Pastors tell stories

Pioneers in Ministry, Women Pastors in Ontario Mennonite Churches, 1973–2003 Mary A. Schiedel. Kitchener, Ont.: Pandora Press, 2003.

In Schiedel’s book 25 women tell their stories as they claim their calling to pastoral ministry. They are members of Mennonite Church Eastern Canada (MCEC). Their stories tell of joy, pain and struggle, but above all, of a deep sense of being called by God to do this work.

The women who share their stories have served in congregations in Ontario for at least two years. They vary in age from grandmothers to several women in their early 30s, just beginning careers and families. Schiedel has divided the book into five sections which she entitles Trailblazers; Pioneers; Women on Teams; Sole Pastors; Pastors and Mothers.

The author claims Galatians 3.28 as a text for her ministry: “Faith in Christ Jesus is what makes each of you equal with the other, whether you are a Jew or a Greek, a slave or a free person, a man or a woman.” She also feels affirmed by the way Jesus accepted women He met, including the one who ministered to Him by anointing Him for burial. All the pastors are open and vulnerable as they speak of their experience of being female and pastor. Some have mixed feelings about ordination, wondering if it is “appropriate for someone in the ‘priesthood of all believers’.” One pastor states that she would rather grow alongside the congregation because “pastors on pedestals have greater heights from which to fall, and fewer fellow journeyers to catch them when they need to be held in times of their brokenness.” Another woman states the great need for women pastors in urban ministry and wonders how to pass on the torch. Sadness is expressed by one pastor because “the Mennonite church has not been more affirming of the gifts of evangelism in ministry.”

The youngest pastor is of Mennonite Brethren background. She discerned a call to pastoral ministry but struggled with her calling because of her denomination’s stance on women in ministry. She felt both rejected and affirmed by her home congregation, but “experienced a deep sense of peace” at the time of her ordination when her former (MB) pastor blessed her with “personal words of affirmation along with a blessing from the home congregation.”

One of the younger pastors is a gifted writer, something she discovered while preparing Bible studies and dramas for youth. She writes: “It discourages me when I hear rumblings of the ‘anti-women-in-leadership’ debate.” This poignant comment is worth considering as our Mennonite Brethren churches continue to discuss the issue of gender and church leadership.

When reading Pioneers in Ministry I could not help but be reminded of the dearth of pastors in our midst, and I wondered how many could be added to our churches if women were fully affirmed in leadership roles. This book is a faithful rendering of God’s call to ministry in the lives of women.

Elfrieda Neufeld Schroeder is a member of Kitchener MB Church in Ontario.