General Synod took another step in the painfully slow limp towards the consecration of the first woman bishop. For most people it is difficult to understand. In the real world it would be impossible to have all male senior leadership from which women were barred by law. It’s obvious: stop treating women within the church with discrimination. Change the law and get on with more important issues.

The trouble is that there are a few folk, (in Bucks it’s three per cent of worshippers), who genuinely believe that God tells them otherwise. In the face of the whole gospel, which is passionate about justice and equality, it is hard to see how this works, but nevertheless that is their position.  As Christians we are of course called to compassion and understanding, and to that end we have before us a measure which will provide for women bishops to delegate their authority to an alternative male bishop (suitably untainted by not having ordained any women). He will serve those who, in conscience, feel they can’t accept a woman’s authority or sacramental ministry.

This measure was the basis of the consultation which has been taking place over the past months in our Dioceses. Overwhelmingly local people just wanted to get on with it and 42 out of the 44 Dioceses voted in favour of this legislation. The opposition was captured by a motion put forward by the Manchester Diocese who, whilst affirming the desire for woman bishops, felt that the safeguards for the minority were not sufficient.

At a previous General Synod the Archbishops had made just such a proposal which Synod had not accepted and this February the same thing happened. There was no appetite for overturning the clear mandate from the Dioceses and the House of Bishops now have to finalise the legislation. They have the technical power to amend it ‘as they see fit’ but since most of them voted on the record for this measure they are accountable to their own people for standing by their declared position.
If they make any ‘substantial’ changes then the whole thing will have to be referred back to the Diocesan Synods and nobody wants that. To ensure that the July General Synod finally puts this to bed, there are three areas where we need to put our energy.

We need to be asking our Bishops not to amend the measure but to stand by their vote in their own Synods. We need to help the laity in General Synod to see that there is indeed sufficient ‘protection’ enshrined in the measure as it stands, and we need to get across the message that a defeat in the July General Synod would be disastrous for the Church.

The Revd Canon Rosie Harper is Vicar of Great Missenden and Chaplain to the Bishop of Buckingham.