Bishop Treweek Demurs: “I don’t feel like a pioneer,” said the Rt. Rev. Rachel Treweek, the Church of England’s first woman to become a diocesan bishop, after her consecration July 21. “It just so happens that I am pioneer in this, but lots of men and women have been pioneers throughout history.”
She added: “I am so hugely grateful for those who fought for this day, for women to be consecrated and serve Jesus as they’ve been called. I hope, more than anything, this sends a message that Jesus calls people of all diversities, and I hope now we will see so many more women.”
The Church of England chose the feast day of Mary Magdalene for her consecration alongside Dame Sarah Mullally, suffragan bishop of Crediton (in the Diocese of Exeter).
Drifting from Church Weddings: A new study by the University of Oxford has showed a drift away from church weddings in the U.K. Churches and register offices accounted for less than half of marriage ceremonies. Couples instead choose to marry in a stately home, castle, or favorite garden. Just one in three couples marry in church. More than half of all first weddings occur in approved premises such as a hotel; 37 percent are in church, and 10 percent are in a registrar’s office. The study showed that two-thirds of couples who married in church had been living together before the wedding.
Church of England in Numbers: Everyone Counts, the report of a congregational diversity audit carried out in autumn 2014, says that in a theoretical Church of England congregation of 100 people, 59 would be female, 11 would be children age 11 or younger, 19 would be 76 or older, seven would be minority ethnic Anglicans, and 37 would have at least one health issue or disability (including eight with mobility impairments and three with mental-health conditions).
