Many years ago, when the Church of England (C of E) made the decision to allow women clergy, there was an article in a satirical magazine which, having noted that many people left the C of E, as a result, it reported that God had also left. On asking the Archbishop of Canterbury for a comment on this latest news, he answered “it’s a bit of a blow, but we’ll manage”.
Many believed that the C of E (and the many other churches that followed suit) had opened the Pandora's box. Even so, it is hard to believe that only a few decades later, they would have gay and lesbian priests and bishops and the growing madness of acceptance of gender ideology to contend with.
As to the effects in the pews I know very little; only a recent observation at an Episcopalian church in a remote corner of Kalinga Province in the Northern Philippines. During the American occupation missionaries penetrated the region and some towns became Catholic, others Episcopalian and one Sunday I was stranded in the latter. Whilst I could not participate in their service, as a Catholic, I decided to visit the church for my own morning prayers and stayed as an observer.
The first thing I noticed was that they had a woman priest. All the altar servers were girls. All the choir were girls. And the vast majority of the congregation were also women and girls. A few boys (under 10 years old) and 3 elderly men at the back waiting for their ticket to eternity were the only local males present. What happened to all the men?
A few days later back in Tabuk (the regional capital) I met with people at the Catholic Cathedral and there was one chap who was from that town. He had been born Episcopalian but converted and is now a Catholic priest serving in another town in the province. Perhaps the rest of the flock will likewise migrate!
