What is in Kelvin's Head?

  • Florence Li Tim-Oi – Celebrating 70 years since her ordination

    I’m just off to celebrate a Eucharist because it is a Feast Day – the Conversion of St Paul. The standard, if rather weak, in-joke is that one is going to pray for the Conversion of St Paul rather than simply remember the Conversion of St Paul – not least because Paul had things to say that have not been terribly helpful to a modern world where women and men are equal.

    As I celebrate the feast today I’m going to be remembering with thanksgiving this woman: The Rev Florence Li Tim-Oi and celebrating 70 years since her ordination.

    Florence Li Tim-Oi

    She was the first woman to be made a priest in the Anglican Communion and today is 70 years since it happened. It happened in wartime when there were no men around and it happened secretly and without the permission of synods and decision-making bodies simply, I suspect because they couldn’t meet at the time.

    The most extraordinary thing about Mother Florence is that once the war was over, she gave up her license to act as a priest (but not her orders) until such time as her church accepted the principle that women and men could equally be regarded as priests. In her part of the world, that meant waiting until 1971.

    I can’t imagine what it was like to wait so many years to be treated as an equal.

    No, wait a minute.

    I can.

    , ,

9 responses to “Scotland Says No!”

  1. Tim Avatar
    Tim

    Hallelujah!!

    Reply
  2. Eamonn Avatar
    Eamonn

    Amen!

    Reply
  3. Susan Sheppard Hedges Avatar
    Susan Sheppard Hedges

    Yes!!!

    Reply
  4. Martin Reynolds Avatar
    Martin Reynolds

    “something that the church overwhelmingly felt was not the way forward”

    …… the way set by the emergency Primates meeting way back when Gene had just been elected was not the way forward and, sad to say, I can’t think of any good that has flowed from it.

    I can only hope that the threats are now over and the listening begins.

    Reply
  5. Neil Oliver Avatar
    Neil Oliver

    Excellent news.

    Reply
  6. Zebadee Avatar
    Zebadee

    This has to be good news for the Anglican Communion it’self.

    Reply
  7. Brother David Avatar
    Brother David

    TBTG!

    Reply
  8. Brother David Avatar
    Brother David

    BTW, Father Mark Harris in the US says that the Philippine province has already said no to the covenant.

    Reply
  9. Kelvin Holdsworth Avatar
    Kelvin Holdsworth

    Yes – it is reported that the Philippine province has said no, but the reports I saw suggested that it was their bishops who said no rather than a vote in a General Synod.

    My point was that I think that the Scottish Synod is the first actual Synod of a Province to say no. Happy to be proved wrong though.

    Reply

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