On June 29, 1970, the Lutheran Church in America (one of the ELCA’s predecessor bodies), in convention in Minneapolis voted to change “man” to “person” in its bylaws to allow for women’s ordination. In October that same year at the Biennial Convention of the American Lutheran Church (another predecessor body) in San Antonio, delegates voted 560 to 414 with one abstention to accept the ordination of women.
Delegates may have not have realized at the time how much changing a couple of words would change the church. Between November 1970 and July 2019, 5332 women were ordained into the ELCA and its predecessor churches, and 32 women have been elected synodical bishops. This year marks the 50th anniversary of American Lutherans’ decision to ordain women, the 40th anniversary of ordinations of women of color, and the 10th since barriers to lesbian women’s ordination were removed.
Nokomis Heights has a long history of women leaders, both ordained pastors and pastors in training, dating back to the 1980s, when we made news after calling Eleanor Hunsberger, a Black woman, to serve as assistant pastor at an all-white congregation. About the same time, Nokomis Heights welcomed Terri Cuppett to complete her clinical pastoral education (CPE) with us. Blind since birth, Terri and her seeing eye dog Sally, opened our eyes to new ways of understanding how God’s work can be accomplished. What began with these two women has continued for three decades, with ten more gifted and talented women preachers, teachers, and leaders at Nokomis Heights, three of them—Susan Debner, Marla Rotman, and now Kristen Capel—in the position of senior pastor.
We are grateful for the gifts of all pastors, and on the anniversary of women’s ordination, especially for our female leaders. We give thanks for all our past, present, and future shepherds: Eleanor Hunsberger, Mary Pechauer, Christine Wenzel, Susan Debner, Marla Rotman, and Kristen Capel.
We also celebrate the women pastoral interns who served Nokomis Heights and were ordained into the ministry of word and sacrament: Terri Cuppett, Mary Pechauer, Pam Stalheim-Lane, Ann Fenlason, Beth Wartick, Elizabeth Hermeier, and Sheryl Bousu.
We have been truly blessed!
Amen. I remember as a small child in my home church I did not see people who looked like me in the robes at the front of the church. It is vital for children of all genders and ethnicities to see their pastoral leadership looks like them. I applaud my church for its long commitment to gender equality and in Trusting Women to lead. Thanks be to God!