In a life in the Church spanning some 50 years, Jane Hedges has been a beacon for women in the priesthood.
A calling that came to her at the age of 17, when women were still not allowed to become priests, she navigated a path through the male-dominated Church of England to achieve her dream and inspire other women to realise their aspirations in the service of God.
In a frank interview as she prepares to retire from her role as Dean of Norwich, the Very Reverend Jane Hedges discusses the challenges and highlights from a career which saw her pave the way for her gender with a number of significant ‘firsts’.
In 2014, she became the first female Dean of Norwich in the Cathedral’s 900-year history, having been ordained Deaconess in 1980, Deacon in 1987 and Priest in 1994.
Along the way, she was the first woman to be appointed a Residentiary Canon in the Church of England, serving as Canon Pastor at Portsmouth Cathedral, and in 2006 became the first female Canon at Westminster Abbey.
Strawberry fields
With roots in the strawberry-growing area around Locks Heath in rural Hampshire, she lived with her father, the local butcher, her mother who was a housewife, and two older brothers.
“We were a very traditional working-class family,” she said. “I left school at 16 and went to college for a year and then became a junior bank clerk before I began to feel a call to ordination.”
After taking A-levels at evening classes, she headed north to Durham University and three years studying theology and sociology were followed by a two-year course at theological college in Durham.
At 25, she was made Deaconess, working alongside a senior priest within the team ministry at Fareham near Portsmouth, before moving to Southampton in 1983. Ordained Deacon in 1987, she returned to Portsmouth in a community role liaising with parishes.
Residentiary Canon
Her appointment as Residentiary Canon at Portsmouth Cathedral in 1993 meant she was the first women to take such a post.
Ordained Priest the following year, she moved to Devon in 2001 to become Team Rector of Honiton Parish, before becoming the first woman Residentiary Canon at Westminster Abbey.
“That was a very interesting eight years, during which time we had many royal occasions, including the wedding of William and Catherine, the visit of the Pope and a memorial service for Nelson Mandela with Archbishop Tutu preaching.
“I was looking after him,” she said. “It was very special, there were many privileged moments at Westminster Abbey.”
Dean of Norwich
Over the past eight years as the 39th Dean of Norwich, Jane’s role has focused on both Norwich Cathedral and the wider diocese.
Effectively, the “principal dignitary” of the cathedral, which is governed by Dean and Chapter, the role has seen her have responsibility for finances, compliance, and safeguarding, but also setting the “culture of the cathedral,” chairing the Chapter, and being a member of the Bishop’s Senior Staff Team.
“We have been keen to make sure the cathedral is a welcoming and open place, though our main purpose is the worship of God,” she added.
That saw major events, such as the residence of Dippy the Dinosaur and the helter-skelter installation, dovetail with the busy service schedule that frames the cathedral day: four in the week, five on Sundays and more during Holy Week, which ends tomorrow on Easter Sunday.
Cathedral life
Her love of working in a cathedral setting stems from her time in Portsmouth.
“I fell in love with working in a cathedral because I enjoy being with people and doing the great variety of roles that you have as a Priest, but also the big liturgical occasions and music,” said Jane.
“When I was going to move on, I thought about going to another cathedral but the then-Bishop said I should run my own parish and that is how I went off to Devon.”
Jane had met her husband Chris soon after her ordination and he has followed her career around the country. Initially a house husband when their sons Jonny and Adam were young, he later trained as a teacher and held a number of posts in education.
With one son already a chorister at Exeter Cathedral and boarding, with another soon to follow suit, the move to Honiton was rewarding, but also came with challenges.
“The vicar had been there for 22 years, so having a relatively young woman moving in was something some people did not find to their liking, but it all worked out very well in the end,” she continued.
“But I missed cathedral ministry and felt a pull back to cathedrals and in due course had the invitation to go to Westminster Abbey, which was a huge privilege.”
Significant change
Her career path has seen her become a trailblazer for women in the priesthood at a time of significant change in the Church of England. However, it was also a period where attitudes among congregations and clergy were somewhat slower to change.
“At the age of 17, I thought God was calling me to be a priest,” she said. “I did not realise that you could not be a priest then but I was very fortunate that the parish priest where I grew up was really encouraging, and gave me a lot of support.
“I was also very fortunate to be able to go to Durham University. I never dreamt of going to university, it was not anticipated in our household that we would go on to college, let alone university, so that was quite special in itself.”
As her career progressed, amid the changing landscape surrounding women in the Church, she felt a responsibility to help other women realise their ambitions with the push in the 1980s to get women ordained as priests.
Leading Women
Jane became involved in the Movement for the Ordination of Women and with her high-profile role at Westminster Abbey was part of a group encouraging the Church to fill more senior roles with women.
“Over the years, more and more women have come forward and now the number of women training for ordination is about the same as men,” she said.
“In 2008, I did a piece of research among women to ask whether they wanted to be Bishops, Archdeacons and Deans and it transpired that quite a lot did feel they could take on those roles.”
