Ellen White and the Role of Women in the Church

Part 1 : Ellen White’s Statements

1. The 1895 “Ordination” Statement

The nearest that Ellen White came to calling explicitly for women to be ordained is in the following statement, published in 1895: EWRWC 1.4

Women who are willing to consecrate some of their time to the service of the Lord should be appointed to visit the sick, look after the young, and minister to the necessities of the poor. They should be set apart to this work by prayer and laying on of hands. In some cases they will need to counsel with the church officers or the minister, but if they are devoted women, maintaining a vital connection with God, they will be a power for good in the church. This is another means of strengthening and building up the church. We need to branch out more in our methods of labor. Not a hand should be bound, not a soul discouraged, not a voice should be hushed; let every individual labor, privately or publicly, to help forward this grand work. Place the burdens upon men and women of the church, that they may grow by reason of the exercise, and thus become effective agents in the hand of the Lord for the enlightenment of those who sit in darkness. ¹

This statement clearly calls for a setting apart to a special work. On the basis of the counsel that these women “be set apart to this work by prayer and laying on of hands,” we might even venture to use the term “ordination.” But ordination to what? Note the elements of her statement. EWRWC 2.1

1. This ministry is part-time. “Women who can devote some of their time...” Therefore, from the start, it does not seem to be referring to pastoral ministry. EWRWC 2.2

2. The work is something other than what the church was already doing. “This is another means of strengthening and building up the church. We need to branch out more in our methods of labor.” EWRWC 2.3

3. It may not even involve holding a church office in the usual sense of the term. The women should be “appointed.” The clause, “In some cases they will need to counsel with the church officers ² or minister,” may be construed as placing them in a category other than that of church officer, although this is by no means certain. Yet it is clear that they are not equated with “the minister,” nor are they being regarded as the officers whose responsibility it is to lead the local congregation. EWRWC 2.4

So was Mrs. White here calling for an ordained woman ministry? If one uses the term “ministry” in its broad sense of service, yes. But she has clearly distinguished this “ordained ministry” from that of the pastor or the leading church officers. To say that this statement supports ordaining women to positions of congregational leadership or ecclesiastical authority is, it seems to me, simply not supported by the elements of the statement itself. EWRWC 2.5

The Context of the Statement. The article in which the statement is contained, entitled “The Duty of the Minister and the People,” is a call for involvement of the laity in the work of the church, which ministers and conference officers were apparently undervaluing and discouraging. Its purpose is not to change the structure of the pastoral ministry, but rather to change its emphasis from one in which most of the burdens are seized and carried by the minister, to one in which the laity is active and motivated in the work of the church. A candid reading of the entire article will make this clear, especially the following portion, which even refers to one of the duties of the women appointees mentioned: EWRWC 2.6

The minister’s work is the lay member’s work as well. Heart should be bound to heart. Let all press forward, shoulder to shoulder. Is not every true follower of Christ open to receive his teachings? And should not all have an opportunity to learn of Christ’s methods by practical experience? Why not put them to work visiting the sick and assisting in other ways, and thus keep the church in a workable condition? All would thus be kept in close touch with the minister’s plans, so that he could call for their assistance at any moment, and they would be able to labor intelligently with him. All should be laborers together with God, and then the minister can feel that he has helpers in whom it is safe to trust. The minister can hasten this desirable end by showing that he has confidence in the workers by setting them to work. ³