I am at the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA). This
year we are celebrating the anniversaries of the first ordinations of
women to the three offices of our church — deacon, elder and minister
of the word and sacrament. We are celebrating 100 years, 75 years and
50 years respectively.
The first woman ordained to be Minster of
Word and Sacrament (that is, a pastor in the church) spoke at our
national association presbyterian clergywomen luncheon on Monday
afternoon. It was great hearing her speak about how it was for her 50
years ago. She remembers the media event that it became. She
remembers getting tons of mail, both supportive and hatful. And now
she considers all the women ordained to ministry in the PCUSA as her
“daughters”. There are now over 4700 of us nationwide.
The
battle isn’t over, though … and she cited the precise issues raised by
lidia two posts ago. Women pastors are still not treated as equals in
ecumenical gatherings … the men won’t listen wholeheartedly. Women are
rarely asked to serve churches as senior pastors or heads of staff.
And the list goes on.
year we are celebrating the anniversaries of the first ordinations of
women to the three offices of our church — deacon, elder and minister
of the word and sacrament. We are celebrating 100 years, 75 years and
50 years respectively.
The first woman ordained to be Minster of
Word and Sacrament (that is, a pastor in the church) spoke at our
national association presbyterian clergywomen luncheon on Monday
afternoon. It was great hearing her speak about how it was for her 50
years ago. She remembers the media event that it became. She
remembers getting tons of mail, both supportive and hatful. And now
she considers all the women ordained to ministry in the PCUSA as her
“daughters”. There are now over 4700 of us nationwide.
The
battle isn’t over, though … and she cited the precise issues raised by
lidia two posts ago. Women pastors are still not treated as equals in
ecumenical gatherings … the men won’t listen wholeheartedly. Women are
rarely asked to serve churches as senior pastors or heads of staff.
And the list goes on.
thanks Liz for sharing. this has become a huge issue for me over the last few years. I'm not ordained, but I am dreaming of the possibility of seminary. I'm considering getting liscensed - but in our low church structures it isn't such a big deal. Oh, and I'm giving my first official sermon this weekend. Steps forward...