Women's Participation Group Works Toward '88
Episcopal News Service. January 8, 1987 [87004]
ERLANGER, Ky. (DPS, Jan. 8) -- The Marydale Center here was the site recently for a meeting of the Committee of the Full Participation of Women (CFPW), the third since its appointment by Presiding Bishop Edmond L. Browning following the 1985 General Convention. Presided over by Pamela Chinnis, Chair, the thirteen members in attendance focussed on their charge to examine barriers to women's full participation and to recommend ways to remove the barriers.
Reports were heard concerning the level of participation by women in other denominations, particularly in the Presbyterian Church USA and in the United Methodist Church. Excerpts from previous studies conducted by the Episcopal Church were also reviewed. The request of the Episcopal Church Women that there be "no more studies" has been heard by the Committee, and it anticipates a significant action section in its final report to the 1988 General Convention. One aspect of the Committee's preparation for its task was an analysis of personal power in organizations, prepared by member Sally Bucklee.
A major portion of the agenda at the Marydale meeting was an examination of the grant proposal to the Lilly Memorial Trust prepared by Dr. Adair Lumnis of the Hartford Seminary and Committee members Betty Connelly and Marcy Walsh. The proposal, which has been granted, is designed to uncover data and attitudes related to women's ministries in a sample of twelve dioceses. Nine dioceses were chosen because they are the home dioceses of Committee members, and three others were chosen for reasons of geography or because they are presently closed to women seeking ordination. The dioceses taking part in the study include Maine, Newark, Washington, South Carolina, Southwest Florida, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, South Dakota, Iowa, Kansas, Texas and California. For reasons of language and timing, no diocese in Province IX will be surveyed at this time.
Diocesan involvement in the study will start with the interest and support of the bishop and his assignment of a staff person to join a volunteer committee of ten women and men representative of the diocese. That committee will have responsibility for duplicating and distributing the questionnaires which has been prepared by Lummis, selecting one of its members to receive training in interpretation of the resulting data, and the writing of a report to the diocese which will include specific recommendations to address the finding. All of the diocesan reports will accompany the recommendations based on national data in the Committee's final report to the 1988 General Convention.
Compilation of data from this study is just one phase of the Committee's work, however. A theological statement drafted by member Nan Peete was adopted for inclusion in the report, as was the inclusive language policy statement of Virginia Seminary. Marge Christie was asked to prepare an update of statistics related to women priests and deacons and an analysis of women as deputies to General Convention.
The Committee on the Full Participation of Women anticipates the recommendation of policy changes at parish, diocesan and national Church levels to achieve its vision of an inclusive Church. Other Committee members include Vice Chair Carol Flanagan, Peg Anderson, Arlene Dedini, Mary Flagg, Wallace Frey, Anne Carter Mahaffey, Elsa Solter, Fran Toy and Craig Anderson.