The Bishops' Christmas Message 2024
A letter from the Bishops of Lincoln, Grimsby and Grantham, to the whole Diocese of Lincoln…
Read the storyA special service
This year marks the 30th anniversary of women being ordained to the priesthood in the Church of England.
Lincoln Cathedral will be holding a special service for this momentous milestone on Saturday 28 September starting at 3pm.
It will be followed by refreshments and the event will offer an opportunity to meet women who have been ordained in the last 30 years (even some from 1994!). Everyone is welcome.
There are still those women who remember their journey to, and the moment of, ordination to priesthood back in 1994.
Ordained in 1994 – Margaret’s story
One of the first women to be ordained in the Diocese of Lincoln is the Revd Margaret Barsley. This is her story.
“I just happened to be first on the list [of those being ordained]. ‘Margaret, Whatever you do’, the others said, ‘we’ll do the same!'”
Margaret was the very first woman to be ordained as a priest in the Diocese of Lincoln. Here she recalls how she felt leading up to, firstly, becoming a deaconess, and then being ordained a priest.
The full 1994 ordination of priests service
Fortunately, Margaret managed to locate pieces of footage of the original ordination of priests service that took place at Lincoln Cathedral on 22nd May 1994, which we’ve managed to piece together. She was delighted to be able to share them with us.
Margaret’s story of faith
Margaret shared her story of faith with us spanning from her childhood to present day, which you can listen to below:
We’re glad to able to archive these personal pieces of video and audio so that we can all, now and in the future, remember this time of local and national history.