So today the debate continues. Saturday’s discussions were surprising to many, a relief to some and a grief to others. The Archbishops’ suggested amendment was overruled by the House of Clergy, by a very narrow margin. Today synod will continue to debate how the introduction of women to the episcopate will go forward.

There’s been plenty of comment on this. Among it – and much of it was helpful – there was also quite a bit of hot air, and the over-use of the word misogyny. And Nick Baines wondered out loud whether, when discord occurs over issues like this, there were any useful parallels to be made with narcissitic personality disorder. I think it’s not a helpful comparison, because while there are certainly a few misogynists among the opponents of women in the church, there are many, many more who simply cannot imagine how it will be a good thing, cannot square it with their existing understanding of church, and feel that it’s a matter of conscience to object. Some, no doubt, are reacting out of fear that the order of the world as they know it is about to be turned upside down, while others simply have a world view they are convinced is right, and don’t know what to do if the Church doesn’t agree. These are problems that need careful consideration, and they will no doubt be expressed with heartfelt emotion, but they are not indicators that people basically hate women, or that they have anything like a personality disorder.

Jonathan Wynne-Jones called Saturday the Church’s “Darkest Hour” and quotes Fr Jonathan Baker, principle of Pusey House and a leading traditionalist, as saying that young Anglo-Catholic priests will struggle to see a future in the Church of England.

“It is bound to be more difficult to hold on to people now,” he said. “How can you stay in a family where members of the family have no need of you.”

This, of course, is precisely what women have also been saying for quite a long time. The “I will have to leave the church if a or b happens or doesn’t happen…” argument is a matter of conscience for all of us, but it’s not the basis for a decision. It’s impossible to create a way forward that meets everyone’s requirements; that’s precisely what the disagreement is about. As Bishop Alan Wilson puts it:

Howbeit, one doughty layman of a traditionally Conservative outlook suggested to me at a recent do, you can’t really have a situation where the blacks are allowed on the bus but only because there’s a whites only section at the front where, as long as the passengers don’t look round, they can feel as though nothing’s changed. It’s for everyone to decide what their consciences will and won’t wear, but we each and all have more or less tuned consciences, and therein lies the complexity. He thinks they all need a bit of moral courage, now. Further paralysis and funk is the worst option of all, surely, for everyone. Time for a bit of faith.

Andrew Brown, who has been watching this debate unfold for a quarter of a century, and gave a far more upbeat account of events than Wynne-Jones. So much so that the headliner called it a “triumph”. It was certainly a significant moment in the history of the Church. But interestingly most of the women I know were not feeling “triumphant” on Saturday evening – perhaps because the debate is still far from over, but more because it wasn’t a war, and women, of all people, understand exactly how bad it feels to be “left out”. There was, I think, a surprisingly high level of grace despite a difficult discussion, and I hope today continues that way.

The sanest comments so far have also been the kindest. Here are two more:
from Jeremy Fletcher wrote that the decision must be one that doesn’t diminish the episcopal standing of a woman diocesan:

…I could not see that the Arcbishop’s amendment helped with this problem, and neither could the Steering Committee, who have lived with this for two years. I listened carefully, very carefully. And I voted not to kick a group of people out of the church, but to invite our church to operate with grace, rather than wielding writs at each other.

I believe that the Measure will enable exactly the kind of provision for those whose consciences cannot take a woman bishop to exist within the church. But that provision will need to be by grace rather than law. So offered, I think it will be a better church that results. But I do not doubt the despair of those who made the result such a telling event. And I pray that, before the debate resumes on Monday, grace may abound.

And the Rev’d Lesley Fellows published a personal response in the form of a moving account of presiding over Communion on sunday morning.

It’s going to need the wisdom of Gamaliel to keep looking forward to the future now. But I still believe it can be done, if grace is allowed to lead.

That’s all from me for now. Enjoy Monday.