Groundbreaking Ordinations in Mexico Affirm Commitment to Women in Ministry

An Important Sign from the Latin American and Caribbean Region Mexico City

The Mexican Lutheran Church (ILM) affirmed commitment to women in ministry with its first-ever ordination of female pastors. "This important sign from the Latin American and Caribbean region should encourage the communion to continue reflecting on women's ordination," remarked Rev. Dr Elaine Neuenfeldt, secretary for the Women in Church and Society (WICAS) desk at the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Department for Mission and Development.

Fifteen out of the 16 LWF member churches in the Latin American and Caribbean region ordain women. The three women ordained on April 25 will serve congregations in the capital, Mexico City. Rev. Maria Elena Ortega Mora will continue to work at the Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, while Rev.Sofia Deyanira Tenorio May will remain at the Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd.

Rev. Angela del Consuelo Trejo Haager will work alongside her husband, Rev. Dr Moisés Pérez Espino, at Christ Lutheran Church. Commenting on the Mexican church's historic step, ILM president Rev. Daniel Trejo Coria, underscored that Jesus commands Christians to preach the gospel to all nations. "If this is the basis of the Sacrament of Baptism, we can conclude that preaching and proclamation can be done by all people," he told Lutheran World Information (LWI).

"A basic tenet of the Lutheran church is the priesthood of all believers," Trejo Coria said. "If we place that theological statement in its New Testament context, we can conclude that the ministry of the Word and sacrament is not forbidden to women." Trejo Coria presided at the ordination, in which pastors from Lutheran, Anglican, and Baptist churches, a woman rabbi from the Jewish Messianic Community of Mexico, and international guests also participated. The three recently ordained ILM pastors studied at Augsburg Lutheran Seminary, which reopened in 1998 after an 18-year hiatus.

The seminary is part of the Theological Community of Mexico, a consortium of Protestant seminaries on the southern side of the capital city. "The ordained ministry of women has been celebrated in the communion as expression and gift of women's leadership and is a commitment member churches are encouraged to address," Neuenfeldt told LWI.

"The public witness of ordained women has also strengthened women in other areas of leadership, in both church and society." The WICAS secretary added, "Fully integrating ordained women into the life of the church on the basis of a theological understanding of ministry implies sharing power and service and establishing structures that are accessible and hospitable to all God’s people."

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