THE denial of ordination of women – including those in parts of the Pacific - as ministers of religion was the focus of the World Council of Churches 10th Assembly earlier this week. While most Pacific churches have allowed the ordination of women as ministers, the door remains firmly shut in Samoa. Most participants agreed there was a need for churches worldwide to be more accepting of women and to allow their equal participation in theological schools. Pacific Theological College Principal, Rev Dr Fele Nokise – himself a Samoan – said it would only be a matter of time before women were ordained. “For hundreds of years the Samoan church has not had ordained women ministers and they might be having some difficulty staring discussions in this area,” he said. “I think it’s just a matter of when the churches decide. American Samoa has ordained their first woman and we have Samoan women ordained in New Zealand.” The NGO Shadow Report on the Status of Women in Samoa had called for government action in ensuring the ordination of women. “The status of Samoan women has advanced significantly in many areas of secular society, yet the ordination of women is prohibited by most religious institutions,” the report said. “There are more career choices available to women in the academic, public and private sector, however, within the Church and religious sector, only the Anglican Church allows women to be ordained as Ministers of Religion or Pastors.” However, Methodist women of Samoan heritage have been ordained in New Zealand where they are allowed to minister in parishes. Samoans approached at the assembly declined to comment on the issue but agreed that there was a definite reluctance to accept women into the ministry. They said this was due more to cultural rather than any religious ideology and had a strong link to the patriarchal society in Samoa. Speaking at the women’s pre-assembly, Dr Elaine Neuenfeldt of the Luther World Federation addressed the need to identify and dismantle patriarchy and other systems of oppression for women. She pointed out that in order to transform systems of oppression and achieve gender justice there was a need for clear processes, strategies and policies that promoted and encouraged the equal participation of women. These activities include ordination as ministers. In Tonga and Fiji the Anglican Church has allowed the ordination of women. The Methodist Church in Fiji and Rotuma, Lutheran churches in West Papua and Papua New Guinea also allow women to be ordained into the ministry.
Posted on: Mon, 04 Nov 2013 09:16:27 +0000
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