Persistent Voice - women's newsletter coming out of Wartburg Theological Seminary (ELCA), Dubuque, Iowa, USA

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Fact Sheet About Ordainded Women

As of August 1, 2002, the number of pastors who are women in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America was 2,707, which is 15.3 percent of all (17,693) ordained ministers. Of the active category (those not retired), the percentage is 21.9. In 1991, the number of pastors who were women was 1,400 or 8.0 percent of ordained ministers.

The percentage and the number (in parenthesis) of active pastors who are women for each of the 65 synods of the ELCA are ranked here from highest to lowest percent.

29.4 (63) 5J - Greater Milwaukee Synod 28.9 (65) 7F - Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod 28.3 (79) 3H - Saint Paul Area Synod 27.5 (92) 5A - Metropolitan Chicago Synod 27.3 (53) 7D - Upstate New York Synod 27.2 (22) 8C - Allegheny Synod 27.0 (71) 8D - Lower Susquehanna Synod 26.5 (66) 7B - New England Synod 26.4 (57) 7A - New Jersey Synod 26.4 (73) 3F - Southwestern Minnesota Synod 26.0 (19) 8A - Northwestern Pennsylvania Synod 25.9 (68) 7E - Northeastern Pennsylvania Synod 25.6 (57) 3C - South Dakota Synod 25.0 (64) 7C - Metropolitan New York Synod 24.3 (70) 2A - Sierra Pacific Synod 24.2 (30) 8G - Metropolitan Washington, D.C. Synod 24.0 (93) 3G - Minneapolis Synod 23.9 (11) 4C - Arkansas-Oklahoma Synod 23.9 (44) 5B - Northern Illinois Synod 23.8 (20) 5G - Northern Great Lakes Synod 23.8 (19) 5L - La Crosse Area Synod 23.7 (9) 1A - Alaska Synod 23.4 (55) 3I - Southeastern Minnesota Synod 23.0 (29) 1D - Eastern Washington-Idaho Synod 22.8 (38) 3B - Eastern North Dakota Synod 22.4 (57) 4A - Nebraska Synod 22.3 (46) 5K - South-Central Synod of Wisconsin 22.2 (41) 1B - Northwest Washington Synod 22.1 (32) 3E - Northeastern Minnesota Synod 22.0 (9) 8H - West Virginia-W. Maryland Synod 21.8 (34) 6A - Southeast Michigan Synod 21.5 (35) 1E - Oregon Synod 21.5 (43) 8F - Delaware-Maryland Synod 21.2 (32) 9A - Virginia Synod

20.9 (42) 5H -Northwest Synod of Wisconsin 20.7 (24) 3A - Western North Dakota Synod 20.6 (20) 8E - Upper Susquehanna Synod 20.4 (44) 3D - Northwestern Minnesota Synod 20.1 (29) 1C - Southwestern Washington Synod 19.9 (41) 4B - Central States Synod 19.7 (36) 5D - Southeastern Iowa Synod 19.6 (39) 4E - Southwestern Texas Synod 19.6 (45) 2E - Rocky Mountain Synod 19.4 (7) 9F - Caribbean Synod 19.3 (35) 5I - East-Central Synod of Wisconsin 19.2 (37) 5F - Northeastern Iowa Synod 19.2 (50) 6F - Southern Ohio Synod 19.1 (29) 6B - North/West Lower Michigan Synod 19.0 (33) 2C - Pacifica Synod 18.8 (36) 9D - Southeastern Synod 18.6 (24) 1F - Montana Synod 18.2 (42) 6E - Northeastern Ohio Synod 18.2 (35) 8B - Southwestern Pennsylvania Synod 17.9 (28) 5E - Western Iowa Synod 17.8 (24) 4F - Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast Synod 17.2 (37) 6D - Northwestern Ohio Synod 17.1 (24) 5C - Central/Southern Illinois Synod 16.8 (30) 2B - Southwest California Synod 16.4 (22) 4D - Northern Texas-N. Louisiana Synod 16.3 (45) 9B - North Carolina Synod 16.0 (31) 9C - South Carolina Synod 15.8 (39) 6C - Indiana-Kentucky Synod 13.6 (3) 7G - Slovak Zion Synod 13.6 (21) 2D - Grand Canyon Synod 13.2 (33) 9E - Florida-Bahamas Synod

Women of color who are ordained ministers:
African American/Black 58
American Indian/Native Alaska 8
Asian 23
Hispanic 29

The percentage and the number (in parenthesis) of active pastors who are women for each of the 65 synods of the ELCA are ranked here from highest to lowest percent.

