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
Video Diocese of Exeter, Alan Quick
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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]