SOUTHERN AFRICA: Church, archbishop encourage election of women bishops

SOUTHERN AFRICA: Church, archbishop encourage election of women bishops


By ENS staff, September 30, 2010

[Episcopal News Service] The provincial synod of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa is encouraging the election of women as bishops and urging dioceses that do not yet ordain women as priests to do so.

The triennial synod, meeting Sept. 29-Oct. 2 in Benoni, Gauteng, passed a resolution on Sept. 30 saying that although women formed the majority of church members, they were under-represented "in theological education, at every level in leadership and in representational roles."


Archbishop Thabo Makgoba of Cape Town said during his address to the synod Sept. 29 that one of his dreams during his term of office was to consecrate the Anglican Church of Southern Africa's first woman bishop.

The church is "hugely unrepresentative in relation to gender... Women constitute the majority in our pews, but the reverse is true at every level of leadership, lay and ordained," he told synod, his first as archbishop.


The Anglican Church of Southern Africa resolved in 1992 to ordain women as priests, but it has not yet elected a woman as a bishop. Unlike some provinces in the Anglican Communion, no separate decision is needed to admit women as bishops.



Makgoba told the synod that, in South Africa, "the roles of men and women alike, of every culture, were distorted by apartheid. We need to develop appropriate spiritualities for us all, for contemporary living -- that are also channels of healing for the legacies of our brutalizing history."



The Anglican Church in Southern Africa comprises dioceses in Angola, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland and the islands of St. Helena and Tristan da Cunha.



Referring to human sexuality issues and theological disagreements throughout the Anglican Communion, Makgoba said the Anglican Church of Southern Africa refused to be split by disagreements.



"For us, what has mattered most is: being centered on Christ; agreeing on the central matters of who Jesus is and the salvation he brings; and therefore recognizing one another as being united in him, and, in consequence, with each other," he said. "In consequence, as we have found within the Synod of Bishops, when differences arise, none of us feels called to say to another: 'I no longer consider you a Christian, a brother in Christ, a member of the body of Christ -- I am no longer in communion with you.'
The church's bishops, meeting Sept. 27-29 ahead of the synod, welcomed Bishop Jean Zaché Duracin of the Episcopal Diocese of Haiti who "reminded us of the devastation that his country had recently experienced" following the Jan. 12 magnitude-7 earthquake "and of the long road that still has to be traveled towards full restoration."
The bishops expressed their gratitude for Makgoba's pastoral visit to Haiti in March and for the many Anglicans in Southern Africa who have contributed towards the rebuilding efforts.

In Memoriam: Nerva Cot Aguilera

Bishop Nerva Cot Aguilera dead at 71.

Facebook Page: click below:

Click here to join the Chicks in Pointy Hats Facebook Page!

Mary Glasspool

Mary Glasspool was consecrated May 15, 2010, she is the diocese's first-and the Episcopal Church's second-gay, partnered bishop. Glasspool, 55, had told a May 14, 2010 gathering of media that the service
"is a benchmark for the whole church.""We are being the church that we say we are," she added. "We're not
just saying it, we're doing it and there's something very powerful about that. It's bigger than the both of us. So I'm looking forward with great awe as well as joy and some 'wow' to whatever the Holy Spirit has in mind."
The daughter of a priest, she had served congregations in Maryland, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania and for the past years had served as canon to the bishops in the Baltimore-based Diocese of Maryland. Her life partner of 19 years is Becki Sander, who holds degrees in theology and social work.

Diane Bruce

Diane Bruce was consecrated bishop suffragan in the Diocese Los Angeles May 15, 2010.
Bruce, 53, told the May 14 media conference that she anticipated the moment her stepmother would place the miter on her head as a "very emotional one ... because I lost my father on Maundy Thursday (April

1)." The miter, she explained, is a gift from her father and his wife.
A popular preacher and well-known priest, Bruce, who served a dozen years in the Los Angeles diocese prior to her election, is a former Roman Catholic who joined the Episcopal Church in 1986. The former
banking executive, who speaks Cantonese, Mandarin, Spanish and English, served for nine years as rector of St. Clement by-the-SeaChurch in San Clemente. She is married to Stephen Bruce; the couple has two adult children.

Mary Glasspool and Diane Bruce

Consecrated in the Diocese of Los Angeles, May 15, 2010. Historical not only because a  presiding bishop who is a woman is consecrating 2 women as bishops, but because Glasspool is openly lesbian.
(Will post them as individual entries as soon as I find photos of them in their pointy hats!)

Griselda Delgado Del Carpio

The Rev. Griselda Delgado Del Carpio was ordained and consecrated bishop coadjutor of the Episcopal Church of Cuba on February 7, 2010. Article is here.

Group Photo

Women Bishops at Lambeth Conference, 2008. Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori is in the middle.

Two up-and-coming bishops

These 2 women were elected in late 2009- they have not received their pointy hats yet. Will update this page when they do!
Suffragan Bishop Diane M. Jardine Bruce, Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles and  Suffragan Bishop Mary D. Glasspool , Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles- the first openly gay female bishop and second openly gay bishop in the whole Anglican Communion. Article here.

Barbara Darling

Bishop Barbara Darling is the first woman bishop to be appointed in Victoria, having been consecrated as a bishop on 31 May 2008 in St Pauls Cathedral, Melbourne, Australia. Article about her is here.

Linda Nicholls

Bishop Linda Nicholls was elected suffragan bishop of Toronto on Nov. 17, 2007. She was consecrated bishop on Feb. 2, 2008. Her page is here.

