Covenant News

Women in Ministry Consultation Scheduled

SCHAUMBURG, IL (September 19, 2000) - Twenty-four years ago, the Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC), approved the ordination of women in ministry. Policy does not necessarily translate into changed practices, however.

According to a May 2000 article in The Covenant Companion, only seven percent of ECC churches have a woman serving in a pastoral role - just two percent have women as senior or solo pastors.

It is that track record that brings some four dozen pastors and ministry leaders together in a consultation September 25-26 to develop strategies to support advancement of women in ministry. Participants will include the Council of Superintendents, the Council of Administrators, the Covenant Ministerium executive committee, the board of the Association of Covenant Clergy Women (ACCW) and members of a Women in Ministry task force that has met for 18 months. Consultation facilitators are Richard Carlson, professor at North Park Theological Seminary (NPTS), and Charlotte Lehman, NPTS graduate now working as a therapist in Evanston, Illinois.

"We're taking advantage of the traditional fall continuing education time and using the time to educate and to strategize how this group can enhance and advance the cause of women in ministry in the denomination," said Nancy Gordon, ACCW president and co-chair of the task force with former ministerium chair Tim Johnson. "I think the pieces of the consultation are put together," Gordon said. "A lot of people have a lot of different visions for how we move ahead. My hope is that we can listen to these views and think of the next best steps."

"The Covenant firmly and fully affirms women serving in pastoral roles in its policy," said Donn Engebretson, executive director of the Department of the Ministry. "I'm very energized by this. Maximizing all our gifts for ministry - especially our gifted, godly and called women - is critical if we care about the mission of the Covenant, which is to both be good news and share good news to a broken and hurting world in the name of Christ."

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