Women leading in song

Lamb

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For those who belong to a church that believes women should not be pastors...

Do you allow women to do the readings? Or lead in song? Or chant the introit or gradual? Why or why not?
 

Albion

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For those who belong to a church that believes women should not be pastors...

Do you allow women to do the readings? Or lead in song? Or chant the introit or gradual? Why or why not?

No, just clergy for leading and reading during the liturgy. Choir directors...yes.

In the Roman church, however, women often read the Epistle and some are set aside (not ordained) as Eucharistic Ministers to distribute Communion both during the Mass and when visiting shut-ins.
 

Josiah

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For those who belong to a church that believes women should not be pastors...

Do you allow women to do the readings? Or lead in song? Or chant the introit or gradual? Why or why not?


As a fellow Missouri Synod Christian..... I think this is a "slippery slope."

I have changed my position on female ordination - I use to be in favor of women's ordination and slowly I've moved away from that. But I think a lot of the RATIONALE is somewhat contradicted by what we now do (permit if not encourage).

Now, as I understand it, less than 100 years ago, in Anglicanism, Calvinism, Lutheranism and generally in Catholicism, women WERE silent. No women in the choir (yup, boys sang the higher parts). No women lectors. Women joined WITH men in the liturgy and songs but that was a blending. I'm told that 50 years ago in the LCMS, females typically didn't even serve as acolytes or ushers - and never as communion assistants. But now all that has been allowed to change (and I would have supported - even encouraged - those changes). A woman can read the lessons but not a sermon.... a woman can SING a sermon (as a soloist) but not SAY one. I'm told that until the 1960's, women could not serve on the Church Council or even vote at a Voter's Assembly and certainly not be an elder. I'm told women could not teach Sunday School to boys over the age of 13. All this as recently as the 1960's. All that has changed, too.

Our LCMS parish's constitution never even mentions the words "men" or "women" or "gender" - not for anything. We have a "Care Committee" (not "elders" ) but it includes women. Our Vice President is a woman. Most of the Council is female. Probably half of the ushers, lectors, acolytes, communion assistants are female. And about half of the choir is female. EXCEPT for the Office of the Pastor, there is NO concern whatsoever regarding gender - for anything. of course, this makes any rationale for male only pastors .... well..... I suppose if our rationale was consistent, we'd "undo" a century of changes and go back to where women just made the coffee and kept silent on everything and in everything. Good luck with that.






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Lamb

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One of the reasons the thread came to mind is that I led the chanting of Matins (doing the L part not the P for pastor). The first time I was asked to do it I was a little uncomfortable. This time it didn't bother me to be up there because I'm also the loud voice for the responses and it helps to keep the congregation singing together.

We never had women reading at my previous church but we do at this current one. At first it was awkward for me to listen to but again I got used to it.

I saw a thread on a Lutheran site recently about this and one of the pastors said that the women in those roles aren't "teaching" as a pastor would shepherd (these are my words of how I interpreted what he said).
 

Josiah

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One of the reasons the thread came to mind is that I led the chanting of Matins (doing the L part not the P for pastor). The first time I was asked to do it I was a little uncomfortable. This time it didn't bother me to be up there because I'm also the loud voice for the responses and it helps to keep the congregation singing together.

We never had women reading at my previous church but we do at this current one. At first it was awkward for me to listen to but again I got used to it.

I saw a thread on a Lutheran site recently about this and one of the pastors said that the women in those roles aren't "teaching" as a pastor would shepherd (these are my words of how I interpreted what he said).


IMO, what you are doing is not only permissible but wonderful....
 

tango

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For those who belong to a church that believes women should not be pastors...

Do you allow women to do the readings? Or lead in song? Or chant the introit or gradual? Why or why not?

In my church we have a male pastor and male elders, with female deaconesses. I don't know if women are excluded from eldership based on a specific interpretation of Scripture or merely tradition. We have women reading the Scriptures and leading the services. I don't recall ever having a female preacher in this church but don't know if that's because of a specific exclusion of because no women want to preach. We have a fairly small pool of people will to preach, and it's entirely possible we don't happen to have any women in that pool.
 

NewCreation435

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For those who belong to a church that believes women should not be pastors...

Do you allow women to do the readings? Or lead in song? Or chant the introit or gradual? Why or why not?

We do have a praise band that includes women who sometimes lead the congregation in song. We don't do chants.
I haven't seen anyone do a reading outside of the sermon, so I don't know about that one.
 

Krissy Cakes

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For those who belong to a church that believes women should not be pastors...

Do you allow women to do the readings? Or lead in song? Or chant the introit or gradual? Why or why not?

I personally believe that women can do whatever they want. If they want to be a pastor, go for it. If they want to lead song. I say YES!.
 

Krissy Cakes

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When I lived in California I had pastors (a couple) who that they would take turns preaching on different Sundays
 

Albion

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It is almost always a theological issue. Even in churches which do not permit women to be pastors, almost everyone readily admits that they can do the job (if it were just a job). And the ones that do not permit it fall into one of two categories: those which believe in Apostolic precedent/tradition, and those which are governed by the principle that women should--by Scripture--keep silent in church and not have authority over men. Those two perspectives are quite different.
 
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