Synod enables ordination of both women and men as pastors in our church

This afternoon, 5 October 2024, General Synod resolved to support a proposal from the General Church Board and College of Bishops to remove from the LCA’s Theses of Agreement the paragraph (VI:11) which prohibits women from entering the pastoral ministry. The resolution incorporates recommendations from the 2024 General Pastors Conference.

In effect this means that the teaching of the Church on the office of the public ministry remains unchanged apart from the requirement of the ordination of men only.

The proposal included the expectation that Commission on Theology and Inter-Church Relations (CTICR), together with the Church’s Pastors Conferences and Districts, will finalise a doctrinal statement on ordination in 2025, to be approved by an online General Pastors Conference and online Convention of General Synod.

The Convention began its debate this morning in prayer led by Bishop Emeritus Mark Whitfield, who called for the leading of the Holy Spirit, singing the prayer in both English and Te reo Māori.

‘We commend this resolution to God, trusting his mercy, guiding our feet in the way of peace’, LCANZ Bishop Paul Smith said.