Here’s a timeline of three events:
On January 31st, Philip North is announced as the new bishop of Sheffield. Some people are uneasy about his appointment, because he regards people who are in favour of the ordination of women as “tainted”.
On February 19th, I have a preaching appointment in my own church, Emmanuel Waterthorpe, which falls within the Diocese of Sheffield. The appointed texts are Genesis 1 (“God looked at everything he had made, and saw that all of it was very good”) and Matthew 6 (“first and most importantly, strive after God’s way of doing things and God’s justice”). Amongst other things, I say “if anyone tells you that a certain group of people doesn’t deserve to be here, you can tell them that they’re talking nonsense.”
On March 9th, Philip North decides to decline the appointment, saying “It is clear that the level of feeling is such that my arrival would be counter-productive in terms of the mission of the Church in South Yorkshire”.
Remember, people, that words have power. I wasn’t the only person saying what I said on February 19th, and evidently some have said it more directly.
Let’s hope the next appointee regards women as fully human, as Genesis 1:27 states.
