wfn.org | LWI 2009-041 Groundbreaking Ordinations in Mexico Affirm Commitment to Women in Ministry

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Groundbreaking Ordinations in Mexico Affirm Commitment to Women
in Ministry 
An Important Sign from the Latin American and Caribbean Region

MEXICO CITY, Mexico/GENEVA, 30 July 2009 (LWI) -The Mexican
Lutheran Church (ILM) affirmed commitment to women in ministry
with its first-ever ordination of female pastors. 

"This important sign from the Latin American and Caribbean
region should encourage the communion to continue reflecting on
women's ordination," remarked Rev. Dr Elaine Neuenfeldt,
secretary for the Women in Church and Society (WICAS) desk at the
Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Department for Mission and
Development. Fifteen out of the 16 LWF member churches in the
Latin American and Caribbean region ordain women.

The three women ordained on April 25 will serve congregations in
the capital, Mexico City. Rev. Maria Elena Ortega Mora will
continue to work at the Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, while Rev.
Sofia Deyanira Tenorio May will remain at the Lutheran Church of
the Good Shepherd. Rev. Angela del Consuelo Trejo Haager will
work alongside her husband, Rev. Dr Moisés Pérez Espino, at
Christ Lutheran Church. 

Commenting on the Mexican church's historic step, ILM president
Rev. Daniel Trejo Coria, underscored that Jesus commands
Christians to preach the gospel to all nations. "If this is the
basis of the Sacrament of Baptism, we can conclude that preaching
and proclamation can be done by all people," he told Lutheran
World Information (LWI).

"A basic tenet of the Lutheran church is the priesthood of all
believers," Trejo Coria said. "If we place that theological
statement in its New Testament context, we can conclude that the
ministry of the Word and sacrament is not forbidden to women."

Trejo Coria presided at the ordination, in which pastors from
Lutheran, Anglican, and Baptist churches, a woman rabbi from the
Jewish Messianic Community of Mexico, and international guests
also participated. 

The three recently ordained ILM pastors studied at Augsburg
Lutheran Seminary, which reopened in 1998 after an 18-year
hiatus. The seminary is part of the Theological Community of
Mexico, a consortium of Protestant seminaries on the southern
side of the capital city.

"The ordained ministry of women has been celebrated in the
communion as expression and gift of women's leadership and is a
commitment member churches are encouraged to address," Neuenfeldt
told LWI. "The public witness of ordained women has also
strengthened women in other areas of leadership, in both church
and society."

The WICAS secretary added, "Fully integrating ordained women
into the life of the church on the basis of a theological
understanding of ministry implies sharing power and service and
establishing structures that are accessible and hospitable to all
God’s people." (434 words)

Read more about the LWF and women's ordination at:
http://www.lutheranworld.org 

>*        *          *

(The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the
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currently has 140 member churches in 79 countries all over the
world, with a total membership of 68.5 million. The LWF acts on
behalf of its member churches in areas of common interest such as
ecumenical and interfaith relations, theology, humanitarian
assistance, human rights, communication, and the various aspects
of mission and development work. Its secretariat is located in
Geneva, Switzerland.)

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