By Celeste Kennel-Shank
Mennonite Weekly Review

Anointed by oil and draped with a stole from Central America, Janet Breneman on Jan. 20 became the second woman to be ordained in a Lancaster Mennonite Conference church, though the conference does not grant women such credentials.

Breneman has been sole pastor of Laurel Street Mennonite Church, Lancaster, Pa., since 2004.

“It feels like an affirmation of my calling, in this case especially by the local congregation,” Breneman said. “It doesn’t feel like it belongs to just me, it belongs to the congregation.”

Linford King, bishop of the conference’s Lancaster District, ordained and anointed Breneman in a service attended by about 250 people at James Street