Dear Friends, supporters and believers in Equity for Women in the Church:
Allow me to thank all of you for your ongoing support, but now, allow me to inform you that Equity for Women in the Church, Inc. is dissolving as a national organization per the consensus vote of its board of directors. We are dissolving due to limited resources, and the remaining financial resources will be given as a gift to four organizations with women in ministry advocacy missions.
Allow me to offer a brief organizational history of Equity for Women in the Church.
I have written this letter over and over again on paper and in my mind for the past few days, and with each time I have attempted to formulate understandable sentences, along with the memories (through tears) to document past organizational achievements, it has made writing very difficult. Yes, achievements have flooded through my mind. Starting with late night discussion strategies with the former EWC co-chair, the feminist theologian and author of many books to include children and inclusive hymns Jann Aldredge-Clanton. Memories brought smiles, and yes, the tears with moments of remembrance and gratefulness.
During EWC’s tenure there have been podcasts to encourage a spectrum of women in ministry. There have been podcasts to develop and encourage males to become allies and advocates on behalf of women in ministry, in which an educational program was developed to offer children a positive perspective about women called into ministry. An EWC conference held at Memphis Theological Seminary promoted this concept developed by the current EWC chair, Andrea Chambers. Books were developed through EWC by board members through Alfie Wines’ Equity for Women in the Church … I Wish Someone Had Told Me, and Courtney Pace’s Freedom Faith: The Womanist Vision of Prathia Hall. Papers were presented on the significance of women in ministry, along with articles written for clergy newsletters. EWC has supported other organizations sponsoring conferences for women clergy in ministry.
Yes, there is a lot for which to be grateful. Now, I would be remiss in not briefly sharing how Equity for Women was organized.
Equity for Women in the Church was a vision I had while attending seminary. After graduation, it came into reality. Its initial birth was formalized in the Alliance of Baptists where I met Jann Aldredge-Clanton. After strategies and a purpose were documented from the vision of promoting inclusivity in culturally diverse churches with women as pastors, Jann and I brought together religious leaders and laypeople from around the country to finalize the vision at Wake Forest School of Divinity.
We did a lot of fundraising with our supportive husbands, and with much faith and prayer, Equity for Women in the Church became a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in 2013 after the Wake Forest meeting. Those various leaders (who were brought together without having to utilize personal resources other than their time) worked hard to achieve consensus that EWC was needed and would be a vital organization to advocate on behalf of “all” women in ministry. What a memory.
The former president of Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School, Marvin McMickle, was the keynoter. “All” those women called by God were to be included in ministry, even if they had been excluded because of ethnicity and race, sexual orientation and patriarchal Bible beliefs. It was recognized that Equity for Women in the Church was indeed needed even with other organizations that promoted women in ministry. EWC would strive to include and advocate on behalf of “all” women seeking ministry pastor roles.
I have kept the next heart and gut-wrenching part regarding the history of EWC for last.
In September 2024, my EWC co-chair, Jann, died. She was my confidant, my friend and one of my greatest supporters as “I” was a pastor of a culturally diverse church. We made a formidable team as co-chairs.
My fellow friends, Equity for Women may be dissolving as a 501(c)(3), but the vision and fight have not died. Advocacy on behalf of women in ministry will continue through the organizations that will benefit with the remaining distributed EWC’s resources and through all of us. Here’s to “Strength for the Ongoing Journey.”
Sheila D. Sholes-Ross, founder and former co-chair, Equity For Women in the Church