And if the bearer, the icon and the fulfiller of that unique priesthood, is man and not woman, it is because Christ is man and not woman. But it does know about the institution of deaconesses. At their 8 th assembly in Harare, Zimbabwe, women's ordination and the use of inclusive language have surfaced as key issues. The study shows that the number of clergywomen in 15 large Protestant denominations has skyrocketed over the past two decades. However, they remain in a minority in those denominations that permit women to be ordained.
Few women serve as senior pastors.
There is still a lot of resistance and uneasiness. And it may not always be malice, as much as a lack of experience and uneasiness by some members of the laity. If denominational leaders are actively hostile, or insensitive to finding the right ministry settings for women, women get discouraged. The experience and sense of calling among clergy women in the 1990s shows that clergywomen are not merely survivors, nor are they breaking down old barriers simply to get into a vocation shaped and still dominated by male perspectives. Rather, clergywomen are reinventing ministry for the future.