I had considered going into full-time ministry for over a decade. And yet, somehow, my arrival on the seminary’s campus felt sudden.
As I stood in the lecture hall doorway surveying seat options for my first class, I noticed a stark gender disparity that would only grow. Not only was I one of the first women to arrive that day, I was one of the few women in the class.
As excited as I was, a sliver of doubt dimmed my joy:
They all seem so sure that they belong here. Do I belong here?
Seminaries were originally founded to train men to be pastors. Only in the last 60 years have these institutions begun to accept and graduate female students. Now, each year, thousands of women navigate spaces that weren’t created for them. Unfortunately, culture evolves slowly. For women in seminary, their very presence is a catalyst for change, yet it is their presence that also reveals just how much change is needed.