Jane Alexander

Bishop Jane Alexander is a bishop of the Anglican Church of Canada, and the current Bishop of Edmonton She was installed on May 11th, 2008 at All Saints' Anglican Cathedral. Until her consecration she served as Dean and Rector of All Saints' Cathedral. She is the first female Diocesan Bishop to succeed another female Diocesan Bishop in the Anglican Communion. Brief biography here.

Kay Goldsworthy

Kay Goldsworthy is a bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Perth, Western Australia. In April 2008 she was chosen to become an assistant bishop in the diocese by the Archbishop of Perth. She became the first woman to be consecrated as a bishop in the Anglican Church of Australia at St George's Cathedral, Perth on 22 May 2008. Wiki page is here.

Sue Moxley

Bishop Sue Moxley was elected Suffragan Bishop, November 2003 and ordained bishop on March 25, 2004. She was elected Diocesan Bishop of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, Canada October 20, 2007, and Installed to that office on November 23, 2007. Biography is  here.

Mary Gray-Reeves

Bishop Mary Gray-Reeves became the first woman Episcopal diocesan bishop in California on November 10, 2007, when she was ordained and consecrated the third bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of El Camino Real. Wiki page is here.

Laura J. Ahrens

Bishop Laura J. Ahrens was elected and consecrated on June 30, 2007 as bishop suffragan in the Diocese of Connecticut. She holds a  degree in geophysics amongst other degrees. Biography here.

Nerva Cot Aguilera

Bishop Nerva Cot Aguilera is the first female bishop in Cuba. She took office in 2007. Here's a USA Today article about her here.

With Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori

Dena A. Harrison

Dena A. Harrison is suffragan bishop for the Diocese of Texas since 2006. More info is here.

without pointy hat, but with big staff!

Ann Tottenham

Bishop Tottenham became the second female bishop in the Canadian Anglican church in 1997, when she was elected suffragan bishop of Toronto, and led the Credit Valley area west of Toronto. She retired in 2005.

Victoria Matthews

Victoria Matthews is Bishop of Christchurch in the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand, and Polynesia. At her ordination to the episcopate in 1994, she became the first ever female bishop in the Anglican Church of Canada. Wiki entry is here.

Penny Jamieson

In 1990 Penny Jamieson was consecrated Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Dunedin, New Zealand- becoming the first woman in the world to head a diocese in her denomination. Brief biography is here.
She retired in 2004.

Jane Dixon

Bishop Jane Dixon served as Suffragan Bishop from 1986-2001 in the Diocese of Washington. She is the second woman to be consecrated bishop in the Episcopal Church. She was honored by the Episcopal Women's Caucus in 2003, article is here.

Catherine S. Roskam

Bishop Catherine S. Roskam is Suffragan Bishop in the Diocese of New York. She is involved in ministries for children and was a professional actor prior to the priesthood. A brief biography is here.

Catherine (Cate) Maples Waynick

Bishop Catherine (Cate) Maples Waynick is Bishop of the Diocese of Indianapolis. She was elected in 1997. A biography is here.

Mary Adelia McLeod

Bishop Mary Adelia McLeod served at Bishop of Vermont from 1993-2001. She is the first woman in the Episcopal Church to serve as a diocesan bishop. She is a supporter of same-sex unions, her statements and essays about the issue can be read here.

Chilton Knudsen

Bishop Chilton Knudsen was Bishop of Maine. She pursued the priesthood shortly after the Episcopal Church started to ordain women in the 1970's. She retired in 2008 after a long ministry in the Church. Her biography is here.

Bavi Edna "Nedi" Rivera

Bishop Nedi Rivera is Assisting Bishop in the Diocese of Olympia. She is the first Hispanic female bishop in the Episcopal Church. Her father, from Puerto Rico, was also a bishop (Diocese of San Joaquin). She preaches in both English and Spanish. Her biography is here.

Carol Joy Gallagher

Bishop Carol Joy Gallagher is Assisting Bishop of North Dakota. She is the first female Native American bishop (mother is Cherokee). She has served in many dioceses including Newark, NJ and Southern Virigina. A brief biography is here. She also has her own blog, which is here.

Carolyn Tanner Irish

Bishop Carolyn Tanner Irish is Bishop of Utah, she will be retiring at the age of 70. She's one of the first female bishops in the Episcopal Church. She has been active in community service and is experienced in political activism and philanthropy.  She has mulitple degrees and was a teacher prior to the priesthood.
Biography is here.

Gayle Harris

Gayle Harris is an Assisting Bishop for the Diocese of Massachusettes. She can be see on the  Episcopal Church's iamepiscopalian.org website speaking about why she is an Episcopalian. She became a bishop in 2003. Brief biography here.

Geralyn Wolf

Bishop Geralyn Wolf is the Bishop of the Diocese of Rhode Island. As bishop, she also went undercover as a homeless person and chronicled her experience in her book, "Down and Out in Providence". She is a Jewish person who converted to Episcopalianism in adulthood. I read her book and wrote her a letter because I was impressed. She wrote me back a personal handwritten note!
A brief biography here.

Katharine Jefferts Schori

Katharine Jefferts Schori was elected the first female Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in 2006. She took the helm in the midst of the conflict within the Church - mainly over homosexual issues. Her election is a historic one for the Church and mainline denominations. She is a former marine biologist and an avid pilot and was Bishop of the Diocese of Nevada. I have an entire blog dedicated to her: http://kjsfanpage.blogspot.com/

Barbara Harris

Barbara Harris  is the first female bishop to be concecrated in the Episcopal Church. I am especially proud that she is from Philadelphia (my city) and was consecrated on my birthdate, February 11. She paved the way for other women bishops- one being Katharine Jefferts Schori, the Episcopal Church's first female Presiding Bishop, in whose installation ceremony Harris served in. She is currently an Assistant Bishop in the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, DC. Biography