50 | 40 | 102022-06-23T12:54:52-07:00

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the ordination of women in the ELCA, the 40th anniversary of women of color, and the 10th anniversary of LGBTQ+ siblings. Click here for ELCA resources.

It’s an incredibly important marker for the ELCA, though it is only the beginning for the Church, as women are still denied ordination across the denominations and hold less than 15% of the leadership positions in the worldwide church! Therefore, in 2020, we in the Oregon Synod will highlight one woman from Christian history every week. Some you may know, others you may not, but all worthy of our respect and gratitude.

  1. Dec 29: Unnamed & Unknown Women Leaders
  2. Jan 5: Mary Magdalene
  3. Jan 12: Thecla
  4. Jan 19: Perpetua & Felicity
  5. Jan 26: Desert mothers
  6. Feb 2: Phyllis Wheatly
  7. Feb 9: Jarena Lee
  8. Feb. 16: Sojourner Truth
  9. Feb 23: Mother Mary Lange
  10. Mar 1: Ancient Women of Words
  11. Mar 8: Empress Theodora
  12. Mar 15: Bishop Barbara C. Harris
  13. Mar 22: Florence Nightingale
  14. Mar 29: Clara Barton
  15. Apr 5: Julian of Norwich
  16. Apr 12: Thérèse of Lisieux
  17. Apr 18: Corrie ten Boom
  18. April 26: Teresa of Avila
  19. May 3: Marguerite Porete
  20. May 10: Susanna Wesley
  21. May 17: Juana Inez de la Cruz
  22. May 24: Mother Jones
  23. May 31: Pauli Murray
  24. June 7: Francis Ellen Watkins Harper
  25. June 14: Harriet Tubman
  26. June 21: Kathy Lee Bates
  27. June 28: St. Brigid of Kildare
  28. July 5: Junia 
  29. July 12: Hildegard of Bingen
  30. July 19: Fanny Crosby
  31. July 26: Thea Bowman
  32. Aug 2: Catherine Booth
  33. Aug 9: Ida B. Wells
  34. Aug 16: Mechthild of Magdeburg
  35. Aug 23: Dorothy Day
  36. Aug 30: Dr. Lucy Jane Rider Meyer
  37. Sept 6: Eleanor Roosevelt
  38. Sept 13: Rosa Parks
  39. Sept 20: Francis Perkins
  40. Sept 27: Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary
  41. Oct 4: Ella Baker
  42. Oct 11: Evelyn Underhill
  43. Oct 18: Fannie Lou Hamer
  44. Oct 25: Katie Luther
  45. Nov 1: Mimi Jones
  46. Nov 8:  Leymah Gbowee
  47. Nov 15: Hadewijch
  48. Nov 22: Dovey Johnson Roundtree
  49. Nov 29: Elizabeth Ann Seton
  50. Dec 6: Mary of Nazareth