Across the Presbyterian Church (USA) during 2005 and 2006, women and men are being called to celebrate three special anniversaries for women in religious leadership:

• In 1906, women in the United Presbyterian Church of North America were admitted to ordination as deacons. 2006 marks the 100th anniversary.
• In 1930, women in the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. were admitted to ordination as ruling elders. A 75th anniversary was celebrated in 2005.
• In 1955 the General Assembly of the PCUSA voted to approve the ordination of women to the office of minister. It was approved by the presbyteries, and in 1956 the first woman was ordained in the tradition that is now the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Thus we celebrate in 2006 the 50th anniversary of women ordained as ministers of the Word and Sacrament.

This edition of Church & Society serves as one of the ways chosen for celebrating these anniversaries and honoring women's call to ordained ministry in the Presbyterian Church (USA) and its predecessor denominations. While some of the offerings in this issue reflect official Presbyterian history, tradition and theology, others reflect the lived experience, both the joy and the anguish, of persons within the Presbyterian Church. Still others look to the future and thus go beyond current General Assembly policy regarding ordination. As with all issues of this journal, opinions expressed are those of the authors. For the effort, frankness and courage that lies behind each of these contributions, we give our thanks.

We begin this issue, as we always must, with gratitude to God for creating us in the divine image, redeeming us in sacrificial love, and sustaining us with an abiding presence. God has always called women to ministry, and women have always responded to that call. Thus, in Celebration, we share Bettie Durrah's litany, "A Celebration of the 50th Year of the Ordination of Clergywomen ...," which gives thanks for the particular calling of women to the ministry of the Word and Sacrament, while also honoring the wide variety of forms women's ministry has taken, including the ministries of women who served before their ordination was officially recognized by church structures.

Our celebration is not complete, however, unless we remember the years of labor that bring us to this point. Fifty years, seventy-five years, even one hundred years of recognition seem almost trivial when compared to the centuries of exclusion. How and why did the majority of 20th century Presbyterians draw a different conclusion about women's ordination than our forebears? We address this question in our section, Themes of the Debate.

How does the Reformed theological tradition define ordination? How does ordination differ from baptism? What are the "requirements" for ordination? What difference does gender make? Aimee Moiso explores these theological questions and their application to the debate over women's ordination in "Order Semper Reformanda."

The Bible, of course, stands at the center of any decision made within the Reformed tradition; it was and is often prooftexted to deny women's leadership. How has the Bible been interpreted to support women's ordination? How has our understanding changed over time? What new methods of biblical scholarship inform our reading of ancient texts? How does our approach to biblical interpretation affect our understanding of the requirements for ordination? Aurelia Fule brings a lifetime of scholarship to bear on these questions in "Scripture and the Ordination of Women."

Scripture and theological integrity, however, were not enough to achieve the full recognition of women's call to ordained leadership. It took decades of persistent advocacy to achieve what many now take for granted. How was the ordination of women achieved through our Presbyterian system of polity? What setbacks were experienced? What strategies were implemented? What ultimately turned the tide? In "Breaking Free From Silence: The Struggle for Women's Ordination in the PCUSA," Jennifer Ashbaugh outlines the history of the political process that led to the acceptance of women's call to church office and the decisions we celebrate this year.

In some Presbyterian circles, women's religious leadership has become so commonplace that it is hard to imagine a time when it was categorically denied. In other circles, women still struggle for recognition of their gifts and calling. And, as both Clergywomen's Experiences in Ministry: Realities and Challenges, the 2003 report of the Advocacy Committee for Women's Concerns, and the 2004 Women of Color Consultation point out, even where women's leadership is accepted in theoretical terms, the practical experience of women in ministry can be an ongoing struggle. Thus our next sections focus on the lived experience of women in ordained leadership. Giving voice to women who have followed God's call in recent decades, it moves from the awareness of When God Calls to the reality of Ministry in the Midst of Resistance. A Cloud of Witnesses share moments of grace and hope in living out the call.

Even as we celebrate how far we have come, however, we must also acknowledge that the debate continues. This is the focus of our fourth section, Visions For Tomorrow. Kelsey Rice shares the voices of young women deacons, elders, ministers and soon-to-be ministers, who continue to see challenges to women's leadership in the PCUSA. Outside the fairly small U.S. Presbyterian circle, overt controversy continues over the proper role for women in religious leadership; in some places it is so widely discouraged that even the debate barely exists. Even within the Reformed tradition around the world, women struggle for official recognition of God's call in their lives. In "Reclaiming the Church as Community," Patricia Sheerattan-Bisnauth of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches describes ongoing conversations within the global church.

Just as women's ordination continues to be debated in Christian communities, we must acknowledge the current ordination debates within our denomination. Does a review of the debate over women's ordination shed any light on the contemporary questions surrounding the ordination of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender church members? Are there theological, biblical, and political parallels in these debates? Jack Rogers offers his insights in "Culture vs. Revelation; Women's Ordination and LGBT Ordination as Parallel Struggles."

Recognizing our brokenness as the Body of Christ, however, leads us back to humbleness before God and gratitude for the grace merited by none of us. Through this grace we have been called, women and men throughout the ages, to bear witness to the creating, redeeming and sustaining God we worship and serve.

We offer this volume to the church in the hope that it will serve not only as a resource for this year of celebration but also as a touchstone for thoughtful reflection and decision making in the years ahead, as the church continues to embrace the vision for God's reign within this world. May it be so!