The newly ordained bishop was supported by groups from different areas.

She comes from from the Wairarapa, but now has charge of a large area that includes Hawkes Bay, Wairarapa and Wellington up to Palmerston.

Rev Dr Rangi Nicholson, the local minister, welcomed Waitohiariki. "I hope your ordination will bring new life to Rangiatea and the region", he said.

He noted that all churches welcomed her.

"We are faced with a lot of challenges. How do we, Anglicans and indeed all Christians, keep the church alive, especially for youth".

The service was organized and led by another Rangiatea minster, Rev Marie Collin.

She is an Anglican priest who also hails from the Wairarapa.

She was assisted by long-time Anglican support, Rev Georgia Hapeta.

The service was the one used on Aotearoa Sunday.

It marks the start of the Christian church in Aotearoa/New Zealand.

It recalls Samuel Marsden, whose arrival was to shape the bicultural identity of the church.

Waitohiariki pronounced forgiveness, read the Gospel and preached.

"I acknowledge all those who have gone before me. They opened the gateway to the Gospel for us.

I remember especially the different Maori Bishops before me, such as Bishop Paul Reeves, Bishop Hapai Winiata, Bishop Whakahuihui Vercoe and Bishop Muru Walters".

At her ordination in Masterton in September the bishop was presented with a full kakahu.

Denise Hapeta explained how it had been woven by local weavers.

It is called Tohaina o painga ki te Ao: Spread your good works to the world.

"This kakahu is a blessing for you to do that", she said.

The bishop gave a final Blessing.

After the service, the bishop was welcomed onto Raukawa Marae where further speeches were made and a lovely hakari to celebrate.

Source

Supplied: Pa Piripi Cody

he Archbishops of the Anglican Church in New Zealand have elected the world's first Maori woman Bishop.

Originally ordained in the Diocese of Oxford, she served curacies in Wheatley and Littlemore before becoming New Testament lecturer and then director of biblical studies at Ripon College, Cuddesdon ahead of her move to New Zealand. Continue reading

Archbishop Winston Halapua and Archbishop Philip Richardson led the liturgy, encircled by 10 tikanga Maori and Pakeha bishops, plus ecumenical guests including Catholic Archbishop of Wellington, Cardinal John Dew.

Bishop Eleanor, who has been vicar of Eastbourne and chaplain to Wellesley College since 2013, has ministered in Wellington diocese for 16 years, 11 of those as a priest.

The Anglican bishop of Wellington, Justin Duckworth, believes Ellie's new role has been "God-orchestrated".

"We have talked a lot about renewing the inherited church and enlivening new expressions of ministry that are emerging.

"That places all of us outside our comfort zones. But we need to see that being outside our comfort zone is the new formality."

"Ellie sees that, and she has different strengths to mine. As a diocese, we need to position her missionally to use those gifts."

"My expectation is that Ellie will challenge me to be the best I can at what I'm doing, and I will need to adapt to meet her gifting and abilities for what God calls her into."

As bishop Eleanor comes on board, the two Wellington bishops will work in tandem over the next four months, while she gains first-hand experience of the diocesan big picture.

Bishop Justin will move to Whanganui in the New Year and continue work from there, returning to Wellington each month for a week of team meetings.

Source

• www.anglicantaonga.org.nz
• Image: anglicantaonga.org.nz

An initial version of Bishop Rachel Treweek's writ of summons to be read aloud to the House of Lords referred to her as "right reverend father in God".

Bishop Treweek, from Gloucester, sent this back and now a revised version refers to her as "bishop".

"There may be women who'd be happy with ‘right reverend mother in God', but that doesn't sit comfortably with me," she said.

"There's something about the whole connotation of ‘mother' that has a sense of dependency for me.

"It's not how I want to be looked at. I see myself as a leader, as leading from among people."

Continue reading

Archbishop Welby told the Times of London that the issue of the ordination of women and full rights for LGBT people are significant areas of disagreement.

