Australia and New Zealand Lutherans voted down a proposal to have women ministers at their General Synod (church parliament) late last week.
Known as the “Box Hill proposal after the church in box Hill, Melbourne that put it forward, a motion to permit the ordination of women was lost despite a majority of delegates supporting it, 203 delegates voted in favour of the proposal; 136 voted against it; and 3 delegates abstained. change 229 votes were needed for the motion to be passed – as a two thirds majority was needed to amend the Lutheran’s “Article 6.11 of the Theses of Agreement.
Like the Uniting Church’s basis of Union, the 1966 Theses of Agreement bought together the two rival lutheran churches that existed until then. You can still see the pairs of Lutheran buildings in some South Australian country towns. But if you know where to look, multiple old Methodist buildings can be found too.
After the motion to have women ministers was lost the next day Synod passed another motion, to explore having “one church with two different practices of ordination.” The church’s General Church Board and the College of Bishops have been tasked with b ringing proposals to the 2024 meeting of their General Pastors Conference.
The Lutheran Church of Australia, which includes the Lutheran Church of New Zealand, has about 30,000 regular worshippers, more than 600 Lutheran congregations and about 80 schools.