General Assembly Overture Recommends Study of Women Deaconesses
Of the 15 overtures submitted to date for the 36th PCA General Assembly in June, perhaps the most compelling is the Philadelphia Presbytery’s overture regarding women deaconesses. Overture 9 recommends that General Assembly “erect a study committee on deaconesses” to determine whether the election of women to the office of deacon is contrary to the Book of Church Order (BCO).
This issue is one that has been debated often in recent years. “Within our presbytery and within the PCA, there are different views and perspectives on this issue,” said Greg Hobaugh, the stated clerk of the Philadelphia Presbytery. “Our goal is clarification and understanding, to determine the role of women in diaconal ministry.”
After fielding several questions about the issue of women deaconesses, the Philadelphia Presbytery formed a presbytery-level study committee in November 2007 to examine the issue.
“After two months, basically we determined that this is bigger than us,” said Hobaugh. “We know that this is an issue across the denomination, so we’d like to seek guidance from General Assembly on the best way to move forward biblically.”
The core question involves whether deacons fulfill a role of service or authority. “The issue comes down to whether you ordain and install the office of deacon,” said Hobaugh. “We have to determine ‘What does diaconal mean?’”
View the entire list of overtures submitted for General Assembly at www.pcaac.org/GeneralAssembly/ListingofOvertures.htm.
Comments
David A. Williams
Fort Worth, Texas
I am confused by the article. Historically in evangelical Reformed circles, deacons minister to the whole congregation, while deaconesses minister to women. Why then is this an issue?
Stephen Leonard
Colorado Springs, CO. and Vidalia, GA.
Shelly Timbol
Saint Johns, Florida
Caroline Misarski
Wallingford, Connecticut
Richard Fisher
Hospice Chaplain, Dade City FL
Grant Helms, Ruling Elder
Panama City, FL
I do not doubt the sincerity of this statement; however, it is a much bandied about excuse for not allowing women to have recognized leadership roles in the church. If the women lead, then the men will become couch potatoes. That is hackneyed, and is a slap to all men in the church universal. The underlying implication is that if given the opportunity, men will leave everything to the women because we are too lackadaisical to do it ourselves.
Andrew Hall
Richmond, VA
Thomas Harkins
Stony Point Reformed Presbyterian Church
The Rev. Dr. Steve Woods
Hernando, MS
Eve B.
Chicago
If we are going to move toward having women as deacons (and I hope we do), then I hope we will lose the unnecessary suffix, which opens the door to having two classes of deacons. This (I know from experience) is worse than not having women as deacons at all.
Mike McLaughlin
Albuquerque
Donald Winter, RE
Yorba Linda, CA
Robert Demarest Cuminale
Charlotte, NC
Richard Fisher TE
Hospice Chaplain Dade City FL
Wilfred G. Perkins Elder emeritus
Village 7 Pres. Colorado Springs
Stephen Smallman
Philadelphia Presbytery
Timothy Verner
Mableton ,GA
Barbaara Lipscomb
Ruston.LA
Deborah Fields
Crofton, MD
Raymond F Keller
Faith Presbyterian, Gainesville, Fl.
Barbara Sadler
West Hills Presbyterian Church
Deborah Martin
Second Presbyterian Greenville SC
Kathy Erickson
Cheyenne Mountain PCA Colorado Springs CO
Lydia Tisdale
Norfolk, VA
Don Codling
Bedford, NS
One is that the deacon is an elder in miniature, carrying out teaching functions (and sometimes governing functions). This is the pattern of deacons in the Episcopal churches and in Bible-denying Presbyterian churches. If women are ordained as deacons in such structures, it becomes almost impossible to resist the argument that they can also be ordained as elders.
The biblical office of deacon is assigned as a ministry of visible love & mercy. Though many scholars question the identification, the seven men set apart in Acts 6 are our normal prototype. deacons are literally, the servants of the church. That’s what the word means, servant, although it is used broadly & may be applied even to apostles in some ways. We need to keep this distinction very clear. elders are chosen from those gifted to rule & teach. The fundamental reason we do not elect women as elders is that they are forbidden to rule & teach men in the church. deacons are chosen to serve the outward needs of the church (& the community as we have resources). They feed the hungry, care for the sick, provide rides for those who need them, befriend the lonely, etc. They are also to invite & encourage others in the church to join in such ministries, which are proper expressions of Christian love.
The leadership of WIC can be identified with deacons only if you take the first & unbiblical of these two views. Their ministry is to teach & lead other women, using gifts which, if they were men, might well lead to them being chosen elders to teach & lead the whole church. Their ministry is parallel, not to the biblical deacon, but to the biblical elder; but as they clearly recognize, that does not imply they should be elders.
I believe the Bible authorizes the ordination of women as deacons. If we keep clear the distinction between the offices, that does not put us on a slippery slope towards women elders. If our church were to accept the idea that deacons are elders in miniature, I would reject the idea of ordaining women to that office, because we have no biblical warrant for it. But then our office of deacon would not be the biblical office.
Please keep the distinction clear.
Richard Wiman
MS Valley Presbytery
Sam Mateer
Santiago, Chile
Elizabeth Frazier
Hattiesburg, MS
Darrel E. Stilwell, Ruling Elder
Knox Reformed Presbyterian, Mechanicsville, VA
Sam
Missouri
Scott Truax
Peace Presbyterian Church, Cary, NC
Our Book of Church Order explicitly requires ordination of men only for the office of Deacon (BCO 7-2).
The proposal is to study Scripture and determine if changes should be made to the Book of Church Order to conform it with Scripture. If not, then to clarify a range of practices that have sprung up within the denomination.
For example, a few churches have developed a practice of having no ordained Deacons but replacing that office with a "commissioned" group of women who take similar vows to that of ordination and perform a similar function. This has emboldened a couple of churches to call for ordaining women to office in our denomination.
Interestingly, Overture 15 requests the same thing except does not request a commission "representative of various positions within the PCA with respect to women’s involvement in Diaconal ministry."
This is an important matter- not to devalue the office of Deacon, ordination, male leadership in the Church and women's involvement in mercy ministry.
We need to pray this will be approached and resolved biblically in process and result.
If we follow Scripture, we have nothing to fear.
Blessings.
Bill
St. Louis, Missouri
Tammy
Missouri
Joel
Memphis
Semper Reformada
George F. Ganey, III
Smyrna, GA
Bruce McDowell
Philadelphia, PA
Liz
Jackson, MS
Bud Leonard
Orlando, FL
John Monroe
Park Cities Presbyterian Church, Dallas
I found the book very useful when Emmanuel Presbyterian Church (EPC) considered ordination of women.
The book considers the historical context of the role of women in Biblical times and then goes on to consider in great detail what the Bible says about the roles of women in the Apostolic Church, including the offices of elder and deacon.
After consideration of the ordination of women from a strictly biblical point of view, as best we could, the session decided for our Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC) church not to ordain women as ruling elders but to allow their ordination as deacons.
M. St. John
Signal Mtn, TN
Please send us your links, if you have any.
Neal Kegley
Pulaski, VA






Larry Edison
Sarasota, Fl