Southern Baptists Appoint Ordained Woman as Missionary
Episcopal News Service. January 10, 1990 [90011E]
The appointment of the Rev. Patricia Lee as a missionary to Japan is not against denominational policy, according to the trustees of the Southern Baptist Foreign Mission Board. The announcement is the latest in a controversy over the ordination of women that has surfaced in the 14-million-member church. While most Southern Baptist churches oppose the ordination of women, a handful of churches has ordained women, with severe repercussions -- most have been expelled from local Southern Baptist associations. The appointment of Lee "demonstrates that the trustees honestly practice board policy that ordination neither qualifies nor disqualifies a missionary candidate and that ordination is a local church matter," according to the Rev. Mark Corts, chairman of the board of trustees.