Fact sheet about ordained women
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

25.1 (55) ­ Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod 24.9 (86) ­ Metropolitan Chicago Synod 24.7 (49) ­ Upstate New York Synod 23.8 (56) ­ New Jersey Synod 22.7 (22) ­ Northern Great Lakes Synod 22.6 (21) ­ Allegheny Synod 22.2 (53) ­ South Dakota Synod 22.1 (57) ­ Metropolitan New York Synod 21.6 (16) ­ Northwestern Pennsylvania Synod 20.9 (52) ­ New England Synod 20.8 (27) ­ Western North Dakota Synod 20.2 (49) ­ Greater Milwaukee Synod 20.0 ( 6) ­ Caribbean Synod 19.5 (59) ­ Sierra Pacific Synod 19.3 (38) ­ Eastern North Dakota Synod 19.3 (53) ­ Saint Paul Area Synod 19.2 (55) ­ Northeastern Pennsylvania Synod 19.1 (53) ­ Lowe Susquehanna Synod 18.9 (40) ­ Northwest Synod of Wisconsin 18.8 (36) ­ Southeastern Iowa Synod 18.7 (17) ­ La Crosse Area Synod 18.4 (53) ­Southwestern Minnesota Synod 18.2 (52) ­ Nebraska Synod 18.0 (37) ­ South-Central Synod of Wisconsin 17.8 (43) ­ Southeastern Minnesota Synod 17.6 ( 9) ­ Arkansas ­ Oklahoma Synod 17.6 (36) ­ Delaware ­ Maryland Synod 17.5 (25) ­ Texas ­ Louisiana Gulf Coast Synod 17.2 (44) ­ Rocky Mountain Synod 17.2 (23) ­ Metropolitan Washington, DC Synod 17.2 (36) ­ Northeastern Iowa Synod 17.1 (39) ­ Northwestern Minnesota Synod 17.1 (67) ­ Minneapolis Synod

16.9 (27) ­ Northeastern Minnesota Synod 16.6 (34) ­ Northwest Washington Synod 16.6 (30) ­ Southeast Michigan Synod 15.8 (15) ­ Upper Susquehanna Synod 15.6 (30) ­ Northern Illinois Synod 15.5 (38) ­ Central States Synod 15.4 (22) ­ Southwestern Washington Synod 15.4 (19) ­ Eastern Washington ­ Idaho Synod 15.3 (36) ­ Northeastern Ohio Synod 15.0 (43) ­ Southern Ohio Synod 14.8 (27) ­ East-Central Synod of Wisconsin 14.5 (29) ­ Southwestern Pennsylvania Synod 14.4 (26) ­ Southern California (West) Synod 14.4 (21) ­ Oregon Synod 14.4 (21) ­ Virginia Synod 14.1 (19) ­ Northern Texas-N. Louisiana Synod 13.9 (21) ­ Central/Southern Illinois Synod 13.6 (20) ­ Montana Synod 13.6 (21) ­ North/West Lower Michigan Synod 13.5 (28) ­ Southeastern Synod 13.2 (29) ­ Southwestern Texas Synod 12.9 ( 4) ­ Slovak Zion Synod 12.8 (24) ­ South Carolina Synod 12.8 (29) ­ Northwestern Ohio Synod 11.2 (20) ­ Pacifica Synod 10.5 (18) ­ Western Iowa Synod 10.3 (27) ­ North Carolina Synod 10.1 (26) ­ Florida-Bahamas Synod 9.8 (25) ­ Indiana-Kentucky Synod 7.9 (12) ­ Grand Canyon Synod 7.5 ( 3) ­ Alaska Synod 5.1 ( 2) ­ West Virginia-W. Maryland Synod

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