Released by: Ray Dabrowski
Phone: +31-30-955-324 (June 29-July 8) or +301-680-6300
Written by: Norma Sahlin
          
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 6, 1995

SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH DECIDES NOT TO DELEGATE
ORDINATION ISSUES TO THE DIVISIONS OF THE WORLDWIDE
DENOMINATION
          
Utrecht, The Netherlands... The 56th session of the General Conference
of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, meeting in Utrecht, The
Netherlands, voted to refuse a proposal which would have delegated to
world divisions the authority to make decisions about ordination of
clergy. After presentations were made for and against the proposal,
discussion ran for two hours, focusing on the question of whether or
not to ordain women.
	Out of 2,154 votes cast, 673 (or 31%) were in favor of the motion
while 1,481 (69%) were against. A report to the 1990 session which
declined to endorse gender-inclusive ordination of clergy was adopted
by a margin of 74%.
	"We have done our best to present the proposal as we felt was right.
We believe that it is something [ordination of women] that would be
very helpful in North America. However, the world Church has spoken.
And we believe in the unity of  the world Church. We must stay
together, and we support the decision of the Church," said Alfred C.
McClure, president of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in North
America.  The proposal was submitted by the North American Division of
the Church.
	A resolution approving ordination of women was first submitted to the
General Conference session in December 1881. There is no record of the
outcome of the resolution after it was referred to General Conference
officers for further study and implementation. That resolution was
based on equality.
	The question of ordination arose again in 1968 with a request from
Finland as to the advisability of ordaining an evangelist who was a
woman. The General Conference initiated a study on the ordination of
women on February 6, 1971, and the report of the panel of Bible
scholars was largely positive.
	In 1984 the denomination decided to open to women ordination as lay
elders. In 1990 the Church permited women to serve as Commissioned
Ministers. When assigned to work as pastors or chaplains, Commissioned
Ministers exercise all of the significant ecclesial functions of
Ordained Ministers, and they go through a dedication ceremony that may
include a laying on of hands.
	Wednesday's vote does not remove women from pastoral ministries as
Commissioned Ministers nor does it end the ordination of women as lay
elders. More than 1,000 women serve as lay elders in North America, and
perhaps as many as another 1,000 in the rest of the world. At least 26
women are serving as pastors in Europe and nearly 50 serve in the
U.S.A. and Canada.
	The question discussed at both the current session and the one five
years ago has to do with extending the highest level of ordination to
women pastors. In 1990 the delegates adopted a report that said there
was no consensus by the denomination's Bible scholars on the topic and
recommending that ordination not be extended to women pastors due to
strong opposition in some parts of the world. The proposal this year
was to allow those parts of the world where a need for women pastors
has been established to make a separate decision on the ordination
issue.
	The proposal stirred debate in delegations from around the world.
Concerns voiced included a fear that because there may not be an
explicit Scripture record of women being ordained to church leadership,
allowing Seventh-day Adventists anywhere in the world to take the step
might undermine the sola scriptura position of the Church. Delegates
also expressed concerns about allowing cultural or political trends to
mold the Church.
	Others stated that gender-inclusive ordination must be considered in
some parts of the world where it is viewed by members and the general
public as immoral to discriminate on the basis of gender, race, etc.
They pointed out that Church youth are questioning the integrity of
Church leadership because of failure to move ahead on this issue, and
quoted Bible texts that urge justice and equality.
	McClure presented the proposal as a way to preserve the unity of the
worldwide denomination by allowing those parts of the world where the
need exists to approach the issue without involving other parts of the
world where there is no interest in dealing with the issue. Other
denominational leaders, including those who are in favor of extending
full ordination to women pastors, expressed the fear that the proposal
would start down a track toward separate ecclesiologies among those who
took the option and those who did not.
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