This book will assist you as a Christian with an independent mind, conscience and opinion look with prayer, honesty and understanding at what the Bible says about men and women in family life, society and the church.

It is written by people who believe that it is biblical for women to serve the Church in many different ways including preaching, teaching and through being ordained as bishops, priests and deacons.

It is the authors’ hope that this book will help many people respond the very deep feelings stirred up by outcome of the general synod debate, through study, prayer and conversation. As the debate moves forward in the Church of England, it must be about more than a process to keep everyone together.

This book is an effective and informative focus for your small group and whole church to help answer the key questions of:

• What can we know about the historical situation that might tell us what the writers meant by what is written in the bible and early church teachings?

• What does the text actually say – looking as necessary at more the one translation to her the words in a slightly different form.

• What am I binging to the interpretation of this text – my hopes, expectations, fears and cultural perspective?

The expert writings within this book will help you support the Church as it recovers its sense that the message of the Christian faith is profoundly good news for the whole of humanity. Intended for individual reading, group study or as the basis for a series of sermons, each chapter contains a Bible study, insights from current biblical scholarship, an exploration of contemporary application, questions for reflections and prayers.