ANN Confirms Shift Toward Acceptance of Women’s Ordination

The Adventist News Network, the official news outlet of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, confirmed Tuesday that the takeaway from the recent General Conference Theology of Ordination Study Committee (TOSC) meetings is that “At least 10 of the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s 13 world division Biblical Research Committees say they would either recommend the ordination of women to ministry or would allow it in some world regions without the matter harming church unity.”

According to the ANN report, “Artur Stele, TOSC chair and director of the denomination’s Biblical Research Institute, told delegates on Friday that the time for researching and studying of the issue had come to an end. ‘From now on we’re going in a new direction. From now, including the June meeting, we’ll be looking for solutions,’ Stele said.”

The ANN also indicated that “at the final TOSC meeting in June, it’s expected that the committee will make recommendations for the denomination’s Executive Committee meeting at Annual Council in October. From there, a recommendation will likely be made for the agenda of the 2015 General Conference Session. TOSC Vice Chair Geoffrey Mbwana said regardless of what is ultimately decided, there is a sense of unity among TOSC members.”

Read the full ANN report here.

Update: As of Thursday, January 30, the report appears to have been removed from the ANN website. A cached version of the entire document is now available here.