WOMEN AS ELDERS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22775, 8 July 1937, Page 12

WOMEN AS ELDERS

PKESBYTEBIAN CHURCH DIVISION OF OPINION MOTION CARRIED BY ONE VOTE DEBATE AMONG MINISTERS [by telegraph OWN correspondent] DUXEDIN, Wednesday As a body the Dunedin Presbytery favours the admittance of women elders to its church courts, although individually there is a sharp division of opinion and the decision to admit women was carried last night by a bare majority. The debate arose from a poll on the question among the sessions of the city and suburban churches, which vetoed a change. The attitude of the presbytery will be framed in the form of a remit to the General Assembly. The debate was introduced when the Hev. J. D. Smith presented the report of the ecclesiastical committee detailing the result of the poll among the church sessions. This showed that five churches supported the proposal and 11 were opposed to it. The admittance of women as elders was warmly supported by the Rev. H.. J. Jlyburn, who moved that the presbytery should approve of the proposal. He thought it would be quite in order to consider the matter. His motion was only to test the view of the Church. Opposition Expressed The Rev. T. Miller expressed surprise that after the sessions had discussed the question and given their opinions so decidedly the presbytery should hold a debate. In his experience he had not come in contact with any women who desired to enter eldership. As things now stood, men sitting in session had little to do. He could not see the advantage, or scriptural authority, for such a revolutionary change. Mr. J. Farquliarson opposed the motion and said that women desired equal rights with men.

"As a representative of the First Church session, I feel morally bound to oppose the proposal, as the session did," said Mr. W. H. Adams, who added that lie personally was greatly impressed by what Mr. llyburn had said. Congregations' Choice Mr. Smith said that in many cases the sessions had not had proper opportunity of having the facts placed before them. If the congregations did not want women elders they would not have them. The opinion that the demand came from the exigencies of the work in which women elders would participate was advanced by Mr. Ryburn before the division was taken. All present voted, and Mr. Ryburn's motion was carried by one vote, 21 to 20. The meeting then decided that if women were excluded from eldership by the General Assembly it would support their admittance to the sessions on the Maori mission fields.