CLEVELAND, Tenn. — The Church of God, based in Cleveland, Tenn., has decided to permit women to serve on local church councils but has maintained its rule that they cannot be ordained as bishops.
By a narrow vote during its recent general assembly, the denomination changed its policy on congregational councils by deleting the word “male” from its previous statement saying “members of the Church and Pastor’s Council shall be loyal male members of the church.”
Just prior to the meeting, which concluded July 30, more than 62 percent of the denomination’s bishops voted not to consider changing church policy prohibiting women from being ordained as bishops.
Bishop T. Scot Carter, spokesman for the denomination, said women are ordained as pastors in the denomination and are appointed to its national and international boards but cannot serve on the church’s bishops-only executive council.
“We reaffirm the value and the historical contribution of women in the life of the Church of God,” reads a resolution passed during the assembly.
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