Suckle-Nelson, J: Challenges of the Cloth

Since the early 1970s, women have begun to enter into the ordained ministry. Thirty years later, there is still opposition to women‘s ordination. Clergywomen offer a unique opportunity to investigate conflicts, challenges, and coping strategies because of the strength of their faith that led them to their career, their continuing identity as women, and the debate that still continues within Christianity over the ordination of women. In this study, interviews from 38 women in six mainstream Christian denominations were qualitatively analyzed for experiences of conflict and the use of coping mechanisms. Results included the challenges associated with the call to ministry; the various challenges arising from being clergy, being women, or being clergywomen; and both primary and secondary strategies for dealing with challenges. Overall, the findings of this study begin to expose some of the unique difficulties and coping strategies of women in ordained ministry.