Rev Dorothy Lee: A trailblazer for women in the church

This article is written by Daniel Brace for The Westsider and is shared on Vox with permission. Read the original publication here.

The Reverend Canon Professor Mother Dorothy Lee AM FAHA, and her two grown daughters and their families, are all proud Westies. Dorothy, as she prefers to be called, is a Yarraville local and loves the village atmosphere and friendly folk.

As a young woman, Dorothy dreamed of becoming an Anglican priest, preaching the Gospel, surrounded by incense, music and sacred art. As you imagine, this kind of ambition was discouraged in the 1970s, except by Dorothy’s Dad.

“Dad actively encouraged me. He would tell me that I would make a fine preacher one day,” says Dorothy, speaking to Daniel sitting with her two cats, Daphne and Darcy (sorry, I couldn’t resist the alliteration). “But, like most people, it took him a while to warm to the idea of women leading worship at church.”

“When I discovered I couldn’t be a priest in the Anglican Church, I went across to the Uniting Church, who were more progressive in this sense. But I never felt I really belonged. So when women could finally become priests in the Anglican Church, I was thrilled.”

Since then, Dorothy has forged a career as a renowned scholar, published author, Professor and Dean, and respected interpreter of ancient biblical texts; a career path dominated by men.

“I wrote a book about the role of women in the early church, which is probably my proudest academic achievement. You might be surprised, but women’s leadership was strongly affirmed at that time and it wasn’t until later that women became excluded or maligned.”

“I believe we need to return to those early values in the church, and more broadly by ensuring we build a completely inclusive society, where everyone belongs, regardless of age, gender, sexuality or religion. And we have so much more work to do to ensure everyone feels that they  belong,” says Dorothy.

“I do think we have a greater understanding now than we have in the past around things like gender and sexuality, and other forms of diversity. As someone who is neurodivergent, I’m grateful for developments in how we understand and relate to people who are different to ourselves.”

It’s one of the things Dorothy loves most about the West. “There is great diversity in the West. It’s a great place to live, and somewhere where I feel I belong. There’s a sense of community in Yarraville Village and across the West.”

In October 2012, Lee was elected one of the 10 foundation professors of the University of Divinity, Australia’s first specialist university. She was elected a fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities in 2015 and made a Member of the Order of Australia in 2024.

Now in her 70s, Dorothy’s love of preaching hasn’t diminished. “Jesus, his friends were the forgotten, the rejected, the sick and the misfits, and of course a lot of women,” she exclaims. “He is still our friend.”