There's a sexism row brewing over a female priest 'snub' in the town which used to be home to the Vicar of Dibley herself, Dawn French. Fowey Parochial Church Council (PCC) has passed a resolution that Fowey Parish Church, St Fimbarrus, should not have a woman vicar.
A minority of the congregation are alleged to have said they could not remain within the church on theological grounds unless the priest was a man. The church has been without a vicar for almost four years after the previous incumbent, the Reverend Phillip de Grey-Warter, controversially set up a rival church, Anchor, in the town after leaving the Church of England, reports CornwallLive.
Earlier this year, the neighbouring parishes of Tywardreath and Golant welcomed a female vicar, the Reverend Shona Hoad, as priest-in-charge. However, Fowey PCC had previously made its decision not to have a woman vicar and is still without a priest.
That's despite initial hopes it would join forces with Tywardreath and Golant. Many residents of the area feel that the Rev Hoad would have been ideal for Fowey too and accusations of sexism have been directed at the PCC on social media. Fowey PCC has robustly defended its position to seek a male priest-in-charge as not sexist, issuing a statement locally to "set the record straight".
A resident, who didn't want to be named, told CornwallLive: "As you might know, a prominent resident of Fowey used to be Dawn French, well known for playing the lead role in The Vicar of Dibley. So you might think the local church would be familiar with lady clerics and the associated comedy.
"The PCC took exception to having a woman as a priest or even interviewing a female candidate. This was picked up on local social media and there was some fury expressed. The congregation dwindles further as less misogynistic worshippers have started go to Golant or Tywardreath for the services there. So Fowey hasn't a comic lady vicar, nor a functioning vicar of either gender, and even the vicarage stands empty.
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"It doesn't bode well for the long-term future of a classic church in the centre of the town."
The controversy was noted by Golant's St Sampson Church PCC in minutes from last May, before it took on the services of its own woman vicar.
The minutes state: "We are still in 'transition' - that is without a priest. The diocesan plan, called On The Way, hopes to appoint a priest to serve Fowey, Tywardreath and Golant. There are complications, however, as Tywardreath and ourselves are open to the idea of a woman priest, but Fowey is not."
CornwallLive reports that it has seen comments made on a private Facebook page dedicated to Fowey. Of the decision not to employ a woman vicar, one resident said: "It's immensely sad. Two members of the PCC objected to a female priest and so the advert specifically stated only males to apply. That is my understanding."
Another added: "I heard they had a vote and only two said no and yet they won, very strange. These individuals need to wake up and come into the real world. I think it would be quite refreshing to have a female vicar," wrote a third person. It appears the parish church representatives here are obviously bigots," claimed another Fowey resident.
Another female resident made her feelings known: "Why, why, why? Shona looks and sounds amazing! I'd actually go back to the church if she was our vicar.
"Unbelievable that two bigots are so much more important than the rest of the town. You should hang your heads in shame, such a bad decision. Remind me, it is 2023 isn't it? How did you cope with two female mayors in a row?"
CornwallLive approached Fowey PCC and the Diocese of Truro for a reaction to the decision. The Venerable Kelly Betteridge, Archdeacon of Bodmin, said: “The Church of England is fully committed to the ministry of women and men at every level of its ordained leadership.”
It is legally permitted to seek appointment of a male vicar on theological religious grounds. The Church of England has an exemption on theological grounds from the UK employment laws which make discrimination due to gender [sexual orientation and ethnicity] unlawful.
Archdeacon Kelly added: “Fowey has always had a male parish priest and wishes to continue that tradition. That doesn’t mean that they don’t welcome female clergy.
"In recent years they have made the decision to welcome female vicars into the church to lead services, give sermons and take Holy Communion. I have done so myself on occasion.
"This is something that is very different from those churches who do not recognise women in leadership at all. While the majority of those worshipping in the parish are very supportive of women in ministry, there is a minority of the congregation in Fowey who feel they could not remain within that church on theological grounds, unless the incumbent was a man.
“Fowey Parochial Church Council passed a resolution under the House of Bishops Declaration which resulted in this decision being taken. They have asked that we respect those views in the interests of church unity.”
Fowey PCC told us: "Fowey Parish Church is excited about the opportunity of a new vicar in Fowey after a gap of four years. We have funding for a part-time priest living and working in Fowey, allowing time for Sunday services and midweek outreach activity in our community.
"As an evangelical church we look to the bible for all matters of faith. The bible is very clear on equality – all are equal. The bible, much written 2000 years ago, was ahead of its time in its progressive attitude to women.
"There is, however, debate over the roles women play within the church. The church council has agreed a compromise position where we will both welcome women priests to teach the bible faithfully each Sunday and lead communion, but seek an overall male priest in charge.
"We appreciate this can be difficult to understand looking from the outside into the church, but would robustly defend that this position is not sexist, is widely established in the worldwide church, and accommodates all views in the membership of our church without exclusion. We look forward to our new appointment arriving later this year and welcome any members of our community to come and discuss with us any concerns they may have."
The PCC also issued a statement locally after it became "aware of misinformation circulating in our community about our church". Signed by churchwardens Carol Carruthers and Andy Virr, the public statement goes on to say: "In the spirit of unity and inclusivity the PCC of Fowey has passed a resolution based on bible text and theological interpretation to seek a male overall head for our church leadership in Fowey, but also welcoming female involvement, including female clergy, in leading, teaching and taking Holy Communion services in our church."
The statement says that the resolution was voted unanimously by all seven members of the PCC.
The Right Reverend Philip Mounstephen, Bishop of Truro, said: “It’s up to every parish, through its parochial church council, to decide whether or not it would be willing to have a woman as its priest. I have always supported the ministry of women, have been greatly blessed by it, and indeed over the years have encouraged many gifted women into ordination.
"Nonetheless I respect the decision that Fowey PCC have taken and recognise that they are entirely within their rights to have done so.”
