The Li Tim-Oi Foundation invites you to a Celebration and Eucharist at Southwark Cathedral for 21 Years of the Li Tim-Oi Foundation on Saturday 2 May 2015 at 11.00am. The preacher will be The Bishop of Stockport, The Rt Revd Libby Lane. There will be a ticketed reception afterwards hosted by Dr Elaine Storkey

The Rev. Alison Cheek, the first woman to publicly preside over an Episcopal Church Eucharist in the United States, and the Rev. Carter Heyward, a prolific author on feminist theology and retired professor at Episcopal Divinity School, were part of a symposium earlier this month at the Episcopal Church of the Ascension in Knoxville, Tennessee, sponsored by East Tennessee Episcopal Church Women.

On International Women’s Day 2015, the women of South Sudan spoke out: “As the women of South Sudan, we abhor tribalism and the division it causes. We therefore call upon all the women of South Sudan from all walks of life to forge a common agenda for peace.”

The Church of England has now appointed its first three female bishops. In other churches and other faiths, there have been women leaders for some time. This debate draws several of them together to ask what difference woman bishops are likely to make. The panel includes WATCH Chair Hilary Cotton.

WATCH is overjoyed about the appointment of the Venerable Rachel Treweek as the next Bishop of Gloucester.

As our first female Diocesan Bishop, she will be part of the House of Bishops as well as the College of Bishops. This is another significant step forward to attaining fuller flourishing of the Church of England for the good of our wider nation. As a Diocesan Bishop, Rachel will be the bishop with ultimate responsibility over the whole Diocese.

The WATCH day on Saturday was bursting with creativity, ideas, sorrow, anger and hope. More than forty women from across England met at the Queen’s Foundation, Birmingham on Saturday to share our experiences of and hopes for the church. We heard from a panel of women their very different experiences of church and living out their faith: one of standing up to both gender and race discrimination, one of positive affirmation by female clergy, one of teaching wide-eyed Year 7 boys the patriarchal context of the Old Testament.

WATCH is delighted to celebrate the news that Reverend Canon Alison White has been appointed as Bishop of Hull. As she joins the College of Bishops, we joyfully recognise that this is another step forward in seeing better representation in the College and the House of Bishops. We believe that the increased presence of women alongside men will better serve the church and the nation of which we are a part.

The Rev. Canon Audrey Cady Scanlan was elected as the 11th Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Central Pennsylvania on 14th March, pending the required consents from a majority of bishops with jurisdiction and standing committees of the Episcopal Church, it has been reported. Pending a successful consent process, Rev Scanlan will succeed Bishop Nathan Baxter, who retired last May after serving the Central Pennsylvania diocese for eight years.

The Lords Spiritual (Women) Bill, which enjoyed cross party support in both Houses of Parliament, has passed its third and final reading. It will now receive Royal Assent and will automatically come into force after the general election.