Thinking Anglicans

Bishop of Glasgow & Galloway

Updated Sunday morning

The Diocese of Glasgow & Galloway has announced that the Very Rev Dr Gregor Duncan has been elected to be its next bishop.

The Very Rev Dr Gregor Duncan elected as Bishop

The BBC and the Press Association in reporting this concentrate on one of the unsuccessful candidates.

BBC Priest fails in female bishop bid
PA Priest not elected as female bishop

Update

Bishop David Chillingworth comments on media coverage, in Welcome to Bishop Gregor.

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mark wharton
mark wharton
14 years ago

injustice and sexism; let the cry resound…..

Marshall Scott
14 years ago

Ah, journalists! The Rev. Canon Mrs. Peden didn’t “fail,” as if this were some sort of athletic competition, much less some sort of competition to be “female bishop.” Had she been elected (a process at least we Americans understand), she would have been a bishop who happened to be female.

Neil
Neil
14 years ago

What a ridiculous comment from Mark Wharton. Does he know the people who were up for election? The guy appointed has far more experience and was elected with clear strong majorities. It would have been a serious injustice for him not to have been elected.

Contradicting all his cries of ‘injustice and sexism’ (I realise he might not be being serious BUT) is the simple fact that somebody who has only been ordained a few years has got on to the shortlist. That is a real achievement in itself for the lady concerned.

drdanfee
drdanfee
14 years ago

Yes I agree, all the finalist candidates seem per the news to be well qualified; so passing off the news about the finalist elected by focusing on the qualified women finalist and second man finalist not elected give quite an odd tang to the journalist sauce. So far as misogyny or sexism goes, we all know we Anglicans still have oodles of these sorts of folk culture beliefs and practices, all throughout the global communion, not least arising in national churches where we believers are still struggling to leave a strong-closed iteration of a males first males only tradition behind.… Read more »

Father Ron Smith
Father Ron Smith
14 years ago

Surely, we advocates of women in ministry can live with the fact that not every woman candidate will be elected. To think otherwise would be to challenge the autheniticty of the appointments system which, in Scotland at least, now officially recognises women as authentic candidates for the episcopate – not necessarily always the preferred candidate. Fair’s fair!

There will be other elections of Bishops in the Church, and women would probably not like, any more, to be subscribing to a culture of unfair advantage – on either male or female sexist preferences.

Fr Dougal
Fr Dougal
14 years ago

Mark W’s comment reveals both an unthinking partisan spirit and a deep ignorance of Scottish election and discernment procedures, as well as the particular experience of Glasgow diocese. They tend to elect the home grown candidate because the last time them went outside the diocese, they elected a Charismatic Anglo-Catholic who opposed the ordination of women, appointed happy clappy and ultra spiky clergy who ignored local congregational needs, history and traditions (causing severe pastoral chaos), was beastly to his gay clergy and then after his wife died and he retired came out of the closet! In fairness to the man,… Read more »

Richard Ashby
Richard Ashby
14 years ago

It is a shame but there may well have been good reasons for not doing so this time, but the time is coming…

Rev L Roberts
Rev L Roberts
14 years ago

Contradicting all his cries of ‘injustice and sexism’ (I realise he might not be being serious BUT) is the simple fact that somebody who has only been ordained a few years has got on to the shortlist. That is a real achievement in itself for the lady concerned. Posted by: Neil on Sunday, 17 January 2010 at 12:03am GMT Well yes, ‘the experience ‘ of ordained ministry hasn’t been open to women for long at all. Good to recall that ‘experience’ isnt limited to ordained ministry, nor is minsitry so limited. I think we have to trust to the integrity… Read more »

Rev L Roberts
Rev L Roberts
14 years ago

Contradicting all his cries of ‘injustice and sexism’ (I realise he might not be being serious BUT) is the simple fact that somebody who has only been ordained a few years has got on to the shortlist. That is a real achievement in itself for the lady concerned. Posted by: Neil on Sunday, 17 January 2010 at 12:03am GMT Well yes, ‘the experience ‘ of ordained ministry hasn’t been open to women for long at all. Good to recall that ‘experience’ isnt limited to ordained ministry, nor is minsitry so limited. I think we have to trust to the integrity… Read more »

David | Dah•veed
David | Dah•veed
14 years ago

The shame is that the Scottish College of Bishops has kowtowed to the Archbishop of Canterbury and has acquiesced to the moratorium, so there will presently be no gay or lesbian folks living in a same sex relationship whose name ever gets approved and proceeds to the vote.

choirboyfromhell
choirboyfromhell
14 years ago

“The shame is that the Scottish College of Bishops has kowtowed to the Archbishop of Canterbury and has acquiesced to the moratorium, so there will presently be no gay or lesbian folks living in a same sex relationship whose name ever gets approved and proceeds to the vote.”

