African province nixes women’s ordination
Anglican Communion News Service reported November 30, 2013, that the synod of the Church of the Province of Central Africa has defeated a proposal to allow women to be ordained, even though some dioceses are eager to do so. Only the lay order voted in favor of the proposal. The province covers Botswana, Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.Pilling Report released
Most Episcopalians will not know what the Pilling Report is, but, in the Church of England, “The Report of the House of Bishops Working Group on Human Sexuality” has been eagerly awaited and its contents have been the subject of much speculation. The report is named informally for Sir Joseph Pilling, who chaired the working group that produced the report. The lengthy report—it is over 200 pages long—does not recommend any change in doctrine for the Church of England or the development of any liturgy for blessing same-sex unions, but it does endorse services to mark faithful same-sex relationships. The report also proposes that the church begin facilitated conversations on sexuality.The report can be found here. Anglican Communion News Service reported on the release of the report here. News stories and commentaries on the report are legion. Interested readers should consult the links provided by Thinking Anglicans here, here, here, here, here, and here.
Female Episcopal priest elected bishop in Canada’s Diocese of New Westminster
The Rev. Canon Melissa M. Skelton, canon for congregational development and leadership and rector of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Olympia, was elected November 30, 2013, to become the next diocesan bishop in the Diocese of New Westminster in the Anglican Church of Canada. She succeeds the now-retired Bishop Michael Ingham, who is perhaps best known for allowing the blessing of same-sex unions in 2003. Anglican Journal reported the story December 2, 2013.On the same day that New Westminster elected its first female bishop, the first Anglican female bishop in the British Isles, the Rev. Pat Storey, was consecrated Bishop of Meath and Kildare in the Church of Ireland. (See Pittsburgh Update story here.) The Irish Times reported the story here.