Women are now able to be priests in every Anglican diocese of the West Indies, after the church in Guyana voted to allow the ordination of women yesterday.
The synod of the diocese of Guyana voted without dissent to amend the diocesan canon to permit the ordination of women on June 21 at their 145th meeting at St George's Cathedral in Georgetown.
"God calls all of us and empowers all of us and at some point in the life of the church our eyes are opened and we recognise that there is something we weren't doing that we should be doing," said the Bishop of Guyana, the Rt Rev Charles Davidson, speaking to local radio station Demera Wave.
Davidson served for 20 years in the Episcopal Church of the USA where women have been allowed to be priests for more than 40 years.
"I have worked with female priests for the last 20 years so I have no issues with working with anybody who will do God's work," he said.
Davidson said that although change can be uncomfortable in the church, it is important to continue to move forward, and trust in God.
"Because people are accustomed to tradition, it tends to cause uneasiness but trust God and decisions that we make prayerfully and studied, God is always with us," he said.
The synod also discussed ways the church could serve the poor in the region and engage with its wider context.
"We are hoping to change the public face of our church in a kind of a way that will allow people to want to become members of our church and that happens when our members are more involved, they are willing to invite people to be part of our church," Davidson added.
