Women have a long history of creative and courageous contributions to gospel ministry in our Diocese.
On the 4th May 1926, the Bush Church Aid Society launched a new Church of England Motor Van Mission. Its aim was to provide spiritual ministry to women and children in the bush. Two women, Sister Grace Syms and Miss M. de Labilliere, were sent out in the van to the far west districts of NSW. They were farewelled in the grounds of St Andrew’s Cathedral.
The whole event was reported in the Sydney press. Main speaker, Miss Preston Stanley MLA, “congratulated the church and the women themselves in making what at present was an experiment. They were opening up an avenue of service that she was sure would prove of priceless value.”
The Rev GA Chambers added his words, saying, “their mission would be to brace up the lonely bush dwellers with the word of life and with prayer.”
The Rev SJ Kirkby, BCA’s organising secretary, said, “They would be pioneers, and not bent on any holiday. Their only home would be the van.”
I don’t know any more of the story of this enterprise, though I know Miss Syms became the Senior Deaconess at Deaconess House in 1928. Some years later there were ‘bush deaconesses’ carrying out a van ministry in the Gippsland area of Victoria.
What I appreciate is that such stories give us a tiny glimpse into the creativity and courageous commitment women were offering to the ministry and outreach of the Anglican Church at the time when people were just beginning to comprehend the significant contribution women could make in gospel ministry and service. They went out and started new works when more mainstream ministries weren’t available to them, or when they saw a need that no one else was meeting.
Archbishop Wright participated in the ‘Women’s Work in the Church’ working group at the 1920 Lambeth Conference, and returned determined to regularise women’s work in the Diocese of Sydney. In 1922 the Sydney Synod passed the Women’s Work in the Church Ordinance – I believe the first of its kind in Australia.
Wright told the 1923 Annual Meeting of the Deaconess Institution that “deaconesses could now take such part in church services as reading morning and evening prayer, and the lessons”. He omitted saying that a deaconess could also ‘give an address’ in a church.
The Archbishop told a later Meeting, that “the work of a deaconess needed no apology these days, but there was a time when things were different; much propaganda work needed to be done before women took an active part in church work.”
Some would say his words were prophetic, and the propaganda work is still needed.
Are we able to reflect on our own situation in this new millennium and say with satisfaction that we have moved a long way ahead of those days? We can see so much pioneering work in ministry done by women in earlier days. Another example of this is that Chesalon commenced because of the ministry experience of one deaconess, a nursing sister, in the parish of Surry Hills.
This month sees the Diocesan Women’s Day when the Archbishop will speak on “The importance of women in achieving the Church’s mission”. I don’t propose to advise him what he should say to what I trust will be a massive audience of women. Though I admit to hoping that he will urge his women hearers into being this century’s trail blazers in ministries of compassionate care, and evangelistic outreach.
I trust he will also press his clergy to consider how they may become creative supporters of women’s ministry in their own parish or region, and what positions they might be able to create, both stipended and non-stipended, for women to fulfil.
The Diocesan Team for Women’s Ministry has been given the herculean task of encouraging, promoting, developing and resourcing women’s ministry. They can’t possibly do it on their own and will only achieve their objectives – which I trust are as creative as earlier days – if they are given the total support of this Diocese in its entirety.
Sydney may not accept the ministry of women as priests and bishops in the foreseeable future. But our history shows us as a pioneer Diocese for women’s ministry. God forbid that we should withdraw from that pinnacle of support.
Opponents of the mainstream views of Sydney Diocese will claim that we withdrew long ago. But consider this: In other places church leaders have ordained women to the priesthood and are even pondering women bishops. Yet outside of the ordained ministry their support of women in ministry appears close to negligible, since they don’t seem able to clearly envision ministry apart from ordination. We must put our minds to showing everyone what can be done.
