Celebrations and Lessons in Activism with Methodist Women Presbyters

Women Presbyters in the Methodist Church are something I can't imagine a world without. Yet, they were only authorised to have this role within my lifetime. On Saturday I was privileged and humbled to attend a service at Wesley's Chapel for the 40th anniversary of Women Presbyters, (and I don't use those words lightly). It was a service which was a lesson in a particular strand of (Christian) Feminist history but also contained within it a wonderful lesson in how activism works.

Four of us travelled down from Milton Keynes in a group organised by one of our women presbyters who was brilliantly adorned in a pink t-shirt proclaiming "God isn't a boy's name" together with her dog collar.

On arriving I felt a little uncomfortable, there were it seemed very few lay people there for this celebration and I wondered if I was crashing a party I shouldn't have been at. However, as the service unfolded I felt it was exactly the right place to be and I was so privileged to be able to witness it.

The service itself took a traditional hymn sandwich format where prayer, praise and preaching mixed with messages of greeting and an overview of history.

One thing which struck me throughout was the way in which whilst history was acknowledged its relevance for the present and future was never forgotten. There was an explicit message that we should never get complacent that women in our church have been given this privilege when it is denied to others. The outgoing President of the Methodist Conference Ruth Gee spoke of the way in which she had encountered some situations this year which had underlined that women in senior leadership positions is not the norm in many parts of the church.

During the greetings we were also reminded of places in the world, such as North Korea, where women are not allowed the freedom to practice their faith and in others they are not allowed to speak freely or hold senior positions. I thought the way the official CofE greetings were followed by greetings from WATCH (Women and the Church, the campaign group for Anglican women who still await the authorisation of women bishops in this country).

There were three moments in this service which really stood out for me and which I couldn't divorce from wider issues in the church and important discussions and votes coming up at conference over the next fortnight.

The first was singing Summoned by the God who Made Us Rich in Our Diversity. It is a moving hymn about singing a new church into being "one in faith and love and praise." The idea of singing in a new church was one which struck a chord with me. Too often it seems we want to argue in a new church where diversity is truly celebrated and inclusion is a reality. The lyrics of this hymn were instead focused on worship and trusting "the Spirit strong within". (This YouTube clip I found of a choir singing it elsewhere isn't great quality but it gives a feel of the song).

 

The second part which I was really moved by was the giving of a bible to the Connexion. Too often the bible has been and in some cases still is a weapon which has been used against women, as well as other groups within society. There have been particular dominant interpretations given which have been used to repress and oppress on the basis of sex and gender. This act of the giving to the Connexion of a bible was highly symbolic. In the programme it was described as being given to mark this ministry of sacrament and word. However to me as I watched it had another meaning. As I watched the women of the class of 1974 hand it over I saw the liberated giving back a book which they knew contained not the harsh words of oppression but rather the beautiful songs of liberation. (Note that wasn't explicitly said.....but it was what I felt was implicitly happening).

The final element of the service which deeply moved me was the part of the story entitled "The Methodist Conference decision". Dr. Pauline Webb, who it seemed was a familiar figure to practically everybody else in the hall apart from me and Karl, stood to speak. She could have reminisced about it but rather she chose to give a 5 minute lesson in effective activism using the story of the women's struggle to get recognised as Presbyters to illustrate. It was one of the best training sessions I have ever sat through and one I found incredibly moving personally.

She spoke of the long journey it had taken from Conference first discussing the idea in the late 1930's to the ratification of the decision in the early 1970's. The women had not been listened to initially, indeed they had been painfully ridiculed. Yet, they did not give in. They learnt the constitution and the way in which decisions were made. They learnt when to find their own ways around a system stacked against them, writing their own reports. They ensured they got themselves elected as representatives and they did not give up. Eventually the laughter changed sides and that is when Dr. Webb said she knew they had won. They were no longer being ridiculed, rather their opponents were the ones being laughed at. She encouraged those of us there to hold on to our dreams and continue to make the painful and courageous journey because one day we would get there. Throughout she was non-specific allowing each woman to have their own dreams and causes.

As I sat transfixed, and leaning more and more forwards absorbed by the words, I was touched somewhere deep within. Later this week Conference begins and next week the report on the consultation on marriage and civil partnerships. It is the latest chapter in the move towards LGBTQI equality in the church.

It's something I care about because it's personal but it's more than that. For me central to the LGBTQI debate are two things: (i) the acknowledgement the identity given by God and (ii) authentic, loving mission and evangelism.

I have a dream that I know others within the denomination are working towards....and I know I need to network with them more. My dream is that one day we will see a trans naming service and a marriage service, which can legitimately be used by all and whose wording can reflect all, within the Methodist Worship Book.

My dream is that one day we can happily offer everybody, with ministers working according to conscience, the opportunity to get married in church with the marriage prep which goes alongside that. My dream is that all LGBTQI people who wish to do so can worship and be open with those they worship alongside without fear. My dream is of a denomination which explicitly recognises the T within it in its policies and constitutions.

On Saturday Dr. Webb explained that dreams can become reality with a heck of alot of hard work and thought put in. I was both humbled and inspired by what her generation had done for women in our denomination.