Woman's Pulpit - Issue 3 - Women’s ordination and gender justice

Oct 13, 2026

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Women’s Pulpit issue 3 addresses gender justice within Christian ecumenical work and member churches, focusing on women’s participation in governance, staff roles, and representation. It highlights calls for a new World Council of Churches gender policy statement and discusses differing views on women’s ordination, including Orthodox and broader denominational perspectives. The issue also covers international developments such as Norway’s appointment of prominent women church leaders and European Catholic theologians urging dialogue and urgent reforms.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLiterature

FormatPDF

Pages8

Reading Time12 min

AccessFree to download

WCC Gender Justice Statement Sought

The Community of Women and Men

Tviet Welcomes Two Women Church Leaders in Norway

Letters of congratulation and leadership milestones

European Catholic Theologians Call for Women's Ordination

Urgent reforms and structures of participation

# Woman's Pulpit OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF WOMEN MINISTERS WCC Gender Justice Statement Sought goal is a challenge,she said,“Fullparticipation of women through numbershas to be achieved and has also to meanwomen being able to speak,being able todo,to lead,women being respected aspartners,being seen,being heard,theirgifts being recognized and valued."Shecalled for a new WCC gender policystatement to guide itsactionsguaranteeing participation in governance,staff positions and representation. an idea would be to isolate us and setback the goal of the participation ofwomen,”the WCC's Orthodox presidentsaid.“There are many ways to empowerwomen without the issue of ordination." Meeting in Louisville,Kentucky,U.S.A.February 16-22,150 members of theWorld Council of Churches(WCC)Central Committee looked at theecumenical movement's progress ongender justice issues and many amongthem did not like what they saw. Building just communities of womenand men lies far beyond issues ofordination of women and votingpercentages said Magli NascimentoCunha,a Brazilian Methodist.Agreeingthe 50 percent women's representation Introducing a plenary session on"TheCommunity of Women and Men,"the Rev.Bernice Powell Jackson of the U.S.UnitedChurch of Christ,the WCC's NorthAmerican president,noted that in 1981that committee established a commitmentto 50 percent women delegates at WCCAssemblies and on that committee.Sheexpressed sadness “that we seem to havemoved away from that commitment.It'sabout more than numbers—it's about howwe share power and God's bountifulresources.” # Tviet Welcomes Two WomenChurch Leaders in Norway GENEVA—On the closing days of March the Rev.Dr.Olav Fykse Tviet,generalsecretary of the World Council of Churches(WCC),sent letters of congratulation totwo Norwegian women who have been called to prominent church offices in the nativeland the three share. Later Kathryn Lohre of the EvangelicalLutheran Church in America urged theWCC to conduct a comprehensive study ofgender justice issues and develop a policystatement on the role of women in theWCC and its member churches andsocieties. The Rev.Karin Achtelstetter,generalsecretary of the World Association ofChristian Communication,said thatWACC has been compiling such researchfor a number of years “and is prepared tooffer our data and findings as ourcontribution to the WCC.” The Rev.Gergor Henderson of theUniting Church in Australia noted that"across the churches there are verydifferent understandings of the role ofwomen”and that a number of churches donot ordain women “even though inprobably every WCC member church themajority of church members andworshipers are women.”He echoed thecall for greater attention to the role ofwomen in the church. The issue of ordination of women is anon-starter for Orthodox churches saidArchbishop Anastasios of the OrthodoxChurch of Albania.“To implement such Tviet sent letters of congratulation andencouragement to Sister Else-BrittNilsen,newly elected as the first womanto serve as moderator of the ChristianCouncil of Norway and to Bishop HelgaHaugland Byfuglien,the first person toserve as presiding bishop of the(Lutheran)Church of Norway.Tviet is aminister of the Church of Norway,amember church of the Lutheran WorldFederation as well as the WCC. Tviet noted that the election of BishopByfuglein,60,on March 25 as the firstpresiding bishop of Norway coincideswith the 50th anniversary of theordination of women in the Church ofNorway.She will be based in Nidaros(Trondheim)and will be installed in thisnew office on October 2.Since lastOctober she has been combining theelected position as presiding bishop withher work as full-time diocesan bishop ofthe diocese of Borg.The new office ofpermanent presiding bishop′wasestablished because the combination ofresponsibilities had become too timeconsuming. The Woman's Pulpit/1 Tviet noted that her election comes asthe church is "discerning anew itsrelationship to

FAQs

What does the WCC gender justice message emphasize beyond numbers?

It emphasizes full participation so women can speak, act, lead, and be respected as partners, heard, and valued. The message also focuses on how power is shared and on recognizing women’s gifts and resources.

What roles did Norway’s newly elected women church leaders take?

The publication says Else-Britt Nilsen was elected moderator of the Christian Council of Norway and Helga Haugland Byfuglien was elected presiding bishop of the Lutheran Church of Norway, with leadership milestones tied to anniversaries and church developments.

What reforms do European Catholic theologians call for?

They publicly name women’s ordination and open dialogue about structures of participation as urgent reforms needed in the Catholic Church, urging action and transparency in how church leadership roles are determined.

Oct 13, 2026

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