Like all letters to the editor everywhere, these letters express the opinions of the writers and not Anglicans Online. We publish letters that we think will be of interest to our readers, whether we agree with them or not. If you'd like to write a letter of your own, click here.

There are often comments about our front-page letters on the Anglicans Online Facebook page. You might like to have a look.

Women in the Church

I'm a little surprised you're not carrying a link on your website to the 59th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, which has a large Anglican presence, and opens today.

Simon Albrecht
Nelson, New Zealand
9 March 2015

Ed: We apologise this was ommitted from the News Centre last week, it was an oversight which has been corrected. We very much appreciate the work the Anglican presense at the UNCSW has done through the decades.

While I was serving at a church in Canberra my daughter and her family, including baby grand daughter, lived with me for a while.

Baby Emily grew up attending morning prayer every day and, of course, church on Sunday where her revvie would sit up the front. To her it was just normal.

Two years ago I moved to a small country town to serve as Rector to the Anglican parish. Not long after I came the family visited for the weekend. Emily, now two and a half, decided that she would sit next to me at the front for the service. No one minded and she had a great time.

When it came time to celebrate the Great Thanksgiving Emily, unknown to me, decided to come and stand beside me. With great concentration, she mimicked my actions, raised arms, solemn looks, head bowed. I finally realised when I saw I had the whole congregation with grins on their faces.

I give thanks to God that she will grow up in a Christian community where all people are encouraged to use their God given gifts, and where it is normal for women and men, young and old, to lead God's people, and where everyone is willing to smile at the innocence of the young.

Canon Margaret Campbell
St Bartholomew Anglican Church
Crookwell, Australia
13 March 2015

 

Your editorial last week for International Women's Day and women in the church was quite lovely! Being part of an international community which has positions of leadership regardless of gender has been important to me. This letter however, made no mention of the women who were leaders outside of the United States and England - some long before The Rt. Rev Barbara Harris or the Rev Geraldine Granger.

Florence Li Tim-Oi, for example, was the first woman priest in the Anglican Communion, ordained a priest in 1944 in Hong Kong (this was regularized in the 1970s). In addition to bishops in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, the Anglican Church of Southern African, the Church in South India, and Episcopal Church of Cuba have all had bishop's with two X chromosomes.

How have times changed!

Liz Olsen
Chicago, USA
15 March 2015

Earlier letters

We launched our 'Letters to AO' section on 11 May 2003. All published letters are in our archives.