In keeping with the Lutheran Confessions, St Stephen’s congregation believes that the Lutheran church calls and ordains pastors for one reason only, and that is to ensure that the gospel is proclaimed and the sacraments are administered. Through these ‘means of grace’ the Holy Spirit continues to create and sustain saving faith in people’s hearts (Augsburg Confession 5 and 14). By withholding the pastoral ministry from women, the LCA/NZ has injected a prohibition into its body of teachings that lacks support from the Bible and the Confessions and strikes at the heart of the gospel.
You are invited to dip into the following documents that spell out the conviction of St Stephen’s members regarding the ordination of women. The first is a letter that the congregation wrote to the College of Bishops in 2019, a ‘Here we stand’ kind of letter, in which we make our conviction public for the sake of total transparency. The second is the video that introduced the congregational proposal to the SA-NT District Synod in May 2021, asking delegates to refer to the next Church-wide convention a proposal that the paragraph in the Theses of Agreement that prohibits the ordination of women be deleted (TA 6.11). The proposal, the third document, was carried by a majority of delegates at the District Synod and tabled at the next Church-wide General Convention in October 2022. Two short papers follow that spell out from different perspectives the congregation’s rationale for the ordination of women, and the final entry is a video of the second of these short papers, Why ordain women? recorded at a conference of the Church-wide Women’s Ministry Network.
You are invited to dip into the following documents that spell out the conviction of St Stephen’s members regarding the ordination of women. The first is a letter that the congregation wrote to the College of Bishops in 2019, a ‘Here we stand’ kind of letter, in which we make our conviction public for the sake of total transparency. The second is the video that introduced the congregational proposal to the SA-NT District Synod in May 2021, asking delegates to refer to the next Church-wide convention a proposal that the paragraph in the Theses of Agreement that prohibits the ordination of women be deleted (TA 6.11). The proposal, the third document, was carried by a majority of delegates at the District Synod and tabled at the next Church-wide General Convention in October 2022. Two short papers follow that spell out from different perspectives the congregation’s rationale for the ordination of women, and the final entry is a video of the second of these short papers, Why ordain women? recorded at a conference of the Church-wide Women’s Ministry Network.
Background information for the St Stephen’s congregational workshop on the ordination resolution at this year’s synod
After extensive theological study in the 1980s and 1990s, the Church’s Commission on Theology and Inter-Church Relations reached the conclusion that ‘the Scriptures and the Confessions endorse the ordination of women’, with 11 members voting in favour of the conclusion and five opposing it (Final report on the ordination of women (CTICR, 1999)). However, starting at Tanunda in 2000, the five general conventions that have voted on women’s ordination have all fallen short of the super-majority of delegates’ votes (two-thirds) required to replace the LCANZ’s “male-only ordination” publica doctrina (public teaching) with teaching endorsing male and female ordination throughout the LCANZ.
It must also be said that at these conventions the Church’s historical teaching (male only ordination) has never received the support of as much as a simple majority of votes, let alone a super-majority. In the three most recent synods where a vote was taken (2015, 2018 and 2023) delegate support for women’s ordination fell just a handful short of the votes needed to effect a change. A follow-up proposal at the Melbourne synod in February 2023, however, voted in substantial favour of the ‘expectation … that both women and men will be ordained in a District of the LCANZ during the 2024-27 synodical period’ (full wording, below). Submitted by the Queensland District, this subsequent proposal passed with the support of about 73% of the delegates.
It must also be said that at these conventions the Church’s historical teaching (male only ordination) has never received the support of as much as a simple majority of votes, let alone a super-majority. In the three most recent synods where a vote was taken (2015, 2018 and 2023) delegate support for women’s ordination fell just a handful short of the votes needed to effect a change. A follow-up proposal at the Melbourne synod in February 2023, however, voted in substantial favour of the ‘expectation … that both women and men will be ordained in a District of the LCANZ during the 2024-27 synodical period’ (full wording, below). Submitted by the Queensland District, this subsequent proposal passed with the support of about 73% of the delegates.
The synod resolution
This resolution calls on the General Church Board and the College of Bishops
- (a) to work through the theological, constitutional, and governance requirements to operate as one church with two different practices of ordination and establish a detailed framework through which this could be accomplished, such as one or more Districts becoming Districts that teach and practise the ordination of both women and men to the office of the public ministry, or by establishing a non-geographical District that does so,
- (b) to submit the fruit of this work in the form of a proposal that should be discussed by the LCANZ General Pastors Conference for the Convention of General Synod 2024, and
- (c) it is the expectation of this Convention of General Synod that both men and women will be ordained in a District of the LCANZ during the 2024-27 synodical period.
Enacting the resolution
The College of Bishops and General Church Board have decided to establish a fully funded and resourced Project Management Team whose initial task will be to form eight working groups to enact the synod resolution. The GCB and CoB have invited members of the Church to submit an expression of interest in joining one of the working groups if they believe they have skills and experience that would allow them to make a valuable contribution to that group.
The working groups are:
After expressions of interest have been submitted by Church members and reviewed by the Nominations Committee, the GCB and CoB will appoint the group members.
Members of all working groups will need to understand the resolution and be committed to its speedy transaction, and be pastorally sensitive to different convictions on ordination.
The working groups are:
- Group 1: Synod Agenda and Outcomes Planning
- Group 2: Theological Requirements
- Group 3: Constitutional Requirements
- Group 4: Governance Requirements
- Group 5: Pastoral Care
- Group 6: Candidacy of both Women and Men for Ordination in the LCANZ
- Group 7: Communications
- Group 8: Finance and Budgeting
After expressions of interest have been submitted by Church members and reviewed by the Nominations Committee, the GCB and CoB will appoint the group members.
Members of all working groups will need to understand the resolution and be committed to its speedy transaction, and be pastorally sensitive to different convictions on ordination.
St Stephen's Reactions
St Stephen’s synod delegates and congregation members had hoped that delegates would pass the proposal from Box Hill (supported by St Stephen’s, the SA-NT District, and Concordia, Duncraig, WA) by the super-majority of votes (sixty six and two thirds percent) required.
In a nutshell the proposal asked that synod simply abide by the governing principles given in the first set of theses in our Theses of Agreement, titled ‘Principles governing Church Fellowship ’, which would resolve the impasse on women’s ordination. Those principles state that when the Church is unable to achieve consensus on a doctrinal issue after a protracted period of debate, that doctrine (or teaching, in this case male only ordination) can no longer be regarded as a teaching of the whole Church. Instead, the alternative positions are to be regarded as ‘theological opinions’ based on different, conscientiously held interpretations of the relevant Bible texts. TA 1 also states that differing theological opinions (TOs) are not Church divisive.
If adopted, this proposal would have led to the immediate removal of TA 6.11, which prohibits women’s ordination on the basis of two contested texts, and would have made male only ordination and the ordination of women and men equally acceptable positions in the Church. The flow on effect is that it would have formally endorsed calling bodies from the close of synod to call a qualified woman as their pastor if they chose to do so. Synod provided little opportunity to debate this proposal. There was no attention given to the alignment of this proposal with the governing principles of the LCANZ as laid out in TA1.
It is feared that the proposal that was endorsed instead, from the Queensland District (above), requires a cumbersome and expensive Church-wide project to implement, and appears to be leading inevitably to Church division. Furthermore, there’s no guarantee that the plan that emerges will actually be endorsed at the 2024 General Pastor’s Conference or Synod.
By the time of the workshop it will be known how many MIH members have expressed interest in joining one of the ‘Enacting the Synod Resolution’ working groups. Other congregation members who believe they could make a valuable contribution to a group are heartily encouraged to submit an expression of interest, due by the 12th April. Feel free to talk it over with others, especially Colleen who is chair of the Nominations Committee.
In a nutshell the proposal asked that synod simply abide by the governing principles given in the first set of theses in our Theses of Agreement, titled ‘Principles governing Church Fellowship ’, which would resolve the impasse on women’s ordination. Those principles state that when the Church is unable to achieve consensus on a doctrinal issue after a protracted period of debate, that doctrine (or teaching, in this case male only ordination) can no longer be regarded as a teaching of the whole Church. Instead, the alternative positions are to be regarded as ‘theological opinions’ based on different, conscientiously held interpretations of the relevant Bible texts. TA 1 also states that differing theological opinions (TOs) are not Church divisive.
If adopted, this proposal would have led to the immediate removal of TA 6.11, which prohibits women’s ordination on the basis of two contested texts, and would have made male only ordination and the ordination of women and men equally acceptable positions in the Church. The flow on effect is that it would have formally endorsed calling bodies from the close of synod to call a qualified woman as their pastor if they chose to do so. Synod provided little opportunity to debate this proposal. There was no attention given to the alignment of this proposal with the governing principles of the LCANZ as laid out in TA1.
It is feared that the proposal that was endorsed instead, from the Queensland District (above), requires a cumbersome and expensive Church-wide project to implement, and appears to be leading inevitably to Church division. Furthermore, there’s no guarantee that the plan that emerges will actually be endorsed at the 2024 General Pastor’s Conference or Synod.
By the time of the workshop it will be known how many MIH members have expressed interest in joining one of the ‘Enacting the Synod Resolution’ working groups. Other congregation members who believe they could make a valuable contribution to a group are heartily encouraged to submit an expression of interest, due by the 12th April. Feel free to talk it over with others, especially Colleen who is chair of the Nominations Committee.
Congregational workshop: 23 April, 4.30 pm
The workshop planned for later this month will provide further opportunity for feedback to the synod, and to the Church-wide project (see Enacting the resolution, above). Participants will be invited to suggest possible ways for St Stephen’s to respond to the synod resolution. Some that have been suggested by MIH are as follows:
The workshop planned for later this month will provide further opportunity for feedback to the synod, and to the Church-wide project (see Enacting the resolution, above). Participants will be invited to suggest possible ways for St Stephen’s to respond to the synod resolution. Some that have been suggested by MIH are as follows:
- Work closely and intentionally alongside like-minded congregations, especially those that have no pastor at present and are eager to call a woman as their pastor, with a view to possible ordinations prior to next year’s synod; this would be on the basis of the existing ‘Principles Governing Church Fellowship’ (particularly TA1.4.c. and e.);
- Await the foreshadowed resolution at next year’s synod to implement women’s ordination in a district of the Church, or in communities of the Church, during the 2024-27 synodical term in the hope that such a proposal will be embraced by General Pastor’s Conference and at least 66.7% of 2024 Synod Delegates.
- A middle of the road position could be to work towards ordinations of women across the Church prior to the 2024 synod (dot point 1), but also be ready to pause that approach should the project produce a watertight plan to proceed with women’s ordination within a united Church from that Synod, based on the governing principles of TA 1.
Further reading & watching
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The first five resources have been produced by St Stephens members.
Why the LCANZ Has No Doctrine On Ordination Gender
Why St Stephen’s supports the ordination of women
St Stephen's following Synod
The congregational letter to the GCB and CoB following the February 2023 general synod
Change in the church (video)
A video produced by St Stephens prior to Synod
A better way forward (video)
An introduction to the Box Hill proposal to the most recent national Convention of Synod
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The following excerpts are from church documents as referred to above and in discussions the LCANZ has had regarding the ordination of both women and men
Augsburg Confession Articles 4, 5, 7, 14 and excerpts from 28
Theses of Agreement 1, ‘Principles governing Church Fellowship ’, and Theses of Agreement 6, ‘Theses on the Ministry’
Passages from The Book of Concord, ‘Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope’
Passages from The Book of Concord, ‘Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope’ concerning where authority lies regarding call and ordination
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Letter to the College of Bishops, ‘Here we stand’
Why St Stephen’s cannot uphold the LCA’s teaching on male-only ordination, 31 March 2019
Dear members of the College of Bishops: John Henderson, Andrew Pfeiffer, David Altus, Lester Priebbenow, Robert Bartholomaeus, Paul Smith, Mike Fulwood, and Mark Whitfield
The members of St Stephen’s congregation can no longer uphold the LCA’s teaching and practice of male-only ordination. We firmly believe that the teaching has no basis in the Scriptures or the Confessions, but it has come to be regarded as an unshakeable law in our Church through successive votes at synod. With Lutherans world-wide, we confess that the ordering (structuring) of the ministry, including the gender of the pastor, has no bearing on the doctrine of the ministry, and that women pastors should be permitted to serve in places where they would be well received. In this letter the congregation sets out the theological reasons for our disagreement with the Church’s teaching and practice, it proposes a way of arranging the ministry that would also honour those who cannot accept the ordination of women, and it calls on the College of Bishops to put in place the steps that would lead to such an arrangement.
Dear members of the College of Bishops: John Henderson, Andrew Pfeiffer, David Altus, Lester Priebbenow, Robert Bartholomaeus, Paul Smith, Mike Fulwood, and Mark Whitfield
The members of St Stephen’s congregation can no longer uphold the LCA’s teaching and practice of male-only ordination. We firmly believe that the teaching has no basis in the Scriptures or the Confessions, but it has come to be regarded as an unshakeable law in our Church through successive votes at synod. With Lutherans world-wide, we confess that the ordering (structuring) of the ministry, including the gender of the pastor, has no bearing on the doctrine of the ministry, and that women pastors should be permitted to serve in places where they would be well received. In this letter the congregation sets out the theological reasons for our disagreement with the Church’s teaching and practice, it proposes a way of arranging the ministry that would also honour those who cannot accept the ordination of women, and it calls on the College of Bishops to put in place the steps that would lead to such an arrangement.
Wording of St Stephen’s proposal: Amendment to the LCA Theses of Agreement
Be it resolved that in the interests of good order and the unity and well-being of the Church, the SA-NT District recommend to the 2021 LCA/NZ general convention that Theses of Agreement 6.11, be removed from the Theses of Agreement
Submitted by St. Stephen’s Lutheran Church, Adelaide
The LCANZ teaches that ‘the Theses of Agreement are always under the authority of the Word of God, and therefore there must always be a readiness to submit them to the critical scrutiny of God’s Word and accordingly confirm them, or amend or repudiate them when further study of God’s Word shows them to be inadequate or in error’. This statement has given the Church the freedom to study closely the teaching that only men may be ordained during the past three decades.
However, the protracted period of theological reflection regarding ordination, on the basis of the Scriptures, has failed to resolve the differences in teaching that are all too evident in the Church. In the Theses of Agreement (Theses of Agreement 1, ‘Principles governing Church Fellowship’ (DSTO, page A2, 4.c), the Church clearly states that ‘there are some things hard to be understood in Holy Writ (2 Peter 3:16); and no doctrine can be based on Scripture passages that are not clear, especially if no light is thrown on them by clear passages’.
Those who formulated the Church’s foundational documents agreed in advance how to deal with doctrinal differences that might emerge in the new Church. They stipulated that if the Church fails to reach ‘agreement on the basis of God’s Word’ on a doctrinal matter after ‘combined, prayerful examination of the passage or passages in question’, neither of the ‘divergent views’ may be ‘promulgated as the publica doctrina (public teaching) of the Lutheran Church, as laid down in the Confessions’, if it lacks clear scriptural support, if it violates the central Lutheran teaching of justification by God’s grace through faith in Christ, or if it runs counter to the Church’s public teaching on the doctrine in question, in this case the ministry.
Submitted by St. Stephen’s Lutheran Church, Adelaide
The LCANZ teaches that ‘the Theses of Agreement are always under the authority of the Word of God, and therefore there must always be a readiness to submit them to the critical scrutiny of God’s Word and accordingly confirm them, or amend or repudiate them when further study of God’s Word shows them to be inadequate or in error’. This statement has given the Church the freedom to study closely the teaching that only men may be ordained during the past three decades.
However, the protracted period of theological reflection regarding ordination, on the basis of the Scriptures, has failed to resolve the differences in teaching that are all too evident in the Church. In the Theses of Agreement (Theses of Agreement 1, ‘Principles governing Church Fellowship’ (DSTO, page A2, 4.c), the Church clearly states that ‘there are some things hard to be understood in Holy Writ (2 Peter 3:16); and no doctrine can be based on Scripture passages that are not clear, especially if no light is thrown on them by clear passages’.
Those who formulated the Church’s foundational documents agreed in advance how to deal with doctrinal differences that might emerge in the new Church. They stipulated that if the Church fails to reach ‘agreement on the basis of God’s Word’ on a doctrinal matter after ‘combined, prayerful examination of the passage or passages in question’, neither of the ‘divergent views’ may be ‘promulgated as the publica doctrina (public teaching) of the Lutheran Church, as laid down in the Confessions’, if it lacks clear scriptural support, if it violates the central Lutheran teaching of justification by God’s grace through faith in Christ, or if it runs counter to the Church’s public teaching on the doctrine in question, in this case the ministry.
Why ordain women?
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Why ordain women?
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St Stephen's Lutheran Church
152 Wakefield Street Adelaide, South Australia, 5000 Office hours: 9.30am-2.30pm, Wednesday-Friday Privacy Policy Image credits © Copyright 2021 St Stephen's Lutheran Church |
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