The Junia Network seeks to inspire, equip and give voice to Anglican evangelical ordained women.
We are a network of women ordained into the Anglican Church from across the evangelical spectrum. We include all stages of ministry from ordinands to those who are retired, permanent deacons to bishops. We exist to support and pray for one another in ministry, learning from scripture, the Spirit and one another, and to represent evangelical women within the wider evangelical constituency and nationally in the Church of England. We seek to equip one another for ordained ministry in the Church, that the Church might be better equipped to fulfil her gospel imperative.
When our network was first formed, we chose the name AWESOME, which was intended as both an acronym of who we are (Anglican Women Evangelicals: Supporting our Ordained Ministry), and an expression of God’s strength and glory, which we knew we needed to be encouraged by constantly in order to be able to move forward, as we felt our own weakness strongly.
We came to feel by 2020, however, that the term ‘awesome’ was now somewhat outdated in general speech. We needed a new name that would have positive connotations for the women we were seeking to serve and represent. We decided that we wanted to choose a named woman in the New Testament who was active in the early church. The committee chose the name ‘The Junia Network’ because we believed that all woman across the evangelical spectrum would be able to relate to her calling: to be sent to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ.
Our Goals
To be a voice for evangelical women
To encourage women to grow in their vocations
To support each other in ministry through networks and mentoring
To raise the profile of women at local and national level
To engage with practical, biblical and theological issues
Our Committee
The Junia Network is led by a small committee of ordained evangelical women. Find out more about us here.
The story so far
The Junia Network was formed in 2003 to provide a place where ordained evangelical women from across the spectrum could meet and find fellowship and support. Since then we have
Become a recognised group representing women within the wider church, giving us places on the Transformations Steering Group, which has been meeting since 2010
As part of Transformations work contributed to overseeing research on young vocations, larger churches and flexible patterns of ministry
Promoted and featured at diocesan Vocations events for young women
Held theological and biblical discussions with Reform (see outcomes here) as part of the debate on women bishops
Held (jointly with CPAS ) a consultation on women leading larger churches
Reached the 140 members mark, and carried on growing
Established local networks for support and fellowship
Held annual retreats with speakers including +Emma Ineson and +Sophie Jelley
Seen several books published: AWESOME Voices (2015), AWESOME Voices 2nd edition with added chapters (2017) and The Gender Agenda (2010), written by Clare Hendry and Lis Goddard.
Begun regular e-bulletins for members of The Junia Network (formerly AWESOME), and set up spaces for interaction and mutual support on social media.
