My robe is ready. My new stole (custom-made by my sister-in-law) is ready. My Daddy (who will be 90 in November) has his red stole and robe ready. My heart hardly knows how to take in the joy of standing with my daughter as she is ordained an elder in the United Methodist Church.
The idea of "women preachers" is pretty clear in the birth of the church (thus the design of my stole for Saturday morning): "When the Holy Spirit comes....your daughters shall prophesy..."(Acts 2:18). But for centuries, people in the church have steadfastly refused women the prophesying role. Some churches still adamantly refuse to welcome women into ordained ministry. And, although Susanna Wesley, the mother of John Wesley, was quite a preacher herself, it has only been in my lifetime that women in the United Methodist tradition have been fully recognized as elders.
So the chance for a mother to share in her daughter's ordination is a new and rare gift, indeed...much less for us to be third and fourth generation United Methodist pastors. I thank God for the changes that I have had a chance to witness in my lifetime. And, as I stand with my daughter at her ordination, I pray for a truly Holy Spirit church -- where gifts are freed and celebrated, where understanding crosses differences of all kinds and where disciples are known for their holy boldness.
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