Vineyard to allow women to serve in all offices of the church

I guess this is not surprising:

After five years of wrangling with the issue of precisely where women fit into the ministry of the local church and the denomination, The Vineyard USA has officially adopted a policy that opens the door of leadership to women in every office, including that of senior pastor. The Vineyard’s governing board met last month and adopted a statement that is a unambiguously egalitarian in its inclusion of women at every level of leadership. It also makes clear that local churches, as autonomous bodies, are free to dissent from the denominational position. The two-paragraph statement reads:

"In response to the message of the kingdom, the leadership of the Vineyard movement will encourage, train, and empower women at all levels of leadership both local and trans-local. The movement as a whole welcomes the participation of women in leadership in all areas of ministry.

“We also recognize and understand that some Vineyard pastors have a different understanding of the scriptures. Each local church retains the right to make its own decisions regarding ordination and appointment of senior pastors.”

The commenters appear to be all for it, just a product of our times.

Tags: Christianity, religion