Trinity women on The One Show
Late last year, The One Show came to Trinity College to film a piece about women training for ordination!
The feature, which went out on 9th December, was made to mark the 30th anniversary of the vote for women to become priests in the Church of England. We were delighted to be able to show a wide audience what Trinity is all about, and for some of our female students to explain why they’re pursuing ordination and what it’s really like.
Lizzy Brothwood was one of the students featured. If you didn’t see it, she took the opportunity to explain how ‘normal’ a lot of priestly life is, how she got to this point, what her friends think, and was filmed taking part in her first baptism service.
Lizzy says:
“It was a privilege to share my experiences of being a female ordinand, alongside two other great women I have met during my time here at college. If I’m honest though, I was quite apprehensive about doing it at first. I don’t feel I’m an expert when it comes to most things Anglican, and was aware I wanted to represent the Church well and also be authentic to who I am.
“I think it ended up being a really positive piece, which I hope encouraged younger people, especially women, to pursue their vocation whatever that may be. Of course, I am aware of the many challenges we still face but I continue to be inspired by the many women who have paved the way and look ahead with excitement at the opportunities going forward.”
Even though it’s been 30 years since that historic moment in Church of England leadership, most women still encounter additional challenges in approaching ministry, and many have stories to tell of people trying to discourage them from pursuing it. At Trinity, we try to do all we can to support female ordinands through our culture and our training, and to make sure that our male ordinands understand their experience too.
You can read about our ‘Women in the New Testament’ course here.