I know a lot of my readers are not really "in" with the Church thing. So it's probably a bit mystifying to read about things like the FoCA gathering last weekend – what on earth are they actually arguing about? Well, it's a long story but it's got to do with who some people will or will not accept as being "real" Christians. There are some people who cherish the idea that tradition is about preserving everything in aspic – something that even museums don't do any more. And one of the things that upsets some of these people who like the idea of keeping the Church "traditional", is the idea of women being priests. Priests have always been men, right? So what's with this thing of girls wanting to join in?

On one level this feels so "last year" to me – I started my training course in advance of being a priest in 1993, and arrived at theological college to the welcoming sight of leaflets on my doormat saying that a woman's place was in the kitchen, not behind the altar. Hmmm. I don't think so.

There is much that could be said about this, but it would take a book, not a blog post. But in what I've read about the FoCA position over the last few days, a recurring comment is that if male priests want to dress up in "women's clothes" what is their problem with women being priests? But I cannot fathom this talk about men in "frocks" – as if clerical gear is "girls' " clothes.

I have been a girl/woman for a very long time, and I know how to do feminine. I can do Rock Chick feminine, professional-woman feminine, sun-on-the-beach feminine and just slob-out-at-home feminine. I have made a pair of dungarees look feminine, and even a boiler suit (it was a summer job). I like being a woman, I'm happy in my skin and comfortable in my clothes. But believe me, there is nothing, nothing, nothing remotely feminine about clerical dress. It may have a skirt attached, but of all the things I have ever worn it is the least feminine thing I have ever encountered. If this is what the Chichester crowd thinks is feminine, they are really living on another planet.