After previously rejecting female candidates, a church in Cornwall has now appointed a female reverend.
Even though female vicars are acceptable in the Church of England, the Fowey Parochial Church Council nonetheless forbade them from appointing one in March 2023 at St. Fimbarrus Church.
There hasn’t been a vicar at the church for four years. There were rumours earlier in the year that certain members of the congregation claimed, “theologically,” they could not join the church unless the priest was a man.
The church reversed its decision in the wake of the uproar, and Reverend Carol Edleston will replace the outgoing reverend in March 2024.
She told ITV West Country: “It means absolutely everything, my husband and I love Fowey, and getting this opportunity was the easiest decision I could ever make.
“When the previous people stood down from the church, the new Parochial church council took over, they said they wanted the best person for the job whether it was male or female.
“What means the most to me is that they thought I was the best person for the job.”
The timing of Carol’s appointment during the holiday season has brought back fond memories of a well-known Christmas episode of The Vicar of Dibley. In that episode, Geraldine, played by Dawn French, tried her best to satisfy the parishioners by eating three Christmas dinners.
The three-dinner ritual is something Carol believes she should initiate.
She continued: “I can tell you now there is no way I’m going near any puddles.”
Although Dawn French departed the town in 2022 after sixteen years of residence, the two remain acquainted; furthermore, the new priest declined a rare offer from the comedy royalty, and the two women know each other.
Carol said: “When we first moved here we had one bathroom and were busy reconstructing it and she said to me ‘Carol, if you want to you can come round and use our bath’, but I decided against it.”
With this new appointment, Fowey is hoping for a fresh start.
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