STAGES AND TRAJECTORY OF WOMEN IN THE PASTORAL MINISTRY IN ANGOLA CASES OF THE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH IN ANGOLA/IMUA AND THE EVANGELICAL CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH IN ANGOLA/IECA
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Abstract
This study analyses the historical stages and the socio‑pastoral trajectory of women in the pastoral ministry in Angola, with particular focus on the United Methodist Church in Angola (IMUA) and the Evangelical Congregational Church in Angola (IECA). Between the 1960s and the 2000s, both denominations displayed a systematic exclusion of women from exercising pastoral leadership, especially within congregations in Luanda. Drawing on interviews and on the examination of works by pioneering women pastors — such as the Rev. Domingas Silvério Pegado Muginga, the Rev. Rita Mário Fernandes Webba and the Rev. Antónia Zeferino Gomes (IMUA), as well as the Rev. Ilda Valério and the Rev. Adelaide Tomás Manuel (IECA) — we investigated the sociocultural, ecclesiological and historical factors that sustained this exclusion. The testimonies collected reveal that traditional Bantu acculturation, characterised by the attribution of differentiated social roles to men and women, contributed to resistance against the presence of women in pastoral ministry. Nevertheless, the pioneering pastors opened significant pathways, demonstrating the intellectual, moral and spiritual capacities of women to exercise leadership roles within the Church and in society. The findings indicate that overcoming gender exclusion in pastoral ministry requires strengthening women’s self‑valuation, recognising their competencies, and dismantling discriminatory patterns inherited from tradition. We conclude that it is necessary to consolidate the progress already achieved, ensuring that women’s participation in ecclesial leadership is fully acknowledged until the equitable sharing of power becomes a reality embraced by all.
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