Deaconesses in the PCA Timetable

[Wayne]

Zach, you forgot about the Cumberland Presbyterians, who were actually the first to authorize women pastors, etc.

[Wikipedia -- "1889: The Nolin Presbytery of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church ordained Louisa Woosley as the first female minister of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, USA."]

It wasn't until 1930 that the PC,USA allowed the ordination of women as ruling elders. Leading up to that event, two factors--the PC,USA had received most of the Cumberland Church into its midst in 1906, and modernism (i.e., theological liberalism) was clearly taking over the denomination by the 1920s.

Then it wasn't until 1956 that the PC,USA ordained its first woman teaching elder.

 

[GulfCoast Presbyterian]

Hey, what about us?

Check on the congregation level statistics on the PCUSA website sometimes. It can provide hours of entertainment comparing membership to attendance, giving, etc over a 10 year period. Membership creeps up usually until there is a change of pastors and the rolls scrubbed (or they want to cut their per capita), but the attendance numbers can provide some useful information. as can watching folks vote with their pocketbooks.

PCUSA in general does not encourage purging the rolls, as this cuts the precious manna of per capita. However, one of the first "official" jobs of an interim minister in the PCUSA is to purge the rolls to get them back to some level of realism. This helps out the finances of a "ministerless" church while a PNC is at work. I presume this is also the case in the more traditionally reformed denominations?

 

[Zach]

Zach, you forgot about the Cumberland Presbyterians, who were actually the first to authorize women pastors, etc.

[Wikipedia -- "1889: The Nolin Presbytery of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church ordained Louisa Woosley as the first female minister of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, USA."]

It wasn't until 1930 that the PC,USA allowed the ordination of women as ruling elders. Leading up to that event, two factors--the PC,USA had received most of the Cumberland Church into its midst in 1906, and modernism (i.e., theological liberalism) was clearly taking over the denomination by the 1920s.

Then it wasn't until 1956 that the PC,USA ordained its first woman teaching elder.

My apologies! I am not very well versed in my Presbyterian History yet. That is very interesting.

Only the mainline PC(USA) and EPC have female Ministers in them here in the States as far as I know.

While that is true in the case of the EPC, it is also true that many in the denomination do not agree with it.

It was not my intention to come across as suggesting everyone in the EPC believes in ordaining women, I was merely pointing out that it is permitted.

 

[J. Dean]

It was not my intention to come across as suggesting everyone in the EPC believes in ordaining women, I was merely pointing out that it is permitted.

I didn't take it as such. Just wanted to make clarification on a point.

 

[Zach]

It was not my intention to come across as suggesting everyone in the EPC believes in ordaining women, I was merely pointing out that it is permitted.

I didn't take it as such. Just wanted to make clarification on a point.

Thank you for clarifying. What do you think the split is within the EPC of those in favor or those opposed to ordaining women as Teaching Elders? Or does it really depend almost entirely upon where individual churches stand on the matter?

 

[PointyHaired Calvinist]

I'd be interested myself in the pro-anti female ordination split in the EPC. Also in the number of RPCNA and ARP churches that have women deacons and who don't.

 

[Backwoods Presbyterian]

That is a good question Jonathan. I have no idea what the actual numbers are but it is my impression at least that women deacons are a minority in the ARP and RPCNA.