June 30, 2005

GENEVA – The role of lay leaders versus that of ordained ministers was a key discussion topic in an international gathering of women bishops from among the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) member churches.

In his presentation titled "The Episcopal Ministry within the Apostolicity of the Church," Dr Theodor Dieter, director of the Institute for Ecumenical Research in Strasbourg, France, said the struggle to discern the appropriate extent of lay leadership involvement was rooted in the struggle to define a pastor's role.

"We have lost the understanding of the task of the pastor," he told the conference participants who comprised ordained and lay church leaders. This task, according to Dieter, was to preach the gospel. The question of lay leadership involvement arises when the pastor does not fulfill this mission.

"My hope is that we would not discourage the participation of lay people," he said, "but that we would strengthen the understanding of the role of the ordained."

The discussion also included the worldwide development of women in lay and ordained leadership roles. An analysis by the LWF desk for Women in Church and Society (WICAS) indicates that although some LWF member churches were still not ordaining women, overall, the number of Lutheran women pastors had significantly increased.

In the Netherlands for example, women comprise more than 50 percent of the Lutheran pastors, according to Rev. Ilona Fritz, [Lutheran] Synod President, Protestant Church in the Netherlands.

Ms Angelene Swart, President of the Moravian Church in South Africa, pointed out that women from the South and those from the North had mutually helped each other in developing leadership roles. This cycle of aid, as she described it, began when Northern women encouraged Southern women to seek leadership positions.

"Women in our place looked at women from the North and admired them," Swart went on. By expressing this admiration, Southern women empowered Northern women, thus helping them develop their leadership roles, she explained.

"We in the South helped you to get where you are, perhaps not consciously," she said. "You have also learned. You have also grown. You have also become more sensitive. You have also known what to say and what not to say," she added.

The Lutheran women leaders affirmed the need for further mutual exchange and support in order to uplift female church leaders all over the world.

Bishop Cynthia Halmarson, Saskatchewan Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, underscored the significance of the gathering of Lutheran women leaders: "As the only Lutheran woman bishop in Canada, to be able listen to the experiences of other women leaders, and discuss together common concerns is important not only for me but also for the entire church."

Lutheran World Information
Christine Hallenbeck, youth trainee in the LWF Office for Communication Services contributed to this article.