Anglican Women Concerned

Anglican Women Concerned was the first Anglican feminist activist group in Australia that was founded in Sydney in 1975 by Colleen O'Reilly and Zandra Wilson. It was the first group in Australia that advocated for the ordination of women in the Anglican Church.

Anglican Women Concerned

Abbreviation	AWC
Founded	1975
Location	Sydney
Area served	Australia
Key people	Founders, Colleen O'Reilly, Zandra Wilson

History

Anglican Women Concerned arose from the ecumenical organisation, Christian Women Concerned, which had been established in 1968. Colleen O'Reilly had been actively involved in the ecumenical Commission on the Status of Women which was established by the Australian Council of Churches. Desiring something more distinctly Anglican in focus, O'Reilly and Zandra Wilson became the organisation's key founding members. Anglican Women Concerned was one of several Australian state-based groups that supported the ordination of women, which existed prior to the establishment of the Movement for the Ordination of Women (MOW) in Sydney in 1983.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

Anglican Women Concerned was known for organising public protests outside important church assemblies, such as general synods and diocesan synods.^[6] In 1977 the group organised a demonstration outside St Andrew's Cathedral during a general synod. An article about the protest appeared on the front page of the Sydney Morning Herald.^[7][8]

References

1. Scarfe, Janet. "With their Hearts in their Mouths The Movement for the Ordination of Women and its Role MOW and its Role". Movement for the Ordination of Women. from the original on 24 November 2020. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
2. Melbourne, The University of. "Christian Church Ministry - Theme - The Encyclopedia of Women and Leadership in Twentieth-Century Australia". www.womenaustralia.info. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
3. O'Brien, Anne Philomena (2005). God's willing workers: women and religion in Australia. Sydney: UNSW Press. pp. 240–241. ISBN 978-0-86840-575-9. OCLC 65165585.
4. Lindsay, Elaine, ed. (2012). Preachers, Prophets and Heretics: Anglican Women's Ministry. A UNSW Press book. Sydney: University of New South Wales Press. p. 46. ISBN 978-1-74223-337-6.
5. "The Ecumenical Movement Awakening Women". Women Priests. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
6. "Reflection". Women Priests. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
7. "Protest?". Sydney Morning Herald. 29 August 1977. p. 1.
8. "Service not Servitude: Women in the Church". ABC Radio National. 14 October 2012. Retrieved 13 August 2023.