Woman’s Pulpit - Official Publication of the International Association of Women Ministers - Zikmund Challenges IAWM to Widen Circle

Oct 13, 2026

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Women’s Pulpit presents official coverage of the International Association of Women Ministers, featuring Barbara Brown Zikmund’s call to widen the circle of clergywomen and to view spiritual gifts as community-centered. The issue discusses women’s struggles and evolving understanding of ordination, power, and shared ministry across historic and contemporary contexts. It also highlights related developments among Hindu women priestly roles, and reports on honors and leadership recognition in Cuba connected to lectures and gender-focused discussions.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLiterature

FormatPDF

Pages8

Reading Time12 min

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Zikmund Challenges IAWM to Widen Circle

Assembly 2010 and community-centered ministry

Hindu Women Priests Step Up in Chicago

Ortega Suarez Honored For Leadership

# Woman’s Pulpit OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF WOMEN MINISTERS # Zikmund Challenges IAWM to Widen Circle Speaking to "Widening the Circle--TheNext 90 Years”at Pittsburgh TheologicalSeminary on July 29,the Rev.Dr.Barbara Brown Zikmund challengedmembers of the International Associationof Women Ministers to offer what we areto clergywomen everywhere where theyare. | Assembly 2010
Mt.Carmel Spiritual Center
Niagara Falls,Ontario
July 19 to 22
Save These Dates! | | --- | that the earliest biblical understandingnever centered on the gifts of theindividual,but rather on the gifts of thecommunity.It is to the communitythat the various gifts are given by theHoly Spirit.The community may setaside individuals to care for it inspecific ways,but this is a practicalimplementation,not a theologicalunderstanding. Everyone in thecommunity is called to ministry andservice to the world,each using thegifts he or she possesses for thebenefit of all.The Apostle Paul,Martin Luther and other reformersshared this understanding. Herself a life member of IAWM,thechurch historian who is a leader intheological education noted the threethings we have offered historically are 1)fellowship and support;2)a chronologyof when and where churches areordaining women and 3)support asindividuals consider and test calls toministry. Speaking on July 28 of “ClimbingJacob's Ladder”and on the next day of"Dancing Sarah's Circle,"she noted thatwomen have had to do both.Shedescribed the struggle for ordination ofwomen in the nineteenth and especiallythe twentieth centuries,the lonelinessand isolation women experienced prior tothe second feminist wave in the 1970sand 80s and the pressures on women tofit into the hierarchical structures ofordained ministry.Longing to talk to anddraw support from other womenministers led to the organizing of IAWMat the YWCA in St.Louis,Missouri inNovember 1919. The ordering of ordination aidedthe church by 1)preserving a linkbetween those who knew Jesus and # Hindu Women Priests Step Up in ChicagoTo Meet Shortage of Male Pandits In annual Assemblies as well as in thefeminist movementof recent yearswomen were able to share,among otherthings,their resistance to being strait-jacketed in hierarchical ways or thinkingabout faith,worship and ministry as awhole.Their concepts of power andauthority led them to function differentlyfrom male pastors. As more Hindu men enter morelucrative secular professions,reportedRamirez,a handful of Hindu women inthe United States have begunperforming priestly duties as a way ofpassing their faith to the nextgeneration. She was told there is nothing inHindu scripture to bar women frombecoming priests (also known aspandits). Zikmund quoted German theologianEdward Schillebeeckx to offer a differentvision of power and authority morecomfortable for most women.He wrote The Woman's Pulpit/1 October- December 2009 the passing generations;2)protectingthe growing community from heresiesand 3)creating a place in thecommunity for the church's leaders.Asit reserved the sacraments to leadersand vested in them the power to forgivesins,women were excluded fromleadership and ordained leadershipbecame a male preserve. One of the changes the ordination ofwomen has brought to the traditionalview of ministry is the understanding ofpower,said Zikmund.Women tend toshift the emphasis from“power over”to“power claimed and shared.”Womentend to see themselves as "set in themidst of”the community,not"setapart"from the community for ministry. She noted that we learn from theBible that God used people who saidNo as well as those who said Yes.Themidwives said No to Pharaoh and wentabout their work.Jonah and many ofthe other prophets said No to God,butGod used them in ministry.(Go to p.3) More than one million Hindus in the United States and and more than 700mandirs or temples need leadership.But,Neelima Shukla-Bhatt told MargaretRemirez of the Chicago Tribune

FAQs

What challenge did Barbara Brown Zikmund make to the International Association of Women Ministers?

She challenged members to widen the circle by offering what women are to clergywomen everywhere, emphasizing ministry rooted in community and shared gifts.

How does the document describe a shift in how women understand power in ministry?

It states that women tend to move from “power over” to “power claimed and shared,” seeing themselves as set within the community rather than set apart for ministry.

What leadership recognition is mentioned for Ofelia Ortega Suarez?

Ofelia Ortega Suarez was honored through a series of lectures held in Matanzas, Cuba, supported by Women in Supportive Action AC (EMAS) and the Christian Institute of Gender of Cuba.

Oct 13, 2026

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