On 12 September of this year, a conference dedicated to the 40th anniversary of women’s ordination in Latvia took place at the Riga Evangelical Lutheran Luther congregation. The conference guests had come from various countries of the world in which women’s ordination has been permitted for several decades already. The conference was a great support to the women serving in Latvia, who – in place of the office of pastor – can serve as acting pastors, evangelists, or chaplains in hospitals and in prison. Among the guests were pastors from the LELBĀL (Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia Abroad) – Archbishop Lauma Zuševica from the USA, Dean Ieva Graufelde from Sweden, Pastor Gita Putce from England, Deacon Laima Urdze from Germany, as well as pastors from other European countries; from Norway – Lise Tostrup Setek, Anne Dalen, Kirsten Almaas; from Sweden – Tuulikki Byland, Inger Lise Olsen, Yvonne Steinwall, Zilgme Eglīte; from Germany Corneli Schlarb, Dorothea Heiland, Zanda Ofa.
At the festive worship service, Archbishop Lauma Zuševica preached on the seed that falls on various soils (Mk 4:3b-9, 13-20).
The event continued with a press conference, at which Pastor Linards Rozentāls of the Evangelical Lutheran Luther congregation, Archbishop Lauma Zuševica, Bishop Jāna Jēruma-Grīnberga, Pastor Ieva Puriņa, Dean of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Latvia Dace Balode, and evangelist, prison chaplain and LLSTA leader Rudīte Losāne expressed their views on women’s ordination.
At the conference we also heard greetings from our guests. Then followed lectures, given by Sally Barnes, “From Black to White: Women’s Ordination in the Church of England,” Martina Helmer-Pham Xuan, “The Holy Family and Its Influence on Contemporary Theology and the Church,” as well as Linards Rozentāls, “Women’s Ordination from the Perspective of God 9.0.”
In a more relaxed atmosphere, a festive banquet took place, enlivened by the jazz musicians well known in Latvia – Jolanta Gulbe and Deniss Paškēvičs.
The festive guests could also purchase beautiful mugs adorned with the logo – Women’s Ordination in Latvia – 40, Association of Lutheran Women Theologians of Latvia – 20.
LLSTA