Acknowledging the strength of the individual churches he said the differences among them remain "profound".

"I think, realistically, we've got to say that despite all efforts there is a possibility that we will not hold together, or not hold together for a while," he said.

"I could see circumstances in which there could be people moving apart and then coming back together, depending on what else happens."

His comments come at the end of his visit to 38 provinces (country-states) that make up the Anglican Communion.

Canterbury is regarded as the "mother church" in the Anglican world, however the Archbishop said some churches, particularly in Africa, may find it difficult to remain in a single global Anglican Communion.

Canterbury's authority is being challenged by a global network of conservative Anglican churches known as the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans, which was formed in 2008. The fellowship is made up of leaders in African, Asian, Australian, South American and some North American churches.

Rod Thomas, chairman of Reform, an evangelical network of English and Irish Anglicans opposed to women bishops and LGBT ordination or unions agrees with the Archbishop, but adds it is something more fundamental than sexuality that's splitting the Communion.

"It is how attached to the Bible's teachings do we intend to be," he added.

Sources

• RNS
• Image: The Independent

The Church's most senior official told a UK parliamentary committee that in vacant sees where a male and female candidate are considered equally well qualified, those making appointments will be advised to choose the female.

William Fittall, the Secretary General to the General Synod, said that although the Church is exempt from UK equality laws, bishops' selection boards will be instructed to follow the same principles in order to boost the number of women in the episcopate.

The General Synod overwhelmingly voted this month for new legislation allowing women to become bishops.

Continue reading

Speaking on behalf of the England and Wales bishops' conference, Archbishop Bernard Longley said the commitment to further dialogue between the two churches remains.

"The decision of the Church of England to admit women to the episcopate therefore sadly places a further obstacle on the path to this unity between us," he said.

L'Osservatore Romano editor Giovanni Maria Vian, who is also an historian, said the decision will have "an extremely negative impact" on the path to ecumenical unity.

He said: "It's a decision that complicates the ecumenical path. The problem is not only with Rome but also with Orthodox Churches, and that the Anglican Church is itself divided on the issue."

Archbishop Longley said the Catholic bishops appreciate the pastoral provision the Church of England's General Synod made for Anglicans who did not support ordaining women bishops.

Continue reading

Helen Ann Hartley replaces Archbishop David Moxon who is now the the Archbishop of Canterbury's representativeat the Vatican

Bishop Hartley is the the 7th Bishop of Waikato and she is the first woman bishop of the Diocese.

She was born in Edinburgh and moved with her family to Sunderland in 1975.

She became a priest in 2005 in the Diocese of Oxford.

Bishop Hartley is the fourth generation of her family to be ordained.

Bishop Hartley is the the third woman to hold the position of Bishop in the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia.

She she is the first woman ordained a priest in the Church of England to become a bishop and so her ordination is being followed with interest by UK media.

The Church of England is currently debating the issue of women being allowed to be bishops.
Source

• NewtalkZB
• Tyne Tees
• Pacific Scoop
• Image: Anglican Taonga

A vote on a package of measures to endorse women bishops was supported by 378 members of the General Synod while eight voted against and 25 abstained after months of behind-the-scenes talks to unite reformers and traditionalists.

A year ago, a blocking minority succeeded in rejecting draft legislation on women bishops, leaving the church in crisis. That vote, lost by just six votes, was criticized by parliament and one senior church official called it a "train crash".

After that, church leaders set up a committee to find common ground. Its proposals won widespread acceptance in the Synod, even among groups previously opposed.

"The train is on the tracks, the train is moving forwards, and we now have some stations to pass along the way but we can begin to see the end of this particular journey," Reuters quoted the Bishop of Rochester James Langstaff.

The legislation will be discussed again at a meeting in February and a vote on final approval is likely in 2014.

Sources

Reuters
The Guardian
Image: Reuters

Following a meeting to consider the rejection of women bishops at the recent general synod, they "acknowledged the profound and widespread sense of anger, grief and disappointment felt by so many" and expressed their commitment to put fresh proposals before the general synod next July.

Continue reading

I say nothing about the question of what is known as "the validity of Anglican orders", except that I can't see why any Anglican takes offence when we say that by Catholic criteria they are invalid, when it is quite clear that apart from a few Anglo-Catholics, who think they are sacrificing priests in the same sense as Catholic priests do, what the Church of England as a whole thinks a "priest" is and does is utterly different from what the Catholic Church believes about Holy Orders: in other words, we are both using the same word to describe utterly different things.

Nothing, surely, illustrates that better than the debate about "women bishops" which took place yesterday. The discussion wasn't about the sacrament of holy orders at all: did anyone even mention such a thing, even in passing? It was all about women's rights. In other words, this was the governing body of a wholly secularised Church talking about a wholly secular issue.

As Jemima Thackray put it in the Telegraph, "as I listened to the debate unfold, hearing progressives pitched against conservatives … I found myself being too often oddly impressed by the cases made by the anti-women bishops lobby, despite the fact that nothing would've pleased me more than to see women enter the episcopate. One argument kept ringing true: the claim that the pro-women campaigners were too quick to try and make the church like the world.

"Uncomfortably, I had to agree. Too many of those in favour of women bishops just sounded too… well… worldly. My reasons for thinking this differed wildly from the evangelicals who think that the church needs to be set apart, not conforming to a society which no longer sees man as the head of the woman. My main concern was that some arguments for women bishops just sounded too much like a contrived government initiative to get women into the boardroom."

Continued: Catholic Herald

Image: The Independent

William Oddie

Dr William Oddie is a leading English Catholic writer and broadcaster. He edited The Catholic Herald from 1998 to 2004 and is the author of The Roman Option and Chesterton and the Romance of Orthodoxy.

After hours of debate, the proposal for women bishops won the required two-thirds majority from the general synod's house of bishops and house of clergy, but was four votes short of the required margin in the house of laity.

The outgoing archbishop, Dr Rowan Williams, admitted his dismay and "deep personal sadness" and said the Anglican Church had "lost credibility". His successor, Bishop Justin Welby, who will take up the office at the end of the year, said the vote marked a "very grim day" in the history of the Anglican Communion.

The result was greeted with emotion, with some supporters in tears.

Women bishops already serve the Anglican Church in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States, but the issue has divided the Anglican Communion for years and member churches in many developing countries oppose any female clergy and are working together to oppose any change.

In New Zealand, the Anglican Bishop of Christchurch, Bishop Victoria Matthews, described the decision as a "product of fear".

"I have to admit I was gutted by the announcement," she said. "I would describe it as more than disappointing. As someone who is a woman in leadership and someone who dearly loves the Anglican Communion, it was quite depressing."

More than 100 members spoke during six hours of discussion in the synod. The discussion focused on ways to designate alternative male bishops to work with traditionalist parishes that might reject the authority of a woman bishop named to head their diocese.

But one lay member, Jane Patterson, urged the synod not to "bow to cultural pressure", warning that more priests would defect to the Roman Catholic Church, where there are no female clergy, if the law were passed.

Sources:

Reuters

BBC

Image: National Post

And on the eighth day God created Prime Minister's Question Time.

And pretty swiftly He regretted it, for He saw that it was not good, especially when they did all that silly shouting and artificial laughter and asked toadying questions blatantly planted by government whips.

And on the 21st day of November in the year of His Son 2012 He saw that Members of Parliament were asking about women bishops in the Church of England.

And the Prime Minister told the House of Commons his views on the subject.

And the Prime Minister's views turned out to be a little bit confusing, to Members of Parliament, to inhabitants of the press gallery, and no doubt to the fowl of the air and to every beast of the field also.

And this was because the Prime Minister seemed to be saying that on the one hand we had to respect whatever the Church decided, but on the other hand we had to make sure the Church jolly well did what we told it.

And the Prime Minister's words were, "We have to respect individual institutions and the decisions they make… while giving them a sharp prod."

And on hearing the phrase "giving them a sharp prod" the House was troubled by the image of the Prime Minister lurking in a vestry, brandishing a poker.

And the Prime Minister had more to say.

And what the Prime Minister said was, "The time is right for women bishops, and it was right many years ago."

And the Prime Minister said of the Church, "They need to get on with it - and get with the programme."

And in silence the House reflected that even in biblical times "get with the programme" had probably been an outdated piece of youth slang, Daddio.

And the House made a mental note to check whether, for example, Christ had ever ordered the money changers in the temple to "get with the programme", or whether the Sermon on the Mount exhorted disciples to "chill, dudes", or whether "Thou shalt tune in, turn on and drop out" was among the Ten Commandments.

And the House suspected that in all three cases the answer was probably no, on the whole.

And the Labour member for the constituency of Exeter, Ben Bradshaw, suggested imposing equality legislation on the Church, and asked the Prime Minister what "locus" they would have.

And the more theologically minded misheard and worried that God would send a plague of locus.

And after Prime Minister's Question Time had drawn to a close it was noticed that outside it had started to rain apocalyptically hard.

And Westminster began to wonder if this was a Judgment, and if so, on whom.

Source: The Telegraph

The English Church's House of Bishops gave its approval to the proposed legislation, which would allow for a vote at the church's General Synod in July to endorse the ordination of women Bishops.

However, the Bishops added an amendment that allows traditionalist parishes to opt out and also to have an alternative bishop who was "consistent with the theological convictions" of the parish.

Despite this concession, traditional Church members also criticised the measure as being inadequate to deal with their concerns, and warned that the Church is facing a "terminal" crisis.

Already proposed was that future women bishops should "delegate" their authority over parishes which object to a woman bishop.

The Revd Rachel Weir, Chairman of the campaign group WATCH (Women and The Church) said that the current all-male bishops had "failed to listen to the voice of ordained women."

"Their decision to intervene in this way will significantly undermine the credibility of the House of Bishops both inside and outside the Church."

Although the group has not yet decided on its formal response, many individual members are now actively considering voting down the measure rather than accept "second class bishops."

But Martin Dales, spokesman for the traditionalist Catholic Group in Synod, said that some opponents had not ruled out leaving the Anglican Church altogether.

"It strikes me that July is terminal," he said. "Nothing seems to have been done to accommodate the traditional orthodox position. Either we are one catholic body or we are a disparate body.

"I would be very sad to see the Church of England go down different roads and going to Rome is only one option."

Full Story: The Telegraph

Image: The Telegraph

Some Anglican provinces already have women bishops, including Australia, the United States and Canada, but the ordination of women and homosexuals as bishops as well as same-sex marriages remain the most divisive issues facing the Anglican Communion, which has 77 million members worldwide.

The Church of England has voted in principle for women to be consecrated, and draft legislation is currently being looked at by its 44 dioceses, or groups of parishes, as part of its long legislative process.

At the weekend, the diocese vote passed the 50 percent backing needed for it to go back to the Church's parliament, or general synod, for a final vote next year.

Twenty-eight of the 30 dioceses that have so far voted have been in favour of the draft legislation.

That is enough for the issue to go back to the business committee at next February's synod before going to a final vote at the following synod in July.

If passed, the first woman bishop is unlikely to be consecrated before 2014.

"We are well on our way to a set of results that show an overwhelming endorsement of the legislation for women bishops," Hilary Cotton, coordinator for the pro-ordination group Watch, said in a statement.

But a traditionalist group, Forward in Faith, said synod would be forced to look at the wording of the draft legislation again because of diocese support for a following motion, or secondary motion, calling for improved provision for opponents.

"There's a fair way to go yet I think," Stephen Parkinson, FiF's director told Reuters.

"It is clear that across the country there is unease at the fact they have been asked to approve legislation in which the draft provision is a code of practice that no one has ever seen, that has not been written.

Source: Reuters

Image: ReligiousIntelligence.org