5 more conservative denominations that allow women to be pastors

By Michael Gryboski, Mainline Church Editor Sunday, July 09, 2023

The Wesleyan Church

Orange Scott (1800-1847), one of the founders of the Wesleyan Methodist Connexion. | Christian History Institute

A theologically conservative denomination, The Wesleyan Church was formed in 1843 when many in the Methodist Episcopal Church felt the denomination was not living up to its official stance in favor of abolishing slavery.

The denomination prides itself on its long history of ordaining women, explaining on its website that “Wesleyans have been ordaining women for more than 150 years.”

“The first convention on women’s rights in American history was held in the Wesleyan Chapel at Seneca Falls, New York, now a national historic site, in 1848,” noted the Church online.

“Luther Lee, a prominent Wesleyan minister, preached the ordination sermon for the first woman ordained to the Christian ministry when no one in her Congregationalist church would accept the challenge. The second woman to be ordained was a Wesleyan, Mary A. Will of Illinois.”