Re-finding our voices

Dr Liz Shercliff describes how women are resisting their exclusion and silencing in church.

As if 2026 has not already presented enough climactic events, March, from a Christian, and global Anglican, perspective, will bring another. In March, Dame Sarah Mullally will be instituted as the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury, the first woman ever to hold the position. The announcement has not, of course, brought immediate cultural change – one news outlet named Dame Sarah’s husband before getting round to naming her, as though who she is married to is of more significance than her own role or achievements. While the news release was good news for some, others were dismayed.

For well over a decade, I have run a conference for women called Women’s Voices. It has always been a place where women’s voices are respected and heard, and where what they have to say has academic rigour. In 2025, for the first time, one of the conferences took place in London at St Pancras Old Church. Bishop Sarah Mullally, then Bishop of London, supported it and gave a keynote speech. In it, she made some significant points.

First, we find our voices together. Unless like-minded people, in this case women, collaborate, they are easily silenced, because they are perceived as, even forced into being, lone voices. Lone voices can be easily portrayed as odd, other, not worth listening to. Second, we need to become ourselves, rather than imitations of someone else. We can only become ourselves when we walk away from the expectations of others. Third, women are always disruptive, just by being in a woman’s body. When a woman arrives in a traditionally male space, there is always a collective intake of breath. Fourth, tears are not unacceptable. When Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves was seen in tears in the House of Commons, very few people wondered what was wrong, while much of the media had a field day arguing that it demonstrated her unsuitability for the post. Similarly, when Bishop Sarah was seen shedding a tear in Synod, she was accused of trying to manipulate the vote – the assumptions being, perhaps, that men don’t cry or that tears are a sign of weakness.

I have spent the best part of a decade researching among women ministers, lay and ordained, who have attended the Women’s Voices conference. I have heard their stories, their experiences of church, faith and God and their pain. What I have learned substantially supports what Bishop Sarah said. Many women have spoken of being together as liberating and empowering. One of the most repeated comments was that the conference ‘helped me realize it isn’t just me’. Women talked of being silenced in the classrooms of theological institutions, in ministry meetings and by congregation members. Several women reported being told by tutors and supervising ministers how they should dress or behave. In a memorable phrase, one ordinand told how she was tired of the ‘Disneyfication’ of women in the church. One woman talked of being silenced by a male tutor when he compared her pain at other ordinands refusing to take the cup from her when she assisted at communion to him not being able to share communion with a Roman Catholic friend.

In a separate piece of research, in which three theological colleges and one diocese took part, I asked women ordinands and curates how they thought they could be better supported and encouraged during ministerial training. The overwhelming response had two facets. First, time to be together with just women, which would include a woman who has been in the church longer sharing their experiences honestly. This also included theological colleges being honest about the patriarchal nature of the church rather than acting as though sexism and gender bias were things of the past. Second, they wanted some curriculum changes – Bible women to be treated in the same way that Bible men are – as foremothers and heroes of the faith; feminist theology to be part of what is taught rather than an add-on; booklists to be inclusive; and an accredited module on women’s ministry.

(Arch)bishop Sarah said, at the London conference, that she supports the Five Guiding Principles of the Church of England.[1] My research illustrates how often these Principles, and the whole selection and ministerial training process in the Church of England, are used to silence and undermine women. As the title of another annual conference suggests, we are not equal yet, and it is of vital importance that those in positions of authority across churches listen carefully to women’s voices. Too many obstacles prevent them from being heard.

In my new book, May She Speak in the Name of the Father, published this month, I tell the stories of many women’s experiences in training and in ministry. I also offer some practical suggestions for those who teach and will teach them during their training.

Changing the figurehead at the top will not, of itself, lead to culture change. Having a woman as archbishop will not of necessity lead to equality. As many of the participants in my research suggest, the first step must be to invite women to speak and to hear what they say. I hope that all women exploring a call to any ministry will read the book and be equipped for work in churches as they really are. And I hope that theological colleges will read the research and reflect on how they might better support women through their training.

Liz Shercliff established an annual conference focused on women’s faith and ministry in 2014, which continues to grow. She is on the academic staff of the Luther King Centre, Manchester and is a visiting lecturer at Emmanuel Theological College, Nazarene Theological College, the College of Preachers and Derby Diocese.

Her new book May She Speak in the Name of the Father, is available for pre-order here, with 20% off during February.

[1] The Five Guiding Principles enabled the ordination of women bishops. They start with:

‘Now that legislation has been passed to enable women to become bishops the Church of England is fully and unequivocally committed to all orders of ministry being open equally to all, without reference to gender, and holds that those whom it has duly ordained and appointed to office are true and lawful holders of the office which they occupy and thus deserve due respect and canonical obedience’.

The full text of the Principles can be found outlined here: https://southwark.anglican.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/five-guiding-principles-for-candidates.pdf

Image credit: @haberdoedas2 on Unsplash.com