Laira Danielle M.

Tupas
BSBA-Economics II
CHS 3-A
Term Paper

Ordination of Women in the Church

Introduction
Women ordination, as defined by the Oxford Dictionary, refers to the process of admitting
women as priests in the Church. Surprisingly, women were ordained in Christianity’s first twelve
hundred years, therefore it is essential to know what ordination meant in the earlier centuries since
this is precisely the period in which one finds references to ordained women. According to the
National Catholic Reporter (NCR), ordination in the first millennium of Christianity signified a
person's selection and installation to carry out a specific task in a Christian society. A group within
the church/society known as an ordo (order) was dedicated to a specific task or vocation; thus
every position or vocation was referred to as an "order," and the selection and designation
procedure was known as an "ordination." In the past, being ordained did not grant someone the
authority to consecrate the bread and wine or to conduct the liturgy; rather, a community would
appoint someone to a leadership position within that community (and only that community), and
that person would conduct the liturgy as a result of that leadership position. Therefore, it would be
expected of any community leader to conduct the liturgy. In addition to that, during the early
Middle Ages, ordination was not the only name used for a ceremony where one assumed a new
ministry in the church; the words consecration and benediction were also used interchangeably.
Also, the ceremonies that made up an ordination did change over the ages, and in any case, it was
not yet considered appropriate from a legal standpoint to inquire as to which ceremonies made up
a valid ordination. Given the understanding of Western Christianity that predominated in the early
Middle Ages, a woman was just as ordained as a deaconess or an abbess as a man was (as a priest
or a deacon, for example). Therefore, it would be incorrect to assume that all references to clerics
or the ordained during that time refer to only men as women were frequently described as ordained
and clerics on occasion.
Now in the 12th and 13th centuries, ordination was redefined as bestowing the recipient a
power they can use in any community, not a position within it. Over time, ordination was thought
to only apply to those orders that served at the altar, namely the orders of the priest, deacon, and
subdeacon, because the primary authority that ordination granted was the authority to consecrate
the bread and wine at the altar. All the orders, including those of priest, deacon, and subdeacon,
were off-limits to women as a result of the redefinition. In fact, it was propagated and still is
believed that women have never held any of the positions now exclusive to those three classes.
Unlike the previous definition of order where women performed a number of administrative and
liturgical duties, those responsibilities are now carried out by deacons, priests, and bishops. Indeed
women ordination is dated all the way back to 6 BCE, but it wasn’t until the 19th and 20th century
that declarations were made for women to take positions in religious institutions. However, despite
the changes that have taken place, there are still religions that do not permit women to lead
congregations.

Definition of Key Terms

1. Benediction
-A verbal blessing of persons or things, commonly applied to invocations pronounced in
God’s name by a priest or minister, usually at the conclusion of a religious service.

2. Bishop
-Bishops become the heirs of the Apostles and acquire the fullness of the Sacrament of
Holy Orders upon being ordained to the episcopacy. A bishop joins the college of bishops
through this Sacrament and acts as the outward leader or pastor of the local church assigned
to his care.

3. Clergy
-Refers to priests, ministers, rabbis, and other religious leaders whose responsibility is to
meet the needs of their respective religions and followers.

4. Consecration
-The process or act of formally sanctifying something so that it can be utilized in
religious ceremonies.
5. Deacon/deaconess
-Deacons have a special connection to the bishop in the tasks of service and is conformed
to Christ, the Deacon or Servant of all. Deacon comes from the Greek word diakonia
meaning "servant." They are ordained to the ministry of service rather than the ministerial
priesthood and receive the Sacrament of Holy Orders from a bishop. A deacon's
ordination causes him to become more like Christ, who came to serve and not be served.
They may perform a variety of functions in the Latin Church, including baptizing,
preaching the Gospel, giving homilies, helping the bishop or priest celebrate the
Eucharist, performing weddings and blessing them, and officiating at funerals. They
dedicate themselves to philanthropic causes, much as they did in the New Testament
when they served as ministers.

6. Episcopacy
-It is the position of a bishop and the accompanying system of church management based
on the three orders, or offices, of the ministry: bishops, priests, and deacons, in some
Christian churches.

