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Women in the Church
One of the places where the church has
had the opportunity to live up to its proclamations for the equality
of all persons is in the status that it gives women in its own
life and work.
Although women were first ordained as
elders in one of the predecessor denominations to the Presbyterian
Church (U.S.A.) in 1930, it was not until 1956 that presbyteries
were permitted to ordain women to the ministry.
In a different predecessor denomination,
the 1956 General Assembly approved changes in the church's constitution
to allow the election of women as deacons and ruling elders. Those
changes were defeated by the presbyteries, but the 1957 General
Assembly responded to the defeat by urging that women be included
in all church committees including those on finances and budget.
The first ordination of women as elders in this denomination actually
occurred in 1962. As ministers, women were ordained beginning
1965.
In 1971, the General Assembly sent overtures
to its presbyteries providing for election to church offices"
in all governing bodies, "giving attention to a fair representation
of both the male and female constituency."(1)
1. Minutes of the 183rd
General Assembly (1971), United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A.,
pp. 305-306.
Adapted from the Compilation of PCUSA
Social Witness Policies.
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