bishop_jackie_searle_|_30th_anniversary_of_the_ordination_of_women (1080p)

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Bishop Jackie Searle, the Acting Bishop of Exeter and Bishop of Crediton talks about the 30th anniversary of the Ordination of Women Video Diocese of Exeter, Alan Quick

Transcript

00:00 So Bishop Jackie, we're here today to talk about the 30th anniversary of the first ordination

00:07 of women to the priesthood, and you were in that first cohort in 1994. Can you just tell

00:12 me what stage of life you were at then?

00:14 So I started exploring a vocation to ministry in the Church of England in my late 20s, and

00:20 it had taken a little while to meet with the right people, come to fruition. So I'd been

00:26 through that, I'd been to a selection conference and I'd been trained, and then I was ordained

00:32 as a deacon in the summer of 1992. So not knowing what would happen about whether women

00:39 could be ordained as priests, because that vote then went through in the November of

00:43 1992, so I was in my second year of curacy. And by the time I was ordained as a priest,

00:51 I was expecting our first child. In fact, I was eight months pregnant at the time of

00:57 my ordination. So that was wonderful. It's a lot of grace and glory all at once.

01:03 And what was the ordination service like when it finally came?

01:07 Well, it was quite long for a woman who was eight months pregnant, but it was absolutely

01:13 a wonderful occasion. So it was in St Paul's Cathedral in London, because I'd been a London

01:19 ordinand and was doing my curacy there. There was still quite a lot of opposition to women

01:26 being ordained as priests. So one of the things that was happening was that there was a lot

01:31 of media interest, of course, but there was also somebody who was trying to stop the service

01:37 from going ahead on legal grounds. So we weren't completely sure it would go ahead until we

01:42 were all there and processing in. It was glorious. St Paul's was absolutely packed. But there

01:51 was, and I think I've told this story before, but there was somebody who was allowed to

01:55 object during the service, because there's a moment when the whole congregation is asked,

02:01 is it your will, having heard all of these things, is it your will that these people

02:05 are ordained? And somebody was allowed to stand up and say, no, it isn't. And they were

02:10 allowed to state their objections. So we had to listen to that. He was given a certain

02:16 amount of time and he went over that time. So people began to shout time. People wanted

02:25 him to stop and to get on with the service. And then the question was put again, is it

02:29 your will? And the cathedral absolutely erupted with cheers and clapping and people shouting,

02:36 yes, it is. And I remember that. I mean, obviously it was a very significant moment, but I remember

02:42 that particularly because this wasn't my decision. I played my part in saying to God, I'm willing

02:50 to serve and in exploring that. And then the church recognised that calling and that felt

02:57 so strong in that moment in the cathedral, that it was their church saying, the whole

03:02 church saying, yes, this is the will of the church. And that sense of it being all part

03:09 of God's calling and of God's will. Did you feel like a trailblazer in that first

03:14 group of women being ordained in that year, 1994?

03:18 I think we did, yes. Obviously, there were women who had gone before, there'd been deaconesses

03:24 and then deacons, but it did feel very, very significant. And I was so thankful for all

03:31 the women and men who had campaigned before, because really I came in at the right time,

03:40 when that was just all changing. But that was built on so many years of people pushing

03:47 at that door until it finally opened. So it did. I don't know that I personally felt like

03:54 I am trailblazing, but that together, this was a historic and very significant moment.

04:00 And you've gone on to become in the first generation, let's call it, of women bishops.

04:06 How does that feel to you? So it became very apparent really, as women

04:12 were being able to be priests, that there was no theological barrier to women becoming

04:19 bishops. If women could be deacons and if women could be priests, then all three orders,

04:25 it seemed apparent to me, theologically, should be open to women. But it took another 20 years

04:34 before that became a reality and a possibility. And in the end, we did get there, admittedly,

04:46 after some very painful times, really. It's amazing to live through that and then to be

04:53 invited to take up an episcopal role has been extremely fulfilling.

05:02 When you were ordained back in 1994 and went then into parish ministry as a priest, did

05:07 you face barriers, continuing barriers, because you're a woman?

