Dear Friends,
I remember.
I was 15 years old when the first women were ordained to the priesthood in the Anglican Church of Canada. It was Nov. 30, 1976, on St. Andrew’s Day. Six women were ordained at the same time in the dioceses of Niagara, Huron, Cariboo and New Westminster. The services in each place were synchronized to begin at the same time. I thought that was super cool. While I knew others in Churchland were quite opposed to the ordination of women, my adolescent mind couldn’t understand what all the fuss was about. I grew up in a home where inclusion, diversity and service were held as being sacred tenets.
It wasn’t until I attended seminary at Huron College in 1985 that I truly appreciated the gift of women in ministry. To that point, all the clergy that I encountered in my limited experience had been men. The Huron community was blessed with a whole host of women students, some of whom were my age and others who were stepping into this vocation later in life. These were the women who first taught me. These were the women who opened my eyes to see a wider, richer, deeper interpretation of scripture and the possibility of a more diverse Church. They taught me about the exclusion and misogyny they experienced. They taught me about the stress and the strain they bore when learning to minister. They were the ones who modeled for me persistence and tenacity and how to challenge the Church to change. I was blessed by listening, by watching and by emulating how they exercised their vocations. Those were still early days.
And now, 50 years later, we have the opportunity to celebrate a half century of women in priestly ministry from coast to coast to coast. We give thanks for the first women priests, who were and are critical in helping the Church to grow and change, and who inspired future generations of women to follow the same path. In our Diocese, we are blessed by a whole host of more than 160 active or retired women priests who use their God-given gifts to open scripture for ears to hear, to pour water in baptism, to join hands in marriage, to anoint the sick and the dying, to bury the dead, to break the bread and pour the wine and invite us into a sacramental way of life. Women have moved from the pew to the orders of deacons, priests and bishops – including vicars, canons, archdeacons, archbishops and Primate! Lest we forget, even the chair of St. Augustine of Canterbury is now occupied by a woman, too. After such a long wait, isn’t it amazing what the Holy Spirit has accomplished in a short amount of time?
There is so much to celebrate. And there is still work to be done: to include, to change, to love and to embody the love of Jesus Christ.
Please join us at St. James Cathedral this Sunday, Oct. 18 at 4:30 p.m. as we gather for a joyful Choral Evensong to mark this historic moment. Bishop Riscylla Shaw will preach. Maddy McGregor, one of our postulants and the cathedral’s lay pastoral associate, will officiate. And all our women priests especially are invited to come and vest (choir dress: cassock, surplice, tippet and hood), process and be seated together as a witness to their ministry.
After the service, everyone is invited to Snell Hall for a wine and cheese reception, when we will toast the many ways God has blessed this Diocese with the ministry of women priests.
Thanks be to God!
Yours in Christ,
The Right Reverend Andrew Asbil
Bishop of Toronto
