When I was elected and consecrated as Suffragan Bishop of the Diocese of Washington in 1992, I became only the third woman in the history of the global Anglican Communion to attain that office. Since that time, the Communion has come a long way towards ending the straight-white-male-hegemony within its leadership.

At the last Lambeth Conference in 1998, there were 11 female bishops in attendance. This year the number stands at 24. More and more women are becoming priests, rectors of large congregations, deans of cathedrals and professors at Episcopal seminaries. And of course, our magnificent Presiding Bishop, Katharine Jefferts Schori, is the first ever national leader of one of the 38 Anglican provinces.

While the Episcopal Church has been ordaining female priests for 34 years, the Church of England did not ordain female priests until 1994. Now those women are well placed to take an even greater leadership role within the church. An encouraging part of this decision was the rejection of a compromise proposal which would allow dissident parishes to be governed by alternative, male bishops.

Is this good news for all of God’s creation? Absolutely not. To many Anglicans across the globe, any step towards greater inclusion is threatening. David Virtue, an Episcopalian layman and blogger from Philadelphia, writes on his site: “Perhaps now, the new Enlightened Ones will look sternly upon England’s ancient spires and regard them as patriarchal, phallic symbols fit to be torn down and replaced by solar panels to the glory of man?” Fortunately, in this country and now in Great Britain as well, views like his are in the distinct minority.

I think the decision to ordain women as bishops speaks volumes about the Anglican Church’s respect for the dignity and worth of women. Now we must move further to embody the biblical witness of all being created in the image of God by fully including our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters.