Image of a Church Times ad from St John’s Hensingham, saying they only want a man as Associate Vicar.

Afters years of requests & now pressure from us & others, some @churchofengland.org churches are being more open & honest with clergy applicants & churchgoers over their PCC’s policy of excluding women from ministry:
From @churchtimes.bsky.social 5.9.25.
#TransparencyAboutPCCResolutions #NotEqualYet

Holy Cross Church, Felsted | Home We Are - A Growing Church In The Beautiful North Essex Villages Of Felsted & Little Dunmow Seeking To Love And Serve Jesus In Our Community. A Church Of

3.Here’s an example for this week of no #TransparencyAboutPCCResolutions: see the website of Holy Cross #Felsted.
Do you see any indication of their policy on women?
Yet they’re listed as a parish overseen by the #BishopofEbbsfleet.

www.felstedchurch.org.uk

@watch-notequalyet.bsky.social

General Synod question answer says another CofE talking shop is ‘happy to consider’ creating a list.

1. Q 39 was another asked re #TransparencyAboutPCCResolutions @churchofengland.org #Synod.
3/4 of these bishops’ websites don’t mention the word women on their front page. Most churchgoers aren’t going to research further, as to why a particular bishop is allocated to their church.

At the end of the ‘answer’, it says ‘it is hoped [this will encourage churches] to ‘find ways’ to ‘discuss’ their position on women’s ministry in open & clear ways. Again, hoping is not ensuring.

In my earlier post, I omitted the last, ludicrous, phrase of the answer to Question 38 for @churchofengland.org’s 7.25 General #Synod:
‘it is hoped’.
We gave up hoping many years ago. Hoping hasn’t worked.
Bishops need actually to do something effectual to ensure #TransparencyAboutPCCResolutions

The @churchofengland.org #Synod Representative’s question asks what’s being done to ‘ensure’, not to ‘encourage’.
The answer only speaks of encouraging.
Lay people understand from this:

‘Bishops have considered it, & decided we don’t want to ensure #TransparencyAboutPCCResolutions excluding women.’

Text of General Synod July 2025 Question asking for leaders to ensure churchgoers are informed about any PCC Resolutions excluding women, & the Answer, which actually means ‘Nothing’

Mid 2025: yet more @churchofengland.org #Synod members ask bishops via written Questions for #TransparencyAboutPCCResolutions which exclude women from equality in ministry.
The ‘answer’ actually means ‘nothing’.
But it’s hidden in a word-soup of drivel. This must end.
@watch-notequalyet.bsky.social

In 2018 a WATCH clergy trustee & General Synod member argued in a meeting that @churchofengland.org bishops simply don’t care about lay women.
Since then, ignoring requests, bishops have not ensured laity get #TransparencyAboutPCCResolutions.
So now, what should lay women’s attitudes be to bishops?

Screenshot of response to bishops’ statement and proposal.

#NotEqualYet
Reaction on ThinkingAnglicans to @churchofengland.org bishops’ latest meeting outcome.

Is it now time for a national consultation & then a debate in #GeneralSynod?

A start wd be requiring honestly-phrased,
genuinely-communicative
#TransparencyAboutPCCResolutions on church websites

Rock the Boat! Research on transparency of gendered positions in the Church of England - Centre for Religion in Society A copy of the report is available to download here. This research was undertaken by Dr Sharon Jagger, York St. John University, and Becky Tyndall, Durham University and was commissioned … Continue rea...

Here again is our research on lack of #TransparencyAboutPCCResolutions
It also details other problems with @churchofengland.org #MaleHeadship / #MaleOnlyPriesthood ministry
- cases of women’s priestly vocations being blocked, manipulative use of language, etc.

blog.yorksj.ac.uk/cris/rock-th...

Another example. Here’s a question on #TransparencyAboutPCCResolutions from @churchofengland.org’s General Synod July 2020…
@samwilson.bsky.social

Lay women asking to be heard about the lack of #TransparencyAboutPCCResolutions have been treated like a bit of mess on the shoe.
Yet we’re asked to pay £ towards #parishshare, a lot which goes to fund the ‘national church’.
And we are also useful for our voluntary work for our churches.
Enough.

It’s November 2024.
Most #ChurchofEngland churchgoers are still (10 yrs & counting) not informed that a small group of our clergy/churches have a PCC agreed policy of excluding women from equal ministry with men.
#TransparencyAboutPCCResolutions
Read about it here:

blog.yorksj.ac.uk/cris/files/202…