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 Church service, services of worship (or parts of the service), to preach and to carry out pastoral ...

by the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

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, prov ...

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, who died in 1987. From 1928, bishop's messengers were also appointed in the Diocese of Rupert's Land. 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 ''Crockford's Clerical Directory'' (''Crockford'') is the authoritative directory of Anglican clergy and churches in Great Britain and Ireland, containing details of English, Welsh, Scottish and Irish benefices and churches, and biographies of aro ...

1980–82'' p604 London:

OUP Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press 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