Perspectief 2014-26

Perspectief 28 dr. Margriet Gosker So finally I decided to speak to you today from the point of view of my own biography. I speak to you as somebody who has been ordained in 1972, nearly 42 years ago. I was one of the first women ordained in my church, which was one of the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands. I served as a minister in several congregations and I am also involved in many ecumenical bodies. If my church had not recognised my vocation in 1972, my life would have been totally different. So I am grateful to God for all the possibilities given to me to serve as a minister in the church. I also speak here as a theologian, specialized in the theology of the ministry. I wrote my dissertation on the Ministry Part of BEM 2 and I am really advocating my whole adult life in many ways for the ordination of women. Two little stories Firstly I want to tell you two little personal stories. The first one happened in Romania in 2011. I was defending the ordination of women for an audience of - for a large extent - Romanian orthodox theologians in Oradea. I was then invited by Nicu Dumitrascu, one of the members of the Standing Committee of the Societas Oecumenica. Afterwards I asked Nicu: “Wasn’t I too passionate in defending my point of view?” He answered: “Not at all, that’s why I asked you to come over to Oradea”. My second story took place in the spring of 2014. I tried to put the ordination of women on the agenda of our own Dutch Council of Churches in the Netherlands. I finally succeeded in putting it on the agenda, but this time I had to choose my words very carefully. The meeting was friendly and respectful and I was happy we finally could get the subject on the agenda. 3 But at the same time it was a rather disappointing experience and it showed clearly how difficult it is to handle these issues in a proper way, especially in your own context. 2 M. Gosker, Het ambt in de oecumenische discussie, de betekenis van de Lima-Ambtstekst voor de voortgang van de oecumene en de doorwerking in de Nederlandse SoW-Kerken , Eburon, Delft, 2000. 3 http://www.raadvankerken.nl/pagina/2962/dilemma_rond_vrouw&highlight=vrouw