A bishop's messenger was a woman appointed a

lay reader In Anglicanism, a licensed lay minister (LLM) or lay reader (in some jurisdictions simply reader) is a person authorised by a bishop to lead certain services of worship (or parts of the service), to preach and to carry out pastoral and teaching f ...

by the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

due to the shortage of male

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

. Messengers were first appointed in 1917 in many

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...

s of the

. Meanwhile, women were appointed to run missions, and in some cases church congregations. In the absence of men, however, many continued in their work after the war ended. No further female lay readers were appointed until 1969. The women were organised into the Diocesan Order of Women Messengers (DOWM). The last bishop's messenger in England was

Bessie Bangay Bessie Dorrington Bangay (29 June 1889 – 25 March 1987) was an English church worker. At the time of her death, she was the last of the original cohort of Bishop's messengers in the Church of England, licensed during World War I. Early life ...

, who died in 1987. From 1928, bishop's messengers were also appointed in the

Diocese of Rupert's Land The Diocese of Rupert's Land is a diocese of the Ecclesiastical Province of Rupert's Land of the Anglican Church of Canada. It is named for the historical British North American territory of Rupert's Land, which was contained within the origin ...

. The first one was Marguerita Fowler (1884-1970), based at St. Faith's Church.

Diocese of St Davids

This Welsh diocese also appointed clergymen to the post of Bishop's Messenger.'' Crockford's Clerical Directory 1980–82'' p604 London:

OUP Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 1983

Notes

Anglican Church of Canada Anglican ecclesiastical offices Christianity and women Church of England {{Anglican-stub