The Limitation and Opportunity of Gender : Women and Ecclesiastical Structures in Canadian Anglicanism, 1920-1955
https://archives.anglican.ca/link/article36638
- Author
- Fletcher-Marsh, Wendy L. (Wendy Lynn), 1963-
- Fletcher, Wendy L. (Wendy Lynn), 1963-
- Material Type
- Journal Article
- Journal
- Journal of the Canadian Church Historical Society
- Date
- 1995 April
- Material Type
- Journal Article
- Date
- 1995 April
- Volume
- 37
- Issue
- 1
- Page
- [41]-54
- Notes
- "Between 1920 and 1955, women of the Anglican tradition in Canada served their church, within the limitations defined by the idea of women's sphere. In keeping with the gender roles that characterized the first half of twentieth-century society, women did not participate fully in all areas of church life. Excluded in this period from the threefold order of ordained ministry, and for most of this period from the synodical decision-making bodies of the church, women defined their ministries through their own creative imaginations. The result was a rich and diverse tapestry of ministry which reflected the regional diversity of the country. .... The following, then, is primarily a structural analysis. Specific questions define the parameters of that analysis. What was the hierarchy's view of women as it was reflected in church policy regarding them ? What did task forces and committees find concerning the place of women's work in the Church ? What types of labour, both voluntary and paid, did women in the church perform. The period from which these questions will be examined begins with the Lambeth conference of 1920 which raised the question of the relationship of women to traditional ecclesiastical structures in the Anglican Communion. It ends with the publication of a report on the place and work of women in the Anglican Church of Canada in 1955. That publication ["Future Patterns of Women's Work in the Church"] was the final report of significance on women's work prior to the introduction of the ordination of women to the three-fold order of ministry of bishop, priest, and deacon in the 1970s. Its findings serve as a watershed between the past and present experience of women in Canadian Anglicanism". -- p.[41]-42.
- "Although the language of partnership was used in 1935, clearly the partnership to which women were invited was a limited one. Women might participate in Church structures as along as they served as representatives of the traditional women's sphere such as women's voluntary groups engaged in philanthropy and social activities. The issue of women's paid labour went largely unaddressed. From this point in the Canadian Church's history until the ordination of women in 1970s, a committee on Women's Work remained in place. Increasingly, it addressed the concerns of women workers and women's participation at Synods. In 1943, the General Synod accepted the recommendation of this committee and voted to allow women to represent the Diocesan Synod in the Lower House of General Synod. At the next session of the General Synod held in Winnipeg, the first woman delegate participated in the proceedings: Mrs. R.E. Wodehouse, representing the Yukon". -- p. 45-46.
- "Although women were active in ministries within the Church, women's work was plagued by many difficulties. In its 1949 report to General Synod the Committee on Women's Work identified areas of special concern. It identified two 'matter(s) of grave urgency': wages that were often well below those of the male deacon, and the lack of a pension plan for full-time women workers". --. 49.
- "The [1955] Task Force report on 'Future Patterns of Women's Work in the Church' was ... circulated widely, and it opened the door to the gradual re-definition of gender-based spheres of participation in the history of Canadian Anglicanism. The process of re-definition is still going on". -- p. 50.
- Subjects
- Women in the Anglican Church of Canada - History
- Women church workers - Anglican Church of Canada - History
- Deaconesses - Anglican Communion
- Deaconesses - Anglican Church of Canada
- Church of England in Canada. Woman's Auxiliary
- Bishop's Messengers - Anglican Church of Canada
- Women missionaries - Anglican Church of Canada
- Women - Religious aspects - Anglican Church of Canada
- Church of England in Canada. Committee on Women's Work in the Church
- Anglican Church of Canada - Government
- Representation on committees - Anglican Church of Canada
- Location
- General Synod Archives