Mexico City, Mexico / Geneva
| 12/04/2019.
Equal participation in other areas of church life has grown
(Lutheran World Information Centre) – The recent decennial celebration of women’s ordination in the Mexican Lutheran Church (MLC) provided an opportunity to reaffirm the church’s commitment to empower and encourage women and men to contribute their gifts to pastoral ministry on a basis of equality.
“In the book of Genesis (Gen. 1:27) we read that God creates humanity in the image and likeness of God and in equal conditions. God gives abilities, gifts and opportunities to serve others to both men and women,” said MLC President Rev. Roberto Trejo during a solemn service on 6 April at the Church of Grace, located in the capital, Mexico City. He said that “in the MLC we needed pastoral ministry by women, because both men and women reflect the image of God.”
The church belonging to the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) has 1,500 members. It has 11 congregations, led by nine ordained clergy – three women and six men.
Rev. Sofía Tenorio was the first woman from the church to study theology at the Augsburg Lutheran Seminary in Mexico City (SEMLA), and she was later joined by Rev. María Elena Ortega and Rev. Ángela Trejo-Hager. Inspired by their lecturers and pastors, they asked the church to accept them as candidates for pastoral ministry, and all three were ordained in 2009.
“Lutheran pastors continue to advocate for a gender-based perspective in institutional policy and in congregational practice. In our Mexican context, this contributes to the reconstruction of the structure of society and to the lives of specific women in our faith communities,” – Rev. Karina García-Carmona, MLC Mexico City congregation.
Another woman pastor, Rev. Karina García-Carmona, currently leads one of the Mexico City congregations while also teaching at SEMLA. She has pointed out that women’s ordination has likewise fostered the involvement of non-ordained women in leading the diaconal work of congregations. She said that “Lutheran pastors continue to advocate for a gender-based perspective in institutional policy and in congregational practice. In our Mexican context, this contributes to the reconstruction of the structure of society and to the lives of specific women in our faith communities.”
A dialogue on the dignity of all people
Sofía Tenorio, pastor of the capital’s Church of Grace congregation, spoke about the joys and challenges encountered by a woman pastor in the context of Mexico’s macho society. She said that many men and women do not accept a woman pastor as equal to an ordained man. Therefore she encourages the members of her congregation to see in a woman someone whom God has likewise called to “evangelise people, identify opportunities for training and development, and take a leading role in preaching, singing, teaching and organisation.”
Ángela Trejo-Hager’s pastoral task goes hand in hand with teaching, both at the Lutheran seminary and in the theological community of Mexico City. She describes her work as a SEMLA coordinator as “a continuous journey, on which other pastors who believe in gender equality walked alongside us with love and solidarity.”
Trejo-Hager, who will soon begin her doctoral-level studies in gender studies at the Ibero-American University in Mexico City with the support of the LWF, said that the celebration of the anniversary of women’s ordination was important in order to make this ever-ongoing process visible. She said that “our desire to serve the church and to support the processes of biblical reflection has grown.”
The former MLC President, Rev. Daniel Trejo-Correa, expressed gratitude for the “good dialogues” in the church that made it possible to arrive at women’s ordination in a meaningful way. He added that “Jesus’ inspiring attitude toward women, appointing them as the bearers of the news of his resurrection, is central to the gospel and is no less significant than his attitude toward the Lord’s disciples.”
In a letter to the MLC, the LWF Secretary for Latin America and the Caribbean, Rev. Dr. Patricia Cuyatti, congratulated the church on its commitment to building an inclusive pastoral ministry. “Together with the Mexican church, I celebrate its inclusive pastoral ministry. I pray that the MLC will continue to bear fruit in its resolve to affirm the full participation of men and women on a basis of equality.”
Cuyatti thanked the women pastors for “putting their gifts and talents to use and inspiring many people to take up this honourable service to God.”
Source: Lutheran World Federation