Lutheran Church in Taiwan Joins List of Denominations that Ordain Women
The Lutheran Church of Taiwan became the newest denomination to begin ordaining women pastors.
The Lutheran Church of Taiwan (LCT) in the Republic of China, one of two Lutheran World Federation (LWF)-related member churches in Taiwan, ordained its first round of women pastors in October 2004.
“We now have a start,” said Rev. Selma S. Chen, a member of the Council of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) who was among those ordained on October 12.
Other women who were ordained in the October ceremony were Lyu Yi-In and Lin Pei- Yu .
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The LCT, which has 1,614 members, now joins most Western Lutheran denominations in upholding the right of women to preach “with equal privilege and co-responsibility” as men.
The issue of women clergy came into the limelight in 1977 with the establishment of the LWF Women’s Desk.
The Women’s Desk affirms that “both women and men are created in the image of God with equal privilege and co-responsibility for all of God's creation requires women to be leaders and not mere participants in God's mission. Christ's salvific work and empowerment of women mandates women to be the bearers of good news and sharers of the gospel.”
“Our baptismal experience and the partaking of the Holy Eucharist are constant reminders of the need to build a truly inclusive communion,” reads a statement from the Women’s Desk – now known as Women in Church and Society (WICAS). “The outpouring of the Holy Spirit on all flesh empowers women to be involved more fully in the diverse ministries of the church.”
All mainline protestant denominations in the United States, including the United Methodist Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Presbyterian Church (USA), allowed the ordination of women for decades. However, some of the more conservative churches, such as the Southern Baptist Convention, do not allow women to lead a church as its head pastor.
As of 1996, the U.S. federal labor statistics indicate that the number of women who describe themselves as “clergy” are 43,542 – up three hundred percent from the 16,408 in 1983. Under the statistics, 1 out of every 8 clergy is female in the US.
For more information about female clergy, visit: http://www.religioustolerance.org/femclrgy.htm