Since 2010, she has been active in the Leading Women group, which runs courses to encourage women into leadership positions.
Female Bishops
As women rose up the ranks, the question of female Bishops gained media attention.
“At the time women were made Priests, there were inevitable questions in the media as to whether women will be Bishops one day,” she recalled.
“I can remember saying, I do not think there will be women Bishops in my lifetime, I really thought it would take a lot longer.
“We have come a long way, I would not have dreamt when I was 17 that I would one day be a Dean, but of course once women were Priests and began to inhabit some of these more senior roles, then the question was why on earth should women not be Bishops.” The failure of the General Synod in 2012 to approve this step was a “terrific blow” but she believes the subsequent outrage saw it rapidly return to the agenda and be approved.
By the time she moved to Norwich, women Bishops were becoming a reality, and she acknowledges it was a possibility for her at one stage.
“But it did not happen,” she said. “I was quite clear that God called me to be a Dean and I am very content that is how I am ending my formal ministry.”
Senior positions
There is still some resistance to women holding senior positions within the clergy.
“When installed here in Norwich in June 2014 there were people in the regular cathedral congregation that had not experienced the ministry of a woman in the cathedral.
“There were people, that now accept my ministry, for whom it was quite a challenge and I also had a colleague who did not approve of ordination of women, but we managed to work together and work it out.”
But amid the challenges, there are immense rewards.
“I really like all of my job,” she said, whether that is the fundraising required to keep the cathedral running and the interesting people that has brought her into contact with, or as chair of the property committee.
“You do end up doing a lot of things as Dean, but what you always have to remember is that at the heart of it all is that you are a Priest,” she said.
Benedictine tradition
Cathedral life in Norwich is built around the Benedictine tradition, reflecting on it being a monastery until 1538.
“We still try to keep those principles of offering hospitality, having input in education and being here primarily for worship,” she explained.
“Benedict, in his rule of life, talked about God looking upon everything, so all of these practical things you have to do is all part of life. We do it because it has to be done, and done in a priestly way.”
Under her tenure, Norwich Cathedral has seen the completion of the Cathedral’s sustainable lighting project From Darkness to Light, and raised more than £2.5m for the They Shall Laugh and Sing Music Appeal to fund a major restoration of the Cathedral’s organ and support the Cathedral’s choral music.
Dippy the Dinosaur
Alongside the annual highlights of Christmas and Easter, she enjoys the “agricultural year” in the diocese with Harvest Festival and Plough Sunday when people bring ploughs and tractors.
Another high point was the Science Festival in 2015, which paved the way to host the major touring Natural History Museum exhibition, Dippy on Tour: A Natural History Adventure, and the arrival of the Diplodocus cast.
“Dippy enabled us to have thousands of visitors but also brought thousands of people into the city,” she recalled. “It was just such a wonderful atmosphere through those months, we had over 230,000 people come in to see Dippy, which was amazing.”
Beastly pandemic
While the pandemic was “beastly” in shutting down churches, she believes the cathedral has come through that.
“It seems odd looking back to 2020 when we celebrated Easter behind closed doors. Nevertheless, we have come through it and it is really good to feel we are back. When I look back over the last two years, we have been here for people and that has been so important,” Jane said.
The pandemic saw the cathedral moving online and broadcasting services, but she concedes it was also a reflective time for her factored in the decision to step down as Dean.
“The pandemic, for all of us, was wearing. It also made us realise you should not take life for granted; I am lucky to be 67 but perhaps I would like to retire while I have still got a bit of life, so there was that aspect of it.
“Because the cathedral has come through this really challenging time well because of all wonderful people that work here, it feels like a good moment to hand it on to somebody else and go off and enjoy different things without having all the responsibility.”
Norwich Cathedral’s Canon Librarian and Vice Dean Dr Peter Doll will be acting Dean until the new Dean of Norwich is appointed.
Northumberland bound
From their home at the Deanery in the Close, Jane and Chris will move to Northumberland with cats Minstrel and Wispa and their dog Benson.
“We have a lot of friends in Northumberland, and it has a lot in common with Norfolk with lovely big sandy beaches and very rural,” added Jane.
“We like walking, love the outdoors, animals and wildlife, and have joined Wildlife Trust up there, so we are hoping to get out and about and also do some voluntary work.” Having bought a house in a village where there is a woman vicar, she also expects to be involved in the church in some capacity.
Other interests include gardening, reading and travel - having led pilgrimages to the Holy Land and to Turkey – with an aim to go to New Zealand.
To mark her retirement, there will be farewell services on Sunday May 1. The 10.30am Eucharist will be accompanied by an orchestra, followed by coffee and cake. The 3.30pm Festal Evensong will be followed by a reception in the Nave, and there is a general welcome for well-wishers to picnic in the Cloister or the wider Cathedral Close.
I am reading...
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I like dramas; Our House, The Split, Gentleman Jack, and David Attenborough’s Dynasties.
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The Archers.
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