WOMEN IN THE PRIESTHOOD

Pamela Stringer wears a crucifix around her neck and a cross on her shirt. She seems like a respectable woman - a nun, maybe. But the one thing that sticks out is her collar. It is black all around and has a white square in the middle.

The Rev. Stringer is a canon - a member of the clergy who serves in a cathedral - with Christ Church Cathedral in Downtown Indianapolis.

"People will be staring at me or looking at me when I'm out in public, see my collar and they'll say, `Are you a sister?' " said Rev. Stringer, who is one of several clergywomen in Indianapolis.

The Rev. Martha Grace (Gay) Reese is another. She's a minister with the Disciples of Christ at Carmel Christian Church.

"I think women have every bit as many gifts for the ministry as men do," Rev. Reese said. "And the question is: Are you called by God to be a minister? And does the church also think that you have the gift for ministry? If so, you ought to be ordained."

Dealing with resistance

In positions typically dominated by men, these women and others in Indianapolis parishes are trying to fit in without calling attention to themselves.

It's difficult sometimes, they say, because men tend not to be as accepting of women in the clergy.

"What I try to do," says Rev. Stringer, "is make them feel at ease by acknowledging my appreciation of them telling me that they have a problem with the ordination of women.

"What I say to them (is) I'm glad they've been with me and told me how they felt. Then I can relate to them more honestly. That seems to smooth everything out. They become more relaxed and we have a good conversation.

"But I explain to them that I can relate to them in a pastoral way, in a much more loving kind of way, if I know the truth about how they feel."

In 1991, about 30 percent of seminary students - 17,501 - were women, according to the Association of Theological Schools. In 1989, a National Council of Churches study revealed that 84 denominations ordained women and 82 did not. This was the last year in which a complete study was done.

Rev. Stringer was first ordained a deacon. When she became a priest, she was able to celebrate Mass. It took her about five years to become ordained in the priesthood.

She first started her quest to become a priest in 1977 when she entered the seminary. After completing the three years of seminary, she was assigned to an Episcopal church in Tennessee, where she spent 6 1/2 years.

She moved to Indianapolis in 1990 and has worked for Christ Cathedral Church ever since.

Changed career plans

For Rev. Reese, becoming a minister took four years of study in the seminary. She had been a lawyer before that, but had always wanted to study religion.

"The longer I was in the seminary, the more I thought about it and prayed about it, and it just got clearer and clearer," she said.

Unlike some of her female counterparts, Rev. Reese said she's had few problems convincing her male colleagues that she is capable of handling the duties of a minister.

"Every once in a while, there will be a minister from a conservative community who clearly has a little bit of a struggle with it," she said. "But my colleagues are wonderful, so that's not a problem."

But Rev. Stringer found that many male priests oppose women in the clergy. They have confronted her with their feelings of discontent and uneasiness.

"They're usually relieved to know that I'm not going to be negative toward them," she said. "That's their opinion, but they can still be a fine person, even though they might hold that opinion.

"Some of them truly in their hearts believe that theologically and biblically - the way they interpret the Scriptures - it doesn't leave the door open for women to be ordained."

Initially, these women also received some mixed reaction from their congregations.

"I think it was difficult for them," Rev. Reese said. "I think some people had a little bit of a hard time about it because it was so different seeing a woman up there in a robe and preaching.

"Many people had really positive responses. There were a lot of women who said, `Oh, my gosh, I never realized that I needed to have a woman minister.' "

Congregation's reaction

Hiring a woman for a leadership position in the church was a hard pill to swallow for some members of Rev. Stringer's church.

"I had been there a while, and people, particularly older people, would say to me, `I was real hesitant when you came because I wasn't sure how I'd feel about ordained women. But knowing you has changed my mind, and I'm not against it anymore,' " said Rev. Stringer.

She said one man left the congregation when he found out that she planned to stay beyond one year. Others would receive communion only if the rector, who was a male, had been the celebrant at the Mass.

Now that women can hold leadership positions in the church, Rev. Stringer would like to see changes in the way theologians translate the Bible.

"I like to hear language used that is not sex-determined," she said. "In other words, when we're reading the Scriptures, not always say `men this' and `men that.' Rather, we are children of God rather than sons of God."

EDITED BY: Gary Templeton, 17; and Stacey Quintin, 16