My reaction to the synod vote on women bishops

I overhear someone talking about the result on the plane to the UK and I'm like:

My initial reaction:

I go and check it online: 

 

Then it sinks in a bit and I'm:

But more like:

Then I consider what the press will do with this and I'm: I think about what sort of things I will say to my secular friends, and realise I will sound like:

And then I consider meeting our gifted and brilliant female ordinands at college next week, and know I will go to work like this:

 

I hope you appreciate my culturally trendy use of “like” in the above, because it pained me to write it.

 

In all seriousness, the result is not a joking matter. Join with me in praying for our female clergy and ordinands, that they will not loose hope but remain steadfast, courageous and graciously forgiving, fixing their eyes on Jesus till we see this through another day.