WHY I SUPPORT THE CAUCUS by Nigel Renton 

My elder sister was another important influence. She preceded me to Oxford University, and went on to William Temple College, a postgraduate establishment for lay church workers, named after one of the Church of England's most highly regarded Archbishops of Canterbury. She became a "Lady Almoner," the quaint name then given to a hospital social worker in the UK.

I never cared for the "manly" outdoor sports - fox-hunting, shooting birds, or even fishing. I was interested in politics, the theatre, journalism, and other fields in which women were at least starting to have influence. When it was my turn to obtain a place at Oxford, I soon found that many of my most intelligent friends there were women. I also began to realize that Anglican clergy did not want to give up their dominance over church matters. I became a quiet advocate for equality of the sexes. To this day, I consider myself a feminist.

There was always strong competition for the deputation to General Convention (GC) from the Diocese of California. I had no thought of running for election until 1982, after the division of our diocese to create the diocese of El Camino Real. Several of the California deputation's "regulars" became members of the new diocese. At our diocesan convention prior to 1982, I noticed that there was an opening to complete the eight lay slots for deputies and alternates. I asked someone from our parish - probably the rector - to nominate me from the floor. That was all I needed; one more election - this time as first alternate in 1985 - and then in 1988 I became a deputy. I have been a GC junkie ever since.

I recently had to "straighten out" an old friend who had confused EWC with the ECW. It brought to mind how, at New Orleans in 1982, I came to know about the difference between two entirely distinct organizations.

I have nothing against the ECW. When I saw how much money was collected through the little blue Mite Boxes of the ECW's United Thank Offering, I set aside my wonder at the need for a separate Episcopal Church group for women, since the doors to legislative eligibility and ordination had been opened. (The ECW's Triennial had always before seemed like a glorified Provincial Synod, a sort of "Potlatch" in search of a meaningful agenda.)

So it was at GC that I became fully aware of EWC. I noticed that many of the women deputies and alternates who had impressed me by their work on the floor of the convention or in committee work were among the leaders of the EWC. I promptly bought a shirt telling the world "A Woman's Place ... is in the House of Bishops." (This was long before Barbara Harris was elected in 1989.) A few years later, I bought one of my favorite coffee mugs: "God is not a boy's name."

Over the years, I have attended many EWC Sunday breakfasts at GC, where I have been one of a sprinkling of fellow males, there to enjoy the fun of what is always a joyful occasion.

I also learned at GC that the EWC accepted male members. I had for years been an advocate of women in the ordained ministry, and I had now found a way to show support. I have been a paid-up member ever since.