7. Liturgy
-It is a Greek compound word that originally meant a citizen performing a civic
obligation. Its components are leitos, which means public, and ergo (used in future erxo,
etc.; obsolete in the current stem), which means to do. Leitourgos, "a man who performs
a public duty," "a public servant," and leitourgia, the actual public duty, are all derived
from this. Leitourgeo, "to do such a duty," leitourgema, "to perform such a duty," and
leitourgia are all widely used as equivalents to the Roman lictor.

8. Orarium
- A garment worn by a deacon in the Eastern Orthodox Church.

9. Ordination
-The Catholic Church defines ordination as the sacramental ritual in which one is
ordained as a deacon, priest, or bishop and given the authority to serve in the Church and
 the name of Christ. In most Protestant churches, ordination is the ceremony by which the
various congregations accept and certify that a person has been called by God to the
ministry and that this call has been followed by a period of discernment and preparation.

10. Pastor
-The leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from
the community or congregation.

11. Pontifical
-A Christian liturgical book that contains ceremonies that can only be performed by
bishops. The ordinal liturgies for the ordination and consecration of deacons, priests, and
bishops to Holy Orders are included.

12. Priest
- Upon receiving their ordination, priests are united with the bishops in [priestly] dignity
and at the same time depend on them in the exercise of their pastoral functions; they are
called to be the bishops' prudent co-workers" (CCC, no. 1595). Priests join forces with
the bishop to establish a presbyteral (priestly) community and share in his pastoral
responsibilities for a particular parish. Priests are appointed by the bishop to serve in
other diocesan ministries as well as in parish pastoral care. The priest swears to obey the
bishop in service to God's people.

Historical Background
Women's ministry in the early church has long been a topic of study. The earliest collection
of texts which goes all the way back to 1938 starts with the New Testament and goes into the
Middle Ages, bringing together literary, historical, canonical, and legal texts in Greek, Latin, and
Latin translations of some Syriac texts. Several significant and thorough studies have been
published in the twentieth century and earlier, even specifically on female deacons. However, they
offer no definition of office or analysis of the content, make no attempt to separate office from a
recognized organization, and are only somewhat comprehensive for legal texts and less so for the
rest. As a result, consecrated virgins, widows, and female deacons are all included. There are pieces
of evidence that prove women were seen as ordained in the early Middle Ages. Popes in the
eleventh and twelfth centuries included female orders in their lists of various church orders. The
Cardinal Bishop of Porto received the authority to appoint bishops, priests, deacons, women
deacons, subdeacons, churches, and altars from Benedict VIII in 1018. John XIX and Leo IX both
reiterated this privilege in 1025 and 1049, respectively. In 1026, John XIX granted Silva Candida's
bishop "the consecration of churches, altars, priests, clerics, deacons, or women deacons for the
whole Leonine City." Benedict IX continued this privilege in 1037 and exempted "priests, deacons,
monks, housekeepers, clerics of whatever order or dignity from lay control." The abbess had the
freedom to request the ordination of abbesses, nuns, and all other clerics promoted to sacred orders
from any bishop she chose according to a privilege granted by Calixtus II in 1123 to the convent
of the Holy Savior and St. Julia in Brescia. Not only popes but also bishops, included women
among the ordained. The chronicle of Thietmar, Bishop of Merseburg (d. 1018), recorded that "the
same woman who at that time was twelve years old was veiled on Sunday, the kalends (the first
day of each month in the ancient Roman calendar.) of May, and on the next day ordained abbess."
Bishop Gilbert of Limerick included the injunction, "The bishop ordains abbots, abbesses, priests,
and the six other grades."

Not to mention several books of medieval liturgy contain commissioning rites for women,
which they refer to as ordinations in the same way that commissioning rites for men are referred
to as ordinations. The important ninth-century Gregorian sacramentary, the twelfth-century Roman
Pontifical, and the pontifical of Bishop Egbert of York all feature ordination procedures for women
deacons. The Romano-Germanic Pontifical from the tenth century has the most comprehensive
liturgy for the ordination of a woman deacon. A woman deacon is ordained during Mass, and the
ceremony is introduced with the words, "When the bishop blesses the woman deacon, he places
the orarium on her neck. But when she enters the church, she wears it around her neck so that the
orarium's ends on either side are hidden by her tunic.

