Twenty lay and ordained women in various roles from the Church of England and the Methodist Church gathered for a day to listen, reflect and discern. The day began and ended with prayer and in this context, we talked about the ways in which the covenant relationship between the two Churches might bear upon our experience as women in leadership roles.
The group was diverse, but we acknowledged the voices that were missing and the need to be aware of intersectionality. There is a commonality in the experience of women, but it is not simply defined. All women are not the same.
We listened as we shared stories. We reflected on the joys, challenges, pain, and hope that were experienced. We asked questions about the procedures and practice in the two churches, recognising the areas where improvement or change is needed and identifying the gifts each might receive from the other.
From this initial encounter we want to continue to enable work together for change through solidarity. This might include intentional gathering using the convening powers held by members of the group and finding opportunities for mentoring.
As those who find ourselves often “swimming in the sea of patriarchy” we recognise the need for structural change. This is an area where we can support and challenge one another. A step towards this is to call out the ground level misogyny that we encounter in many ways.
Throughout our time together we remembered that there are many groups of people whose voices are not heard and whose presence is not honoured or recognised. We also acknowledged the lives of those women who have gone before us and prepared the way for the opportunities we now have.
The gathering was convened by the Life in Covenant Group (LiC), which oversees the continuing development of the Anglican Methodist Covenant and co-chaired by Bishop Anne Hollinghurst and the Revd Ruth Gee.