One in 80,000

According to this article at Disciples World dot com, there are about 80,000 ordained women in ministry in this country. That doesn't seem like all that many to me. I guess because I know so many of them, it feels there are lots of us.

The article is actually about the United Methodist Church making a concerted effort to "break the stained glass ceiling" by examining why there aren't more women as lead pastors of large churches. Good on them. I'm guessing that's going to take a while to get here to the Heart of Dixie, given what I've heard about the local conference.

It's a strange thing to be such an exotic minority. I grew up with women in ministry around me, such that it didn't occur to me that was strange. When I moved here to the HoD, after my first public appearance, numerous women came up to speak with me, all excited from what appeared to be their first experience of seeing an ordained woman do something from a pulpit. It was weird to be so exciting to people.

But I'm glad I'm here. It hasn't been as hard as you might imagine. And when I stop and reflect on the fact that my mere presence is creating a different world for the young girls in my congregation (and possibly others), it makes me feel pretty cool. Maybe 1 in 80,000 isn't so bad.