Moving to non-Catholic religions, several American denominations began ordaining

women, including the United Church of Christ (whose adherents formerly went by the name
Congregationalists) and the Universalists (who later united with the Unitarians) in the 19th century,
but many of the bigger and more renowned denominations didn't start allowing women into
leadership positions until the decades after World War II. Antoinette Brown was the first woman
ordained as a Christian minister in a major American church in 1853, her ordination being given
by a tiny Congregational church in South Butler, New York. However, this first ordination did not
actually signal the start of a new era of women's leadership in American Christianity. As the
Suffrage movement had taken place in the mid-19th century, the 1848 Seneca Falls convention
was marked by scholars as the beginning of modern feminism in the United States; this opened the
doors towards possibilities for women to take positions in various huge denominations and the
idea of it being embraced gradually. The first female preachers were ordained by the United
Methodist Church and a portion of what would later become the Presbyterian Church USA in 1956.
In the early 1970s, Reform Judaism, the Episcopal Church, and the Evangelical Lutheran Church
in America all made the same move. Women have recently risen to several prominent positions in
American churches. Many now permit women to serve as bishops and in other senior leadership
roles, including the Episcopal Church and the United Methodist Church. For instance, Katherine
Jefferts Schori was the first woman to be elected as the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church,
the position with the most authority, in 2006. In the Philippines, the Convention of Philippine
Baptist Churches (CPBC) ordained women starting in 1980 after the assembly decided to do so at
the Bakyas, Negros Occidental General Assembly in 1979. On March 22, 1980, also at Bakyas,
Negros Occidental, Angelina Belluga Buensuceso became the first woman to be ordained; young
female pastors only recently underwent the ordination process, starting in 2018. However, the
church's Supreme Council of Bishops approved women's ordination on October 1, 1996, thus Rev.
Rosalina V. Rabaria of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente (IFI) was the first to be formally ordained
in February 1997 and followed by Rev. Rhea Bitacura-Loquias, being ordained in 2004.
Facts and Figures

The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, a

significant advisory body to the Pope on issues of Catholic
orthodoxy, has selected three women for the first time. This
was done by Pope Francis. Additionally, he recently created a
commission to research the function of female deacons in the
early Christian church, which is heartening for advocates of
women's ordination in the Catholic Church. However, Pope
Francis has made it clear that he is keeping the door firmly
closed in terms of the potential of women priests. For
supporting women's ordination, the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints expelled feminist activist Kate Kelly in
2014. At the same time, LDS leaders have increased the
number of positions for women on the global governing
committees and in the semi-annual conferences of the faith.
This lack of clarity regarding how women should be treated
in American religious institutions is representative of larger
Figure. 1: List of Major Religious
discussions regarding gender equality and women's roles in Groups that generally allow the
ordination of women in the church
American culture. As a result, comprehending the dynamics of
women being ordained in religious settings can provide crucial information about broader trends
and the junction of gender and leadership in modern America. Figure 1 shows the general notions
of various major religions regarding the matter; there may be some exceptional cases that take
place, but then again, the main idea of the act is widely frowned upon. American Baptists, United
Methodists, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Presbyterian (USA), the Episcopal Church,
Buddhism, Reform/Conservative Judaism, and Unitarian Universalists are among the religious
traditions and denominations in the United States that typically allow female clergy in their
congregations, whereas the Roman Catholic Church, Southern Baptists, Jehovah's Witnesses,
Orthodox Judaism, Mormons, and Muslims are among those who generally forbid female clergy.
 Figure 2: Percentage of clergywomen in various religions in American Denominations

Figure 2 shows the percentage of clergywomen in various religions in American

Denominations starting from 1977 to 2017. The number of clergywomen in the United States has
increased significantly and steadily during the past 20 years. In various denominations, the
proportion of ordained women has increased by a factor of two or three during the course of the
previous decades. Unitarian Universalist (UU) and United Church of Christ (UCC) ordained
women increased by double their advancement in terms of percentages since 1994, which are
getting closer to or surpassing gender parity in terms of total clergy and congregational pastors.
Both ordained clergy and congregational pastors who identify as UU are 57% female. 38% of
pastors and 50% of the clergy in the UCC are female. The number of women pastors in the United
Methodist, Disciples, and Brethren organizations has also doubled in 1994. Presbyterian
clergywomen in the USA increased from 19% to 29% since 1994. In various Protestant,
Pentecostal, and Peace Churches, the number of women clergy members is rising as well. We
discovered that there are significant percentages of women working as ordained clergy in the
Mennonite (30%), Church of the Brethren (25.6%), Church of God (Anderson, Indiana) (25%),
and Foursquare (37%) denominational bodies.

Figure 3: Leadership roles that Protestant church has permitted to women.

