wfn.org | LWI 2008-027 Further Action Sought on Women's Ordination and Witness Among LWF Member Churches

["LWFNews" <LWFNews@lutheranworld.org>]

>LUTHERAN WORLD INFORMATION
>LWI News online:
>http://www.lutheranworld.org/News/Welcome.EN.html 

Further Action Sought on Women's Ordination and Witness Among
LWF Member Churches
Women Affirm Progress Made, Call for More Work to Remove
Obstacles

GENEVA, 20 May 2008 (LWI) - Ahead of the 11th Assembly of the
Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in July 2010, LWF member churches
are being challenged to be open to hearing and learning from one
another about the positive experiences ordained women are having
on churches within and beyond the Lutheran communion. 

A communiqué by participants in a recent consultation called to
assess the situation with regard to women's ordination in the LWF
member churches, invites the churches to see the ordination of
women "not primarily as a societal or women's issue but as a
matter that goes to the heart of what it means to be the church."

The exclusion of the public witness of ordained women in
proclaiming the Word and celebrating the sacraments compromised
the church's witness to God's reconciliation and freedom in
Christ, stated the statement from the consultation titled "The
Ongoing Reformation of the Church: The Witness of Ordained Women
Today." It was organized by the LWF Department for Theology and
Studies (DTS) in collaboration with the desk for Women in Church
and Society (WICAS) of the LWF Department for Mission and
Development (DMD) and the Office for Ecumenical Affairs. 

The consultation was part of the DTS "Women in Ministry as
Ecumenical Witness" program, begun this year with the aim to
encourage especially churches that do not ordain women to view
their ordination as an asset for new ecumenical developments
rather than as an obstacle to furthering such relationships. One
of the program's main objectives is to clarify the biblical and
theological bases for women as part of the priesthood of all
believers, and in ways that challenge cultural and other
obstacles. 

DTS points out that the presence of women in all aspects of
church ministry was shifting the overall ecumenical landscape
especially in relationship to the understanding of ministry and
other aspects of ecclesiology including sacraments. Its study
program underscores the significance of a Lutheran contribution
to this aspect of ecumenical reconfiguration not only because of
the sizeable number of women in church leadership but also
because of the "bridge" position between Protestant, Roman
Catholic, and Orthodox churches respectively. 

At the 27-29 March consultation, the women participants from LWF
churches in parts of Africa, Asia, Europe and North America also
appealed to "each member church to bring to the 2010 Assembly a
report of what they intend to do with regard to this matter if
they do not ordain women already, or, if they do so now, how they
are addressing remaining practical obstacles and seeking to
further the partnership of women and men in the ministry of the
church." 

They acknowledged the progress made with respect to women's
ordination in the LWF member churches over the past 50 years, and
affirmed the LWF's consistent support, especially through
statements of its governing bodies, toward the full realization
of the ministry of ordained women and men in the church. 

The reception of the ministry of ordained women had been
overwhelmingly positive with thousands of ordained women
"increasingly visible on all levels and in every facet of the
church’s work," and resistant attitudes and cultural
assumptions "are being transformed through the power of the Holy
Spirit," stated the LWF communiqué.

Participants however pointed out that women entering positions
of oversight and leadership in their churches face yet new
challenges that called for training and resources in order to
realize the genuine partnership of women and men in the church's
ministry. Some churches, they observed, "do not want to discuss
the ordination of women because they fear this may split the
church or threaten ties with partners who oppose this." Open
discussions with local church members were called for with the
aim to elucidate the theological grounds for women's ordination,
and not only the opposing perspectives. 

The women's consultation called for the witness of women pastors
and those in oversight positions to be highlighted in the 2017
commemoration of the Reformation. (676 words)

The full text of the communiqué from the Geneva consultation is
available in English on the LWF Web site at:
http://www.lutheranworld.org/What_We_Do/Dts/DTS-Documents/DTS-Ongoing_Reformation-2008.pdf

and in German at:

http://www.lutheranworld.org/What_We_Do/DTS/DTS-Documents/DTS-Ongoing_Reformation-2008_DE.pdf

For more information about the LWF "Women in Ministry as
Ecumenical Witness" program, please contact DTS director Rev. Dr
Karen Bloomquist at: Bloomquist@lutheranworld.org 

*       *       *

(The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the
Lutheran tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund, Sweden, the LWF
currently has 140 member churches in 78 countries all over the
world, with a total membership of over 68.3 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.)

[Lutheran World Information (LWI) is the LWF’s information
service. Unless specifically noted, material presented does not
represent positions or opinions of the LWF or of its various
units. Where the dateline of an article contains the notation
(LWI), the material may be freely reproduced with
acknowledgment.] 

>LUTHERAN WORLD INFORMATION
>P. O. Box 2100CH-1211 
>Geneva 2 Switzerland

>Tel.: +41/22-791 63 69 
>Fax: +41/22-791 66 30
>Editor’s E-Mail: pmu@lutheranworld.org