05:12 So I was in London Diocese, which did have a very strong number of people who were not

05:21 in favour of women being priests. But the churches that I was serving in were utterly

05:28 overjoyed and welcoming. So I would say my own personal experience in the churches that

05:34 I've been part of and the communities that I've been part of have been, on the whole,

05:39 hugely positive. But obviously, you're aware of your sisters and brothers who may be in

05:44 other communities for whom that has been painful. And I do know that within my cohort of curates

05:52 at that time, there was at least one, possibly two, who left the Church of England at that

05:58 time. So you're very aware of the divisions, which, let's be honest, there are those still

06:09 there. But we have come to a place where we live with the settlement that was arranged,

06:18 particularly over women becoming bishops.

06:22 Now back in 1994, the idea of a woman priest was quite a novelty, but there has been change

06:29 over the last 30 years. What change would you still like to see in terms of the way

06:34 women are viewed in the Church of England?

06:38 So there are the theological differences that we know about. I think there are also areas

06:44 where perhaps unwittingly there are still some barriers. Some of those are cultural

06:51 and social barriers. And I think that's something we need to give attention to within the Church.

06:59 What does it mean, really, to have women and men flourishing in ministry together? But

07:06 I also look back and I feel full of gratitude and thankfulness for where we have got to.

07:13 I guess I would like to see it just become normal. I'd like it to be completely normal

07:19 and not even a question.

07:20 Thank you. Now, obviously, at the moment, you're Acting Diocesan Bishop of Exeter.

07:25 So how will you be marking the 30th anniversary here in Exeter Diocese?

07:31 So one of the wonderful things about being Acting Diocesan Bishop is that I am able to

07:38 preside on Maundy Thursday at the Gathering Eucharist, the Chrism Eucharist, at which

07:44 nearly all clergy and licensed lay ministers come to gather together and we reaffirm our

07:51 ordination vows and promises. And that, for me, will feel very significant. It's the first

07:56 time that a female bishop has presided at such a service in Exeter. So sometimes these

08:05 things, they can feel completely normal, they will feel completely normal for us, but it

08:10 is just worth noticing that and what a joyful thing that is.

08:16 In terms of celebrating the 30th anniversary, my own 30th anniversary is the 16th of April,

08:21 so I will mark that myself. But then in July, which is closer to the Exeter date of ordinations,

08:29 I will be inviting, along with the Dean for Women in Ministry, I will be inviting ordained

08:34 women to come to a special gathering where they will be honoured, where we'll have some

08:39 speakers and talk together, share our memories and celebrate 30 years.

08:44 Thank you. And in this diocese, we have a growing number of women priests, women deacons

08:49 and other women in ministry. What would you be saying to anyone who's listening to this

08:53 or watching this, who thinks they may be called to ordination themselves, to a woman who is

08:59 at the beginning of that journey?

09:02 One of the really wonderful things about this diocese is the many pathways to explore vocations.

09:09 And I would say, if you're thinking about that, get in touch with the vocations team

09:13 and just have that initial conversation. Talk to your local vicar incumbent and have that

09:19 conversation. Just explore what God may be saying. And there are all sorts of pathways.

09:25 So I would say whatever stage of life, just to listen, be attentive to what the Holy Spirit

09:32 might be saying to you.

09:35 So as you approach your 30th anniversary of ordination to the priesthood, are you glad

09:39 that you did follow that call from God?

09:42 I am so glad that I followed that call from God. There's a song at the moment that's very

09:48 popular that has the words, "All my life you have been faithful, all my life you have been

09:53 good." And I feel that as I look back, and this is not to say that it's all been easy,

09:58 it hasn't. There have been huge challenges at times, but that I have known and experienced

10:07 that faithfulness of God and that faithfulness to that calling. There are certainly so many

10:12 things that I had no idea about. When I look back, I think, you know, I was quite naive

10:18 about what this ministry might look like or be, but you take the next step that you think

10:24 that God is calling you to, and then you find within it His grace, His mercy, His leading.

10:31 So yes, as I look back over the last 30 years, I am so glad that I took that step and I'm

10:38 grateful to God and to all those who have walked with me, supported places where I've

10:46 ministered and grown in that calling, including being here.

10:50 Thank you so much. Thank you.

10:52 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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