Ordination Numbers

Oral Answers to Questions — Church Commissioners – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 12 July 2018.

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Photo of Diana R. Johnson Diana R. Johnson Labour, Kingston upon Hull North 12:00, 12 July 2018

To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, what progress the Church of England has made on its target to increase ordinations by 2020; and what proportion of recent new ordinands are women.

Photo of Caroline Spelman Caroline Spelman The Second Church Estates Commissioner, The Second Church Estates Commissioner

I would first like to congratulate all those ordained deacon or priest last month. Within the hon. Lady’s diocese of York, four women and three men were ordained priest, alongside eight women and two men who were ordained deacon. Nationally, the Church of England is on target to increase the number of people who are recommended for training in 2020 by 50%.

Photo of Diana R. Johnson Diana R. Johnson Labour, Kingston upon Hull North

I thank the right hon. Lady for that answer—it is good to hear that the stained glass ceiling is being well and truly smashed. However, is it not about time that, in the evolution of the established Church of England, the special arrangements that were put in place for those who do not accept the equality and ministry of women were abandoned?

Photo of Caroline Spelman Caroline Spelman The Second Church Estates Commissioner, The Second Church Estates Commissioner

The Church has come to an accommodation on that issue. I think that the gradual increase in the number of women who are coming into ministry, and people’s experience of being ministered to by a female priest, is in itself changing social attitudes in a holistic way. I expect to see more and more women coming into post, and therefore more and more people getting used to seeing them there.

Photo of Philip Hollobone Philip Hollobone Conservative, Kettering

What are the main barriers to women becoming ordinands in the Church of England?

Photo of Caroline Spelman Caroline Spelman The Second Church Estates Commissioner, The Second Church Estates Commissioner

There are no barriers to women becoming ordinands in the Church of England. As I have just explained, there has been a sharp increase in the number of women coming into ministry, and the overall number of ordinands entering training has increased by 14% over the past two years. The number of women under the age of 32 entering training has actually increased by 27%, which shows that it is an increasingly attractive vocation for younger women who look forward to a career in the Church as a female priest.

Photo of David Drew David Drew Shadow Minister (Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

I hear what the right hon. Lady says, but will she also consider the impact of the number of churches that new ordinands have to look after? It is a real worry, given the pressure we are putting on these poor people, particularly if they are not full time, in order to carry out their ministry.

Photo of Caroline Spelman Caroline Spelman The Second Church Estates Commissioner, The Second Church Estates Commissioner

It is obviously a pressure for male and female priests, who might find themselves in charge of eight or 10 very small, rural ministries. The Church has looked at how sustainable that is, and the status of some churches has been changed to that of festival churches, which are open only on the high days and holy days of Christmas and Easter, to try to ensure that the workload is sustainable. It is something the Church Commissioners have very much in mind, alongside training more ordinands.