A vote excluding women from elder positions in the Presbyterian Church in NSW and the ACT is disappointing but not surprising, a long-standing parishioner says.
The church’s annual general assembly in Sydney this week voted 136-61 in favour of the motion, with about 90 per cent of the assembly made up of men.
Church member Sonia Thew from the state’s Central West had been watching the meeting, held at the Presbyterian Ladies’ College in Croydon, and was concerned by the outcome.
“There has been a lot of discussion about what roles the few women, who have official roles left in the church, what can they have and it was all men debating what women are allowed to do,” she said.
Ms Thew says it was mostly men at the meeting deciding what women could do within the church. (Supplied)
Ms Thew said her own daughters had been asking questions.
“They ask questions like ‘Where is their place as practising Christians to have significance in the church?’ in something that is very important to them.
“I am disappointed but not surprised this has happened. I think this diminishes the church. I think men and women are best working together to serve God’s people.”
According to the Presbyterian Church of Australia’s website, elders are “mature Christian leaders” chosen by members of a congregation.
The policy has been in place since the 1960s and about 10 per cent of elders are women.
Reverend John McClean is the vice-principal at Christ College, the training and theological college of the church in NSW, and is also a member of the general assembly.
“It was the reversal of a decision made a long time ago,” he said.
“The discussion was really all about how we follow Jesus faithfully, that is in terms of what does the Bible say.“
He said the issue was complex but came down to interpretation.
“There are passages in the Bible that speak about men taking responsible servant leadership in congregations.”
‘A long thought-out, painful and hard process’
Ms Thew said it was already difficult raising some issues in the church, even before the vote.
“My experience of working within the largely male-dominated church structure for a number of years is that it is quite difficult for women to raise their concerns and be heard,” she said.
The few opportunities for women to take part in decision-making structures, she said, were really concerning.
The vote overturned a policy in place since the 1960s. (ABC News: Sam Foster)
Deaconess Sylvia Siu is the women’s ministry facilitator. She is not an elder with voting rights but is allowed to speak at the general assembly.
“I recognise it has been a long thought-out, painful and hard process,” she said.
“The decision reflects the Presbyterian church’s understanding of God’s word.”
She said that she could not speak for everybody, but she accepted the outcome.
“It has been a divided response. Some women have been grateful for the decision; they think it reflects what the church understands.
“But there have been a number of women who have been quite distressed.”
She said subsidised counselling had been offered, especially for those impacted by the decision.
In a statement, Principal of Presbyterian Ladies College in Croydon Paul Burgis said the church continued “to fully support the vision and mission of PLC Sydney for the full flourishing of girls and young women”.
“As our students are immersed in a culture that fosters excellence and expects they can achieve this in any field, I don’t think they will be impacted by it at all,”
he said.
Dr Burgis says the church continues to support the “vision and mission of PLC Sydney”. (Supplied)
Ms Thew questioned whether people would remain with the church.
“I think that is something people are asking themselves both men and women,” she said.
“Can they be a part of a church that has this attitude towards women and women’s roles?”
She said her faith was important to her as a female member of the church.
“It is interesting because I talk to older women who say ‘Why are we talking about this?’, because their experience is that women have been allowed to do this for a long time.
“The world around us is progressing and yet we seem to be regressing where we see women’s capacity to serve in a church.”
The church said the matter would go back to local regions, with the final ratification of the decision next year.
