Janet Scarfe (born 1947) is an Australian academic and historian who was very involved with the

Movement for the Ordination of Women The Movement for the Ordination of Women (MOW) was the name used by organisations in England and Australia that campaigned for the ordination of women as Deacon#Anglicanism, deacons, Priest#Anglican or Episcopalian, priests and bishops in the Angl ...

(MOW) in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Early life and career

Scarfe was born in 1947. Her research interests include pioneering professional women, specifically Australian army nurses serving in

World War I 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 ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and the first generation of women clergy in the

Anglican Church in Australia The Anglican Church of Australia, originally known as the Church of England in Australia and Tasmania, is a Christian church in Australia and an autonomous church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. In 2016, responding to a peer-reviewed study ...

. In 2008, Scarfe commenced as an Adjunct Research Associate at Monash University. In 2015, Scarfe curated an exhibition sponsored by the

East Melbourne East Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne local government area. East Melbourne recorded a population of 4,896 at the 2021 ce ...

Historical Society titled ''Gone to War as Sister: East Melbourne Nurses in the Great War.''

Movement for the Ordination of Women

The Australian

(MOW) was founded in 1983 to advocate for the ordination of women as

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

s and

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

s in the

Anglican Church of Australia The Anglican Church of Australia, originally known as the Church of England in Australia and Tasmania, is a Christian church in Australia and an autonomous church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. In 2016, responding to a peer-reviewed study ...

. Patricia Brennan was the founding national President. Janet Scarfe succeeded Brennan in 1989. Scarfe was the president of the

in Australia from 1989 to 1995. In 2012, Scarfe co-edited and was a contributor to the monograph, '' Preachers, Prophets and Heretics: Anglican Women's Ministry,'' with Elaine Lindsay. The publication was a collection of essays that documented the controversy surrounding the ordination of women in the

in the 1980s and 1990s. Scarfe also contributed articles to Women-Church: an Australian journal of feminist studies in religion, including an article in the journal's final issue that documented a history of the movement for ordination of women in the Anglican Church. Scarfe's papers, including the records of the Movement for the Ordination of Women Australia, are housed at the

State Library of South Australia The State Library of South Australia, or SLSA, formerly known as the Public Library of South Australia, located on North Terrace, Adelaide, is the official library of the Australian state of South Australia. It is the largest public research li ...

Selected works

Books

* Lindsay, Elaine, and Janet Scarfe. '' Preachers, Prophets and Heretics: Anglican Women's Ministry''. University of New South Wales Press Ltd, 2012. Dawson, Jennifer. 2013. “Preachers, Prophets and Heretics: Anglican Women’s Ministry.” ''Colloquium'' 45 (1): 107–10.Webster-Hawes, Anastasia. 2014. “Preachers, Prophets and Heretics: Anglican Women’s Ministry.” ''St Mark’s Review'' 230 (December) *

Journal articles

* Scarfe, Janet. “Mixed Fortunes: The Postwar Lives of East Melbourne’s Great War Nurses.” ''

Victorian Historical Journal The ''Victorian Historical Journal'' is a biannual peer-reviewed academic journal covering the history of the Australian state of Victoria. It is the "official journal of record and scholarly publication" of the Royal Historical Society of Victo ...

'' 88, no. 2 (2017): 256–280. * Scarfe, Janet. “ Changed Rules, Changing Culture? The Ordination of Women.” ''St Mark's Review'' 228, no. 228 (2014): 51–58. * Scarfe, Janet. “ Journeying Together on the Freedom Bus [History of the Movement for Ordination of Women in the Anglican Church.].” '' Women-Church Journal, Women-Church: An Australian Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion'' no. 40 (2007): 47–51. https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/ielapa.20070949
Digitised version of no. 40 (2007) available on JSTOR Open Community CollectionsUniversity of Divinity Digital Collections
  Mannix Library. * Scarfe, Janet. “Necessary, but Not Sufficient he Ordination of Women in the Anglican Church Has Not Produced the Anticipated Transformation of the Church, and Sexism and Clericalism Still Prevail.�
''Eureka Street'' 6, no. 2 (1996)
29–31.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scarfe, Janet 1947 births Living people Academic staff of Monash University Australian women historians