24.11.2020
Watch: New Video Marks 30th Anniversary of Ordination of Women in the Church of Ireland
The Church of Ireland is celebrating the 30th anniversary of the ordination of women to the priesthood. To mark the move, which was approved by the General Synod on May 15 1990, a new video has been released featuring contributions from 62 female Church of Ireland clergy.
The video (which is available to watch below) will also be shown at this year’s meeting of General Synod, which will take place online on Tuesday December 1 and Wednesday December 2 and as part of a service to be televised on RTÉ One on Sunday December 13 at 11.00am.
The Revd Irene Templeton and the Revd Kathleen Young were ordained by
Bishop Samuel Poyntz, then Bishop of Connor, in St Anne’s Cathedral,
Belfast, on June 24 1990. This followed the ordination of the Church’s
first female deacon, the Revd Katharine Poulton, on June 21 1987. The
Church of Ireland’s first female bishop, the Most Revd Pat Storey, was
consecrated as Bishop of Meath and Kildare on November 30 2013.
The production features the passing of chalices and candles between
clergy, each filmed in an individual video clip, followed by a number of
memorable comments about the role of women in ordained ministry which
have been heard over the years.
Introducing the video, the Dean of Cloyne,
the Very Revd Susan Green, says: “To mark this moment and to celebrate
God’s call to be ordained, we’ve made this video. The passing of the
chalices and the candles reflects our shared hopes in ministry.
“The chalices are signs of our ordination as priests, of celebrating
Holy Communion and of all we share together. The passing from one to
another symbolises our connections and our unity in Christ. In these
Covid–19 times, when we are missing the sharing of the common cup, it is
all the more poignant.
“The candles symbolise the light of Christian faith and as we enter
Advent, we rejoice in the words spoken by Bishop Storey from St John’s
Gospel, ‘The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has never
overcome it.’”
Music for the video was arranged by the Revd Dr Anne–Marie O’Farrell and performed by
her in the Hugh Lane Gallery, with permission kindly granted by Dublin
City Council. The name of the piece is ‘Chorale Variations on Take My
Life and Let it Be’, by Dr O’Farrell.
There are currently around 100 female clergy serving in the Church of Ireland, among 500 serving clergy in total.