canonical obedience; (2) Anyone who ministers within the Church of England must be prepared to acknowledge that the Church of England has reached a clear decision on the matter; (3) Since it continues to share the historic episcopate with other Churches, including the Roman Catholic Church, the Orthodox Church and those provinces of the Anglican Communion which continue to ordain only men as priests or bishops, the Church of England acknowledges that its own clear decision on ministry and gender is set within a broader process of discernment within the Anglican Communion and the whole Church of God; (4) Since those within the Church of England who, on grounds of theological conviction, are unable to receive the ministry of women bishops or priests continue to be within the spectrum of teaching and tradition of the Anglican Communion, the Church of England remains committed to enabling them to flourish within its life and structures; and (5) Pastoral and sacramental provision for the minority within the Church of England will be made without specifying a limit of time and in a way that maintains the highest possible degree of communion and contributes to mutual flourishing across the whole Church of England. Taken from: https://www.churchofengland.org/sites/default/files/2017-10/the_five_guiding_principles.pdf.
4 All Biblical quotes are taken from the New Revised Standard Version.
5 As quoted in the Executive summary report of the Transformations Conference, 2011.
6 Margaret Hebblewaite states this in an article after the vote went through. Quoted in Webster (Citation1994, 18).
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Susy Brouard
The Rev Dr Susy Brouard is currently serving her curacy in Kidlington with Hampton Poyle parish. She completed her master’s dissertation on Diocesan Advisors in Women’s Ministry whilst training for ordination at Ripon College, Cuddesdon. She has a professional doctorate in Practical Theology which focussed on Catholic Social Teaching and pedagogy.