wfn.org | FMEEC votes to support the ordination of women

["Allison Schmitt" <aschmitt@elcjhl.org>]

>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FMEEC votes to support the ordination of women

Harissa, Lebanon - (Jan. 12, 2010) Ordaining women as pastors to serve
Middle Eastern churches took one step closer to becoming reality today.
Delegates at the Fellowship of the Middle East Evangelical Churches (FMEEC)
voted unanimously to adopt a statement in support of this change. The
statement was drafted on the spot in response to a report by the
fellowship's theology committee, which found no biblical or theological
reasons to oppose female ordination.

The vote occurred at the Sixth General Assembly of the Fellowship of the
Middle East Evangelical Churches. FMEEC is an association of evangelical
(Anglican, Lutheran and Reformed) churches of the Middle East. 

The report inspired lively conversation as to how to respond to it, with
delegates expressing support for it as well as concern for how their
congregations would accept it. Dr. Mary Mikhael, President and Professor of
Christian Education at the Near East School of Theology in Beirut,
acknowledged the obstacle presented to the church by societal traditions
but, she asked, "Who should reform who?" Finally, conference leaders agreed
to reconvene after drafting a short statement in support of the report and
of female ordination. It passed unanimously among the fellowship's 29 voting
delegates, including two women.

ELCJHL Bishop Munib A. Younan, who serves as FMEEC's president, developed
the statement in Arabic. An English translation provided by the conference
interpreter reads: "The Sixth General Assembly supports the ordination of
the women in our churches in the position of ordained pastor and her
partnership with men as an equal partner in decision making. Therefore we
call on member churches to take leading steps in this concern."

Speaking later of the historic vote, Younan said it is in keeping with the
Middle Eastern evangelical tradition of leading the way in ministry. The
fellowship's action means its 16 member churches are urged to open the doors
to women's ordained ministry, he added.

The vote resonated with the remarks with which Younan opened the conference
the previous day. "If we have any influence in the Middle East, it is the
theology of grace," he said. 

To a world that values work, achievement and ritual, "Jesus Christ gave us
the theology of grace that we may influence the community that we live in,"
he said to some 70 people gathered for the Jan. 11-13, 2010, conference. 

FMEEC was formed in 1974, the fruit of a long history of ecumenism among
member churches. The purpose of FMEEC is to strengthen the mission and
ministry of its member churches through training and formation of leadership
and laity, both women and men, and promoting unity through joint work and
education.

>###

>Contact: 
>Allison K. Schmitt
>aschmitt@elcjhl.org
>PO Box 14076, Muristan Road
>Jerusalem, Israel 91140
>Phone: +972-2-626-6861
>Mobile: 054-920-4125