“We are determined:” suffrage, ordination, and coeducation

Abstract

Just as coeducation in universities has not solved all gender issues, and universal suffrage has not solved all justice issues, the church's decision in 1970 did not immediately change the relationship between women and men in the church. But it was a bold start, just as suffrage was a century ago. More than a century before the 19th amendment was ratified, there were states who permitted women to vote. In each case, that vote was rescinded. In the early days of women's ordination there was fear that it, too, might be rescinded, that women would be sacrificed for ecumenical harmony. But the threats did not change the trajectory of the church. And we move forward, proclaiming, reforming, lamenting and celebrating.