wfn.org | Anglican Church in Wales will ordai

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September 27, 1996
Episcopal News Service
Jim Solheim, Director
212-922-5385
ens@ecunet.org

96-1561
Anglican Church in Wales will ordain women to the priesthood

by James Solheim
     (ENS) The Anglican Church in Wales will join sister churches in
the British Isles when it ordains women to the priesthood early next year.
     The September 19 decision by the church's Governing Body
comes after previous attempts failed because clergy votes did not meet
the necessary two-thirds majority. This time, by a single vote, the clergy
joined bishops and laity who had already expressed their approval of the
change.
     Archbishop Alwyn Rice-Jones, primate of the church, strongly
urged support for the measure lest Wales become "a forgotten province
of the Anglican Church." The Church of England, the Scottish Episcopal
Church and the Church of Ireland already ordain women to the
priesthood. Of the 37 provinces in the Anglican Communion, nearly half
now ordain women.
     According to observers, the issue was forcefully argued before the
vote. David McIntyre, secretary general of the province, told Ecumenical
News International that it had been "a good-tempered meeting, although
both sides expressed themselves powerfully."
     Women in the diocese expressed their joy. "I am just so relieved
and thankful. Now we can get on and move the church forward
together," said Valerie Jones, who is in charge of three parishes in the
northern part of Wales.
     "We are thrilled for the women deacons who have been waiting to
have their vocation tested--and particularly thrilled for the whole church
in Wales," said Christina Reese of the Movement for the Ordination of
Women. The church has 73 women deacons waiting for ordination.
     The Rev. Cynthia Black, president of the Episcopal Women's
Caucus, said that she joined her sisters around the world in celebrating
the decision. "As each member of the Anglican Communion moves
toward a more whole priesthood, I dare to believe that we are creating
the realm of God on earth. And with each step, I'm more hopeful that
some day our sisters in the Roman Catholic Church will be able to be
ordained."
     Pamela P. Chinnis, who as president of the Episcopal Church's
House of Deputies may be the highest-ranking woman in the leadership
of the Anglican Communion, said that she hoped the decision by the
Church in Wales "might encourage other member churches to take a
closer look at ministry by women." She expressed her hope that "they
may discover, as we have in the Episcopal Church, the vital role women
can play." 

--Cedric Pulford of ENI contributed to this story.