Waikato elects first Anglican woman bishop

From New Zealand-

After weeks of whispering and speculation among the faithful, the Waikato's Anglicans have chosen their first woman bishop.

The Rev Dr Helen-Ann Hartley, a former religious advisor to the BBC, was elected as the Waikato's seventh Anglican bishop after her predecessor David Moxon headed to Rome as the Anglican Communion's ambassador to the Vatican.

Mrs Hartley, 40, was nominated by several Hamilton based Anglicans after spending 18 months teaching at the theological college after previously completing a four month study placement here where she finished her book Making Sense of the Bible.

''I was quite properly moved and there were a few tears shed,'' she said after her election.

''There was not much sleep that night.''

It's a job Mrs Hartley would never have obtained in her native UK, where women have stopped at the role of Dean of a cathedral, and it makes her New Zealand's third woman bishop.

More here-

http://www.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times/news/9130756/Waikato-elects-first-Anglican-woman-bishop