Correction: No gay of lesbian folks who are OPEN, HONEST and in a same sex relationship whose name ever gets approved and proceeds to the vote.

Robert Ian williams
Robert Ian williams
14 years ago

This also shows that when women are allowed to be bishops in the Church of England it will be much easier to appoint them through the present system rather than a “democratic “one. I bet a lot of lay women voted against Canon Peden.

Women bishops approved in Ireland in 1990 and yet not one elected. Shows how the electoral system can work against women.

Rosemary Hannah
Rosemary Hannah
14 years ago

I’m not sure anybody voted against Dr Peden. I know many voted for Dr Duncan.

Kennedy
Kennedy
14 years ago

Surely where there is more than one candidate, you cannot determine if people people voted ‘against’ a candidate. You vote ‘for’ a candidate.

The canon provides for a vote of ‘None of the above’ which allows people to express their dissatisfaction with the presented candidates.

The Primus, in his TV interviews , expressed the view that gender was not an issue in this election.

See http://video.stv.tv/?bcpid=1610699553&bctid=61983516001

Kennedy

David Bayne
David Bayne
14 years ago

A Diocese that is the first (I believe) in the British Isles to short-list a woman for Bishop can scarcely be accused of mysogeny! Dr Peden and Dr Applegate were candidates of considerable substance. Their attributes were simply overwhelmed by the respect and affection in which the Diocese of G&G holds its long-serving (long suffering?!) Dean, Dr Duncan. The proceedings of the Electoral Synod are confidential but I don’t think I’m giving anything away by saying that his election was by an absolutely-decisive majority. So, please, don’t spoil it with unfounded mutterings about sexism and injustice.

Kelvin Holdsworth
14 years ago

As one of the electors in this election, there are many things about it that I cannot comment on. However, I do feel free to affirm strongly that gender was not an issue in this election. There may be many ways in which gender is an issue in the church – the current gender audit which is being undertaken in the Scottish Episcopal Church may well give us pause for thought. However, it is my view that the electors of Glasgow and Galloway would have been just as happy to elect a female candidate as a male candidate. The electors… Read more »

Malcolm+
14 years ago

“happy clappy and ultra spiky”

shudder

Sounds as ghastly as wearing a lime green tie with an orange shirt and a purple jacket.

David Bayne
David Bayne
14 years ago

As I recall, it was actually a purple shirt and black leather bomber jacket. And, yes, the experience was about as you describe it, Malcolm – a ten-year shudder.

fred blogs
fred blogs
14 years ago

“Their attributes were simply overwhelmed by the respect and affection in which the Diocese of G&G holds its long-serving (long suffering?!) Dean, Dr Duncan”

attributes overwhelmed by affection – says it all really!

Rosemary Hannah
Rosemary Hannah
14 years ago

Why on earth should an admirably qualified and talented man be assumed by some to be to have been unfairly elected because another candidate was female? Frankly, Fred Blogs, you will go far and search hard, to find a more able priest than Gregor Duncan. When my children were very disenchanted with all things church he was one of the few who commanded their attention and respect and interest. To name but one of his qualities.

fred blogs
fred blogs
14 years ago

Rosemary, I have no doubt that gender was not an issue, or that Gregor is a good priest. I merely quoted Canon Bayne’s comment as a response to how i feel about this election – that the voting had more to do with how much people wished to reward Gregor rather than choose the best person for the role. As an elector, that will remain my view, until i see some real action and cohesion in the episocpal mission and ministry of this diocese

Kennedy
Kennedy
14 years ago

Short interview with Bishop-elect Gregor Duncan.

http://www.glasgow.anglican.org/index.php/news/entry/meet_the_next_bishop/

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