The women pastors and theologians of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania mark the achievements of the past 30 years
(The Lutheran World Information Centre) – The women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania have recently marked three decades of women’s ordination, celebrating the participation of more than 300 ordained women in the church, and are calling on the church to ensure women’s ordination in all of its dioceses.
“Now 30 years have passed since we have been on this path. We have seen much and learned much,” said the participants after the ELCT’s Fifth Consultation of Women Pastors and Theologians. It was held in Katesh, in the Mbulu diocese in the north. “We are glad that many dioceses have adopted and implemented the ELCT policy, and today we have more than 300 ordained women pastors. There are still 74 trained women theologians who are still not ordained,” the participants reported.
Meeting at the 22–27 June event, which takes place every four years, the participants said that they are nevertheless saddened that two of the ELCT’s 26 dioceses – the South-East of Lake Victoria diocese and the Mbulu diocese – still do not ordain women. The church, which is a member of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), has a total of 2,500 male and female clergy.
This year’s consultation was attended by almost 400 women from all the dioceses. They discussed women’s theological education, gender equality in church leadership, accountability and the management of funds, entrepreneurship and innovation, as well as combating sexual and gender-based violence.
Leaders of the Tanzanian churches, the American churches and the LWF communion with women pastors, deans and theologians, taking part in the Fifth Consultation of Women Pastors and Theologians in Katesh, Mbulu, in the north of Tanzania.
At the opening of the consultation, the bishop of the North Central diocese, Dr. Solomon Massangwa, called for cooperation in carrying out God’s work. Referring to the theme of the consultation (Isaiah 43:1), he reminded the women pastors and theologians: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you, I have called you by name.” The ELCT presiding bishop Dr. Fredrick Onael Shoo addressed the meeting, which was also attended by the bishop of the Pare diocese, Charles Mjema, and the bishop of the Mbulu diocese, Nicholaus Nsanganzelu.
Among the invited speakers were the LWF North America regional vice-president Elizabeth Eaton of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Africa regional vice-president, Pastor Dr. Jeannette Ada Epse-Maina of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Cameroon. Also present were ELCA bishops Patricia Davenport of the South-Eastern Pennsylvania synod and Viviane Thomas-Breitfeld of the South-Central Wisconsin synod, the ELCA churchwide office and the LWF communion office.
A commitment to serve
The ELCA deputy general secretary for social services, Pastor Rachel Axwesso, said that it is “inspiring to see so many women in leadership positions who are committed to serving and are ready to serve alongside their male colleagues in Tanzania and in the wider Lutheran communion”. She challenged the church to “strategically address the outdated cultural notion of women’s inability to hold leadership positions, even though in this country there are several women leaders in the public and private sectors”.
“Over the years, the national meeting of women pastors and theologians has lit the way ahead for women,” Pastor Setina Kaanga, ELCT central diocese.
Pastor Setina Kaanga of the central diocese of the Tanzanian church said that, “over the years, the national meeting of women pastors and theologians has lit the way ahead for women”, even though they still face many challenges compared with their male colleagues. “We began with one educated theologian, who had to wait more than 30 years to be ordained as a pastor. Today everything has changed a great deal. We have hope and faith that there will be greater participation of women in our church,” she added.
From left: Fabian Adajo, general secretary of the Mbulu diocese, Brighton Killewa, ELCT general secretary, Pastor Benjamin Kasahun, ELCT regional director, Kristovaja Ntinda, ELCT deputy general secretary for education, Pastor Rachel Axwesso, deputy general secretary for social services, and LWF Council member Lu Rose Mbise.
The ELCT first took the decision to train women as theologians in the late 1960s. The decision to ordain women was taken in 1990 at the General Assembly, during which the first five women were ordained as pastors in the Ministry of Word and Sacrament.
“For the sake of the gospel”
The ELCA presiding bishop Eaton expressed her high appreciation for the opportunity to take part in the consultation, to preach at the Sunday service and to experience these events together with the ELCT national and diocesan leaders.
“Seeing the strength in these women, who come together every four years, I see a model that I want to offer to the women pastors of my church – so that they would have the opportunity to meet, spend some time together, hear some wonderful speakers and come up with action plans,” said Eaton.
She thanked the ELCT women pastors and theologians for their message that “women’s ordination must take place throughout the church for the sake of unity and, even more importantly, for the sake of the gospel”.
Church leaders leave the conference hall after the official opening ceremony in the Katesh area. In the foreground: the bishop of the North Central diocese, Dr. Solomon Massangwa, followed by the bishop of the Mbulu diocese, Nicholaus Nsanganzelu, the ELCA presiding bishop Elizabeth Eaton and the bishop of the Pare diocese, Charles Mjema.
The Africa regional vice-president affirmed the LWF’s commitment to “include women and men at equal levels and in equal numbers in all of its activities and decision-making institutions since 1984”, and its continuous support to member churches in the process of increasing women’s participation. “While churches such as the ELCT, the ELCA and others have taken on a leading role in this work, we also understand that for some this path has only just begun and that more must be done to achieve the full inclusion of women in the church,” she said.
Ada Maina called on “all the men and women of the church to join hands and boldly stand against all actions that prevent God’s children from experiencing life in its fullness. We must proclaim the message of the gospel, which would overcome these systems of injustice,” she added.
From left: bishop Patricia Davenport, ELCA South-Eastern Pennsylvania synod, and the bishop’s executive assistant Yvonne Curtis, LWF vice-president, presiding bishop Elizabeth Eaton and Pastor Dr. Jeannette Ada Epse-Maina and bishop Viviane Thomas-Breitfeld of the ELCA South-Central Wisconsin synod.
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania has 7.5 million members, and it joined the LWF in 1964.
11.07.2019.
Katesh, Tanzania / Geneva
Source: Lutheran World Federation news
Photo: ELCT Communication/Evans Ayo