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More than half of female clergy in the Presbyterian Church USA have reported experiencing discrimination on the basis of gender, according to a recently released survey.In 2019, PCUSA Research Services conducted a 110-question survey of 4,495 ministers, or nearly a quarter of the mainline Protestant denomination’s total number of clergy.In the “Discrimination, Opportunity, and Struggles of Leadership Report” based on the survey responses, researchers found that 58% of women reported experiencing gender-based discrimination in the denomination. By contrast, only 4% of male respondents reported the same.Additionally, 63% of female clergy reported experiencing any kind of discrimination, such as age-based or...

WICHITA, Kansas -- He came to fame as a passionate political activist. For years, Father Roy Bourgeois has tried to shut down the School of the Americas in Columbus, Georgia. He and his thousands of supporters claim it trains Latin American soldiers to defend American backed governments. But in more recent years, Bourgeois has taken on a new target, the Vatican. "Sexism is racism," said Bourgeois on a visit to the Wichita area this week. He is a staunch supporter to have women ordained as Catholic priests. "God created men and women of equal worth and dignity," said Bourgeois. "There's...

Three Church of Ireland parishes have asked to be received into full communion with the Catholic Church The Irish Catholic newspaper reports this week. The parishes, in counties Down, Tyrone and Laois are members of the 'traditional rite' within the Church of Ireland. The Irish Catholic newspaper, has learnt that the members of these parishes, along with traditional Anglicans from twelve other countries, have signed a letter to the Vatican seeking "full, corporate, sacramental union" with the Catholic Church under the authority of the Pope. The dramatic move would see the entire parish communities received in to the Catholic Church....

Send in the straightjackets - Newsweek has cracked up. Of all the stories in the entire world to cover, Newsweek's website is flagging as its "Top Story" an insane piece about a woman (complete with photo) who thinks she is an ordained Catholic priest. They found her in Missouri, though had Newsweek reporter Karen Springen walked into the nearest asylum, she would have found some who think they're the pope. Springen's discovery is Jessica Rowley. Jessica thinks she's a Catholic priest because some crackpot group said they ordained her. Springen, whose contempt for the Catholic Church is rivaled only by...

The ordination took place July 14 in New York City, where Carpeneto, a Catonsville resident, joined three other women who were ordained by Bishop Patricia Fresen - despite the fact the church officially forbids female ordination. The women belong to a growing movement that no longer simply argues for women's rights but is creating an alternative Catholic church, whether the official church likes it or not. "Women, thank God, are coming to value themselves as full human beings, fully in the image of God like men," said Andrea Johnson of Annapolis, one of the four to be ordained. "You can't...

Chris Johnson alerts us to some deep thoughts from ECUSA's Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori. Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori told the incoming class at Union Theological Seminary September 5 that they need to consider "how theological thinking is going to help to shape the rest of your life." "The task of theological education really is to help us learn to do theology -- to relate our own stories, and the stories of those around us, to the great stories of our faith, so that we may be able to give an account of the faith that is within us,"...

Last week 25-year-old Jessica Rowley became one of about a dozen women nationwide to make a highly unusual career move: she was ordained a Catholic priest. Rowley’s ordination—which took place at Eden Theological Seminary, a progressive institution in Webster Groves, Mo.—is approved by the Ecumenical Catholic Communion, a group of churches that decline to recognize the authority of the pope but see themselves nevertheless as Roman Catholic. This week Rowley—who is also married—begins working full-time as an associate pastor at Saints Clare & Francis, a breakaway parish in Webster Groves. The Roman Catholic Church, not surprisingly, does not recognize Rowley...

Perhaps somebody can dissect this reflection on 911 --- er, uh, I mean neo-Nazi's, the Christian Identity Movement, the KKK, and hate crime legislation. From Virginia Conference, United Methodist Church leader, Bishop Charlene Kammerer: REFLECTIONS ON SEPTEMBER 11, 2007 Dear Friends in Christ, Today, we remember clearly what happened in our US homeland on September 11 six years ago. It is a somber time for our nation, as we reflect on acts of terrorism, lives lost, courageous responders, families who still grieve, and Ground Zero Memorial construction. There will be opportunities to participate in memorial services and prayer services in...

SAN FRANCISCO - A Presbyterian minister has received the lightest possible punishment after being found guilty of violating church law by officiating at the weddings of two lesbian couples. A regional judicial committee of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) ruled that the actions by the Reverend Jane Spahr of San Rafael, California, were at odds with the denomination's constitution. But the court gave Spahr the mildest penalty it could -- a rebuke -- which amounts to a warning not to do it again. She could have been removed from ministry. Spahr, who came out as a lesbian three decades ago, is...

Photo from Anglican Blogger Drell's Descants I follow the current saga in the Episcopal Church quite a bit. When I was LSU my most favorite place to study was the Student Center at the Church. My favorite place to pray was their Church at LSU which is called St Albans. In fact it it wasn't for the fact there was no Euchurist present it would have been the best place to pray in Baton Rouge. Anyway while I was there I would look throught their Episcopal's chruches nationwide publication. I could tell things were going off the rails then...

By coincidence, a potentially historic speech about women that received little media fanfare was made two weeks before America's Episcopal Church elected Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori as its leader, the first female to head a branch of the international Anglican Communion. The speaker was Cardinal Walter Kasper, the Vatican's top official on relations with non-Catholic Christians, addressing a private session with the Church of England's bishops and certain women priests. Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, spiritual leader of the 77 million Anglicans, invited Kasper to discuss the English church's projected move to allow women bishops. To date, only the United...

A reporter's take on the Anglican battles http://www.shns.com/shns/g_index2.cfm?action=detail&pk=RELIGION-FAITH-06-21-06 http://tinyurl.com/g47pt By TERRY MATTINGLY Scripps Howard News Service 21-JUN-06 Anyone who follows what Ruth Gledhill has to say at her "Articles of Faith" Web site knows that she has strong religious opinions. This is especially true when it comes to Anglican battles. Here is her take on the challenge facing Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams after U.S. Episcopalians elected Bishop Katherine Jefferts Schori as Anglicanism's first female archbishop and then refused to retreat on homosexual issues. Will the Anglican Communion shatter, with Third World conservatives pitted against modernists in Europe and America?...

A Methodist minister who was defrocked for declaring that she is a lesbian living with her partner ... Ms. Stroud decided last week to appeal, but delayed the announcement until after Christmas weekend. ... Ms. Stroud said she hesitated to appeal because she is tired and dislikes being in the spotlight, but "there are questions the larger church needs to discuss and wrestle with." She said one factor in her decision was something retired Bishop Joseph Yeakel, the judge who presided at her church trial, said to her after the verdict. Bishop Yeakel told Ms. Stroud "the day will come...