Women are now permitted to take leadership positions in the church, but unfortunately,
most pastors only deem them as Sunday school teachers and only 55% have allowed them to
become senior pastors, having the lowest percentage in the chart. Truly it is a contradiction because
the Church permits women to be consecrated as elders yet forbid them from becoming pastors.
This is in some ways contradictory because, in theory, a commissioned or licensed female pastor
has more authority than a female elder who has been ordained. Despite women being given roles
namely a committee leader, teenager minister, Bible study teacher, and even a deacon, not much
is needed to be said regarding the unspoken disapproval of ordaining them with a heavier role, a
Senior pastor. In the Philippines, protestant women clergy in the Philippines are targets of prejudice
and stereotypes because they work twice as hard for a fraction of the credit, according to a research
study entitled "Women in Ministry" by Rev. Ruth Panganiban, a woman pastor in the United
Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP). The study noted that these female pastors are
generally assigned to teaching duties rather than provided positions in the pastoral fields of
administration and preaching, which are dominated by men. Reverend Nelinda Briones, formerly
serving as the moderator of 51 churches in the UCCP's Greater Manila Conference, stated that
people only think of women clerics as good for Sunday school. Another female pastor, who also
preferred anonymity, claimed that despite having a license as a Christian education director, she
was only ever given menial responsibilities and only received half of her senior pastor's pay. She
said that the worst thing is that her own co-pastors do not address her as pastor and do not treat me
with respect as a colleague. Sadly women have to prove themselves first; they have to be twice as
good to be considered half as great. Truly there is a limitation that still exists when we would talk
about women's liberation in taking up leadership roles, as gender discrimination is currently
ongoing, the church being one of the major avenues for this mistreatment.

Biblical View

The Bible contains several passages regarding women having a higher role in the ministry
and the truth in the commonly argued concept - subordination. According to Genesis 1, both men
and women contribute equally to God's image. Genesis 1:27 says, "So God created man in his own
image, in his own image created he him; male and female created he them." There is no indication
of a divine creation order in this basic chapter. Man and woman are treated equally in this situation;
none is subordinate to the other. This portrayal of the dynamic between men and women remains
true both within and outside of Scripture. No divine author—not Moses, Jesus, or Paul—teaches
that man should rule over a woman at creation. Genesis 2 adds context to Genesis 1, as it describes
the woman being the pinnacle, the final product of creation in Genesis 2. Genesis 2:21–22 states
that “She [the woman] is made from a rib that belonged to Adam, signifying that she is "to stand
by his side as an equal". In Genesis 2:18, the woman [ēzer k'negdô], which means “helpmeet for
him” in Hebrew, does not refer to a subordinate aide or assistant in the original language.
Therefore, in the entire chapter, the term ēzer k'negdô" refers to no less than an equal counterpart
or "partner." Contrary to popular belief, Adam does not name the woman in Genesis 2:23 before
the Fall and thereby exercises authority over her. In other words, Genesis 2 does not contain a
creation order that makes women subordinate to men or prevents them from participating fully and
equally with men in whatever ministry to which God may appoint them. In Genesis 3, Eve's
submission to Adam is mentioned. God tells Eve, "Your desire shall be to your husband, and he
shall rule over you." However, it is crucial to understand that Eve's servitude to Adam only occurs
after the Fall. Additionally, it only applies to the husband-wife relationship, thus not involving a
general subordination of women to men. Now we come across Paul’s teachings regarding the
matter. Paul offers a lot of advice on how men and spouses should interact, and he eventually refers
to Genesis 3:16 when he says that the "head of a woman is her husband" (1 Corinthians 11:3) and
instructs wives to "be subject in everything to their husbands" (Ephesians 5:24), as is particularly
evident from 1 Timothy 2:14. The main point that Paul is actually teaching about is the subjection
of wives to their husbands, not women to men generally; these teachings of his in literally
translated and now being used as grounds on why women shouldn’t take positions in religious
institutions.

In 1 Timothy 2:13, Paul is not arguing for the creation headship of man over woman, as is
commonly understood. Instead, he is disproving a false syncretistic theology that originated in
Ephesus that because man fell first and the woman was formed later, women are superior to males.
Due to this false theology, wives appeared to be in charge of their husbands in open church
gatherings, and for this reason that he addresses this, and we should keep in mind that his advice
to husbands and wives cannot be applied to all male-female relationships. Take note also that God
has appointed Deborah to be a Judge (Judges 4 and 5), who presided over both the male and female
inhabitants of Israel. There are also several women that have taken up leadership roles like Esther,
Miriam (Exodus 15:20–21), and others (Exodus 38:8; 1 Samuel 2:22; 2 Kings 8:1-6; Psalms 68:11;
Jeremiah 31:22). There are no legal constraints preventing women from holding positions of
influence, leadership, and control over men, despite the fact that there were social disparities for
women in ancient Israel in the Old Testament.
Church View

Roman Catholic View

Women are not allowed to be ordained as church priests in the Catholic or Orthodox
Christian faiths. Priests are intended to resemble the male figure of Jesus, according to Catholic
dogma. Therefore, the Catholic position is that women are inappropriate to represent the male
figure of Christ. Pope John Paul II upholds what he perceives to be Biblical law that is required by
God within the Catholic institution during his reign. The Catholic Church forbids women from
serving as priests. In reality, according to the Vatican, it is a major offense under canon law and is
subject to excommunication. This means that after participating in an "ordination," women are no
longer permitted to partake of the sacraments, such as communion, or attend church funerals.
Despite everything that women do for the entire Church and the rest of the world, their ministry
does not include administering the Church's seven sacraments or participating in liturgical or
sacramental traditions. Instead, the Roman Catholic priesthood, an all-male profession blessed by
the sacrament of Holy Orders, is the only one permitted to perform these rites. This idea is stated
in Canon Law 1024, which reads, "A baptized male alone receives sacred ordination validly." The
Decree on the Attempted Ordination of Some Catholic Women was published by the Congregation
for the Doctrine of the Faith on December 2, 2002. In it, the congregation claims that Pope John
Paul II's Ordinatio Sacerdotalis was the definitive statement of the doctrine of ordination. It states
that the church has no authority whatever to confer priestly ordination of women. This statement
is supported by the congregation's formal and obstinate rejection of the doctrine, which the church
has always taught and practiced. This doctrine's denial is appropriately regarded as the denial of a
truth related to the Catholic faith, and as such, it merits a due punishment. According to the
Catechism of the Catholic Church, which was published by John Paul II on August 15, 1997, the
Lord Jesus chose men to make up the college of the twelve apostles, and the Church acknowledges
that she is bound by this decision made by the Lord himself. This, therefore, makes it impossible
for women to be ordained. In a 2013 interview, Pope Francis stated that regarding women being
ordained as priests, the Church has spoken and said no; John Paul II said it and that door is closed.
However, women are permitted to hold other positions within the Church, such as that of lay
ministers and deacons. Despite requests from some Church factions, there has been no sign that
the Church will reverse its position on women being allowed to hold ordained positions.
Protestant View
Women may be ordained to the ministry, including the priesthood or pastoral ministry, in
several Protestant churches. Different Protestant denominations have different views on women
being ordained, and these views can change depending on historical events, cultural norms, and
theological perspectives. Many Protestant churches, including the United Methodist Church and
the Anglican Church, have long permitted the ordination of women. The ordination of women has
also been permitted for many years by other churches, including the United Church of Christ, the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), and the Presbyterian Church (USA). The
Southern Baptist Convention and several conservative evangelical churches are two Protestant
denominations that do not permit women to be ordained. The justifications for allowing women to
be ordained as pastors in Protestant churches are numerous and intricate. Biblically speaking, the
biblical passages that emphasize the equality of all persons and the significance of women in
ministry are cited by several Protestant churches that permit women to be ordained as pastors.
Some churches, for instance, cite the leadership roles held by women in the early Christian church,
including Phoebe (Romans 16:1) and Junia (Romans 16:7). Over time, some Protestant
denominations have changed to become more egalitarian and inclusive. For instance, during the
past few decades, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) has shifted toward a more
accepting posture on LGBTQ+ concerns and women's ordination. In addition, because of
logistical reasons relating to the shortage of clergy, several Protestant churches permit women to
be ordained as pastors. In order to address this issue and make sure that churches have enough
pastors to serve their communities, allowing women to be ordained can be beneficial.

Arguments

Arguments For:

1. Increased representation: Women's ordination as pastors and church leaders can

contribute to greater diversity and representation in the leadership of the church. This can
ensure that the church represents the variety of its neighborhood and serves as an example
for young women and girls.
 2. Greater access to leadership talent: By allowing women to receive pastoral ordination,
the church will have access to a wider range of leadership skills. This can support ensuring
that the most capable and talented people, regardless of gender, hold leadership positions.

3. Improved pastoral care: Women's viewpoints and experiences can assist pastoral care
better and meet the needs of varied congregations. Women pastors may be more aware of
problems affecting women's health, family life, and social justice. They can also offer a
wider range of viewpoints on the problems that their communities are facing.

4. Positive impact on church growth: Studies have indicated that churches with women in
leadership positions frequently see faster church growth and better levels of participation
from the congregation. The church can help to draw in new members and keep its current
ones interested by allowing women to be ordained as pastors. The ordination of women as
pastors is in accordance with biblical ideals of justice and equality in many churches.
Allowing women to hold positions of leadership can contribute to upholding the biblical
command to esteem and respect everyone, regardless of gender.

5. Fulfilling biblical principles: For many churches, ordaining women as pastors is in

keeping with the biblical ideals of justice and equality. The biblical command to value and
respect everyone, regardless of gender, can be achieved in part by allowing women to hold
leadership positions.

Arguments against:
1. Tradition and culture: According to others, ordaining women as pastors would go against
the long-standing cultural and historical standards of the church and should be retained as
part of the church's lengthy tradition of male-only leadership. These people might also
think that women are better suited for specific kinds of ministry and that men and women
have different roles to play in the church.
2. Conflict and division: Some people think that ordaining women as pastors can lead to
conflict and division within the church, especially among those who have opposing
viewpoints on the matter. They contend that this can cause church communities to break
apart and lose their togetherness.
 3. Practical concerns: According to some, ordaining women as pastors may result in issues
such as finding qualified male candidates for pastoral positions being difficult to come by,
or congregational acceptance of women pastors in particular cultural circumstances being
problematic.

Ethical/Moral view (Insights)

Indeed, women have gone through a lot of struggles and battles just to be where they are
today; just to enjoy privileges that supposedly didn’t have to be earned through blood, sweat, and
courage. In these modern times, society has gone a long way from being purely patriarchal to
gradually embracing egalitarianism. Despite the huge progress we have gone through, gender
discrimination is unfortunately still taking place, especially in the religious sector, where
supposedly we are to be embraced and given equal rights and importance since this is what the
book Genesis in the Bible had stated. The world has surely gone astray from the true essence of
what a woman is and what she was made for.

Women are of significance even in the times of the Old Testament; it is written in the Bible
of how God never neglected the female gender or even second-guess entrusting them with such
significant responsibilities. We can even read and see how He used them in order to bring victory
and save His people and the ones He has sent on missions. I myself am not exempt from the
discrimination that women undergo in their respective fields of profession. I also have witnessed
instances where female pastors are often looked down upon and even deemed as inferior and not
trustworthy in leading a large congregation. Growing up in the church exposed me to several
scenarios and discussions on why women aren’t to be entrusted with such a role as a senior pastor,
which is because of the commonly cited verse in Genesis 3 regarding the curse that has befallen
Eve and all the women which are to submit to their husbands and Paul’s teachings in Ephesians
regarding the submission of wives to their husbands. Due to the Bible constantly being literally
interpreted, these verses and many more that I have not mentioned have been generalized and have
been set as the grounds of law and unspoken notions for the older generations. I truly believe that
there is no discrimination or preference when it comes to divine revelation. I attend a certain
Foursquare church here in Dumaguete City in which a woman is the senior pastor and oversees
the administration of the church. Truly there is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor
is there male and female, for we are all one in Christ Jesus. Revelation comes to anyone who
genuinely seeks it. We can’t deny that we have been brought up in a world where it is always men
who preach, teach, oversee, and administrate a church, but we are also not called to continue living
with that stereotype. Women are not simply called to be just Sunday school teachers or hold menial
roles; I am not against them being in this position, but I am not in favor of them being imprisoned
in those conventional images and being deprived and prohibited from taking major roles. God has
used women in the past, so who are we to say that a woman being ordained and standing behind
the pulpit is questionable and unconventional? Remember that we can not box God’s movement
and incorporate our conceptions of right and wrong in regard to this. For me, there is no gender
that is superior when it comes to sharing the good news and teaching about the Word of God. To
end, I quote this verse from 1 Corinthians 15:10 “For as woman came from man, so also man is
born of woman. But everything comes from God.”
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