Politics tends to pass me by. I know the papers get very worked up about cabinet reshuffles and European elections, but I’ve never really understood why. It doesn’t seem to make much difference which way we vote, nothing much changes.

But recently I’ve come over all militant. For the first time ever I was glued to a debate and biting my nails as the votes were counted. The occasion? The vote by the Church of England about women Bishops. And I was over the moon at the result. But why did it matter so much? I have no desire to be a Bishop myself; it’s a really tough job and purple doesn’t suit me. This is not a personal thing, it is a thing about human beings and about God.

We are all made in God’s image; male and female, black and white, and through all our ability and disability. An ancient saint said: “The glory of God is a human being fully alive.” So I find I get political when people and institutions, in all sorts of ways, diminish the potential of human lives. God made us for lives with wide open borders, not constrained by poverty or illness or indeed gender. Local churches work in all sorts of ways to tackle these issues; food banks, credit unions, care of the elderly. By opening the doors for women Bishops, the church has broken down one more limitation on God’s call on our lives.

Will I be more political from now on? You bet!

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