Letters from Junia

Editor's note: In Romans 16, Paul writes of his co-workers in the gospel, beginning with Phoebe, a "deacon of the church." His list includes both women and men, Prisca and Mary among the former. In verse 7 he refers to his relative Junia, who was in prison with him and who, with Andronicus, was "prominent among the apostles." This reference has led to countless attempts to masculinize the name or otherwise explain away the possibility that Paul might have meant what he said when he referred to a woman as an apostle.

As Mark Twain before her, Junia is pleased to report that rumors of her demise are greatly exaggerated. Yes, it's true that she and her sisters in spirit have not been in touch or in print for longer than they'd like, but it is too soon for an obituary. The last issue of the newsletter anticipated what has become the primary reason for our silence over the past few years: discussion of the ministry of all the baptized — otherwise known as the ordination of women to the ministry of Word and sacrament — remains too controversial for most in the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, a church body that has been badly divided politically for the better part of fifteen years.

Even progressive pastors appeal to those who call for dialogue that the time is not right, that the moderate hold on the presidency of the synod since 2001 is too tenuous to be threatened by raising the red flag known as the woman question. And as the church does battle internally, it counts on the steadfastness of "good women" to stay in their place and not question or trouble the political waters.

Increasingly the LCMS appears an anachronism in its determination to not only avoid dialogue on the service of women, but to go backward. Overtures to its 2007 national convention call for rescinding actions of the 2004 convention that allowed women to serve as congregational presidents and elders while headlines from other denominations show them to be caught up in debates over homosexuality and the ordination not of women but of gays and lesbians. The Episcopal Church USA elected a female presiding bishop in June, knowing that there are some in the world Anglican Communion who do not agree that women can be bishops. Episcopalians have been ordaining women for thirty years, ELCA Lutherans since 1970.

The Missouri Synod might learn from its partner church in Germany, the SELK, where discussion of the ordination of women has been authorized or from the model of the Lutheran Church in Australia.

The SELK document is an official church paper that had been requested of the synod in 1999, a pro/con consideration of the ordination of women for distribution and discussion in all congregations. It was completed in 2000 and has recently been translated into English. We are happy to post it on this site (HTML or PDF). If you read German, you might be interested in the pro-ordination website http://www.frauenordination.de/.

The Lutheran Church in Australia at its 2003 convention directed that the matter of the ordination of women be studied before being brought to the 2006 convention, which will be held September 30-October 5. Six papers were published in 2005 in the Lutheran Theological Journal [http://www.lca.org.au/resources/lca/popularLTJ0805.pdf] but the LCA's Commission on Theology and Inter-Church Relations has not reached consensus on the question. The synod in convention will make a decision and has asked all congregations to study the issue. For the most current documents, see http://www.lca.org.au/lca/synod/ordinationcover.cfm.

It is refreshing to see church bodies publicly engage in dialogue and debate on the ordination question. We prayerfully hope that the Missouri Synod might learn from the example of these other Lutherans.

In the meantime, we encourage your review of these materials and other resources such as those listed in the Read More section of the site. Also, be sure to see J.J. Leese's suggestions in the Do More section. Above all, keep the faith.

Peace,

Junia