{"id":2871,"date":"2018-05-07T22:16:48","date_gmt":"2018-05-07T22:16:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/bge\/?p=2871"},"modified":"2018-05-07T22:16:48","modified_gmt":"2018-05-07T22:16:48","slug":"a-need-to-see","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/bge\/2018\/05\/07\/a-need-to-see\/","title":{"rendered":"A Need to See"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Susan Cosio is an ordained Covenant pastor, spiritual director and board-certified chaplain. She serves on the Pacific Southwest Conference (PSWC)\u00a0Executive Board and is the creator and facilitator of a contemplative retreat for women in ministry called, \u201cEcho: Women Who Hear and Respond to God\u2019s Call.<\/em><\/p>\n

On my commute home from the hospital recently, I heard an interview on NPR that\u00a0gave me some words for my thoughts about women in ministry. Stacey Abrams is a\u00a0politician, lawyer and businesswoman running for governor in the 2018 gubernatorial\u00a0election. She is hoping to be the first black female governor in the United States. While\u00a0Ms. Abrams is acknowledged by many as a qualified candidate, she admits she faces\u00a0cultural and internal resistance.\u00a0\u201cWhen you haven\u2019t seen something happen,\u201d she says, \u201cit is hard to believe it is\u00a0possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her words echoed from my radio like a message straight to my heart. I almost pulled\u00a0my foot right off the gas pedal. Her statement resonates deeply with my experience as\u00a0a female pastor. Sometimes, it can be hard to see and believe that things are changing.\u00a0While I serve in full-time ministry as a hospital chaplain, I make time to preach, to teach\u00a0in our college ministry, and to meet with younger women who are sensing a call to\u00a0ministry. My commitment \u2013 as a pastor, mentor, spiritual director, Executive Board
\nmember and President of the ACCW\u2014is to be a tangible reminder to women (and men)\u00a0that we can make it happen.<\/p>\n

I often have people comment on my sermons when I guest preach. Many tell me I am\u00a0the first female pastor they have heard. One African American woman in our church\u00a0said she waits eagerly for my sermons. Her 7-year-old son refers to me as \u201cthe lady\u00a0preacher.\u201d She says she wants him to see that this is not a contradiction.<\/p>\n

This is one of the reasons I am excited about the Four More initiative, which encourages\u00a0male pastors to invite women pastors to preach. These invitations give male clergy an\u00a0opportunity to show with their actions that they can learn from called and gifted women.<\/p>\n

And churches are exposed to women in the pulpit, the area of pastoral leadership our\u00a0congregations are historically most resistant to embracing. I am proud of Rev. Devyn Chambers Johnson for leading this initiative, and am inspired and encouraged by my\u00a0colleagues (male and female) who have responded.<\/p>\n

Although the statistics on women in ministry are disappointing, I am committed to using\u00a0my voice and my leadership roles to continue to advocate and represent. I am inspired\u00a0by another observation of Stacey Abrams.\u00a0\u201cLeadership is not easy,\u201d she says. \u201cConvincing others (and often yourself) that you are\u00a0capable of world-affecting change requires confidence, insight and sheer bravado \u2013\u00a0especially when the world has always told you ‘no.'”<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll admit I am not always confident, insightful or brave. But I am trying to be. And the\u00a0movement of God that I see in our denomination gives me courage to work toward a\u00a0resolute \u201cYes!\u201d for women in ministry.<\/p>\n

Report This Post<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Susan Cosio is an ordained Covenant pastor, spiritual director and board-certified chaplain. She serves on the Pacific Southwest Conference (PSWC)\u00a0Executive Board and is the creator and facilitator of a contemplative retreat for women in ministry called, \u201cEcho: Women Who Hear and Respond to God\u2019s Call. On my commute home from the hospital recently, I heard […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":172,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19328],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2871","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-testimoies-and-stories"],"yoast_head":"\nA Need to See - Commission on Biblical Gender Equality<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/bge\/2018\/05\/07\/a-need-to-see\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Need to See - Commission on Biblical Gender Equality\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Susan Cosio is an ordained Covenant pastor, spiritual director and board-certified chaplain. 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