Working with culture
Many churches have long recognised the calling of women to ministry. The Community of Women and Men team visits to India, Malaysia and Singapore asked why so few women have come forward for ordination.
MALAYSIA'S CHURCH PROFILE is typical. Sixty to 70 per cent of the membership is female, there is a good number of women preachers in the church, 25 out of a total of 60, yet there are still only three female ordained ministers out of 37.
The factors that discourage women going into ordination come from both within the church and from outside it.
First, Chinese culture generally does not encourage women to push for prominent roles. Women do not tend to take up leadership roles unless invited to do so.
The process of ordination puts women at a disadvantage, something that may discourage young women from stepping forward. The church considers people for ordination only after they have completed their theological training.
From there, the graduates usually work in a congregation for a few years.
Ordination is a separate consideration, in which the congregation is the most influential partner. After a few years, the congregation will usually put the pastor forward for ordination. But resistance from within congregations can make the path to ordination a long one; for some women, such as Pastor Lee Wah Nor, serving at Tebrau Presbyterian Church, the process can take up to 20 years.
The team visit to the synod in Kuala Lumpur addressed this as an issue.
Mukondi Ramulondi from South Africa shared with the synod the process of ordination in the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa. There, ordinands are selected before they enter training. If the students are successful in their studies, ordination follows automatically.
Following the team visit, the synod suggested that it review the process of ordination, a move that Lee welcomes.
Women pastors have a lot to offer.
Women pastors can work more effectively with other women, says Lee. "In a counselling situation, sisters feel more secure speaking to a woman pastor than with a man.
CWMM team visits were an opportunity to talk about the partnership of men and women in CWM churches
"From my experience women are often more sensitive. The motherhood of a pastor is very important." Exposing the synod to the situation in other countries has helped the church to be open to new ideas and change. For the women's work group, being open to the situation of sisters in other countries has been very good.
Policy to practice
Women leaders in Singapore have much to celebrate. The Presbyterian Church in Singapore has made an important principled step in stating very clearly that gender should not be taken into consideration when assessing qualification for ordination. The synod's decision to remove the main obstacle to women's ordination has the support of most of the churches in Singapore, yet closing the gap between the church's principles and the reality of women's leadership is taking time. Normally the process of ordination takes from three to four years after theological training. Women may find that it may take 10 years for the call to lead a congregation.
Not all elders and pastors agree with the interpretation of the Bible that leads to the ordination of women.
The Church of North India faces similar challenges. The team found few theological objections to women being ordained. But the cultural expectations held women back. Women may be the backbone of the church in India, but men remain the mouthpiece.
The role of women in the church reflects the state of gender relations generally in India. Women are expected to make their duties at home and with the family their first responsibility.
The opposition of friends and family is often a obstacle to women stepping forward for leadership roles in the church.
Each recognises that there is a long way to go before true and equal partnership between women and men is a reality. But the important thing to note is that each is moving towards a stronger partnership between women and men.
The process must happen slowly enough for people's attitudes and convictions to adjust. Churches are challenging and changing deep-rooted cultural assumptions about women's roles.