I have just been reading the Baptist Times report on the BUGB Council at which the thorny topic of women in ministry, even in leadership, was discussed. There is a lovely, one sentence, paragraph (reformatted here for effect) which somehow says it all whilst saying very little...
Obviously, the reasons why
women are less likely to sense a call to ministry or be encouraged to pursue it,
find it harder to settle in churches when they have concluded their training,
tend to minister in smaller churches or as junior team partenrs in larger ones,
are under-represented in senior roles across the board,
and almost all have stories to tell abour being sidelined, denigrated or insulted,
are very varied.
Mark Woods, Baptist Times March 26 2010 p.8
Obviously!
Scary isn't at, almost a century after Violet Hedger held a pastorate in Derby.
Scary when we have almost a century of being blessed by women holding pastoral responsibility, planting churches, training our men ministers (!), etc.
Scary that 'almost all' tell such tales.
So, what can be done the article asks... not a lot seems the loud reply, lest we appear heavy-handed or limit the independence of local congregations.
What is truly sad, for me, is that we don't hear of the majority of male ministers who are so incredibly supportive and encouraging of/to us girlies. My own story bears witness to support of my college tutors (mostly men), Regional Ministers (predominantly men), peers (at least half of whom are men) and ordinary members of ordinary churches. To them especially, I'd like to say 'thank you.'
Of course people must be free to disagree, and I have deep respect for some individuals I know who oppose the ordination of women, but overall as a tradition that proudly boasts how long it's been ordaining women, BUGB really 'must try harder' (something I can say now I'm BUS accredited, and on so-doing boosted their percentage significantly!)
Comments
I was at the Council and while there was much of good that was said sadly (for me anyway) there was little appetite for making this a central confesional matter, like how we might treat a a parallel matter of racial justice. I know the distinctions peopel try to make here but i am wodnering more and more if it is because some people have seen the parallel arguments used in race and gender justice and don't them being used to address other areas of continuing exclusion?
Hi Craig,
I suspect you are right... and of course it gets even more complicated when the two intersect. It does sometimes seem that we are good at working only with one specific at a time and never finding general prinicples...race and gender would be only two of a whole range of inclusion/exclusion arenas. My more cynical head says that there are some "minorities" are seen as more important than others... alas the ~51% of those who hold up the sky just don't seem to be the ones seen as a priority.
However, with you (and many others) on Council, I remain encouraged.
Hi Catriona
I heard someone say recently that what you're converted to is largely reflective of who you're converted by.
I wonder if the same is true of ministry and that the problem for Baptist churches is partly one that male minister's produce male minister's? Even when they don't set out to.
Although not in the biological sense of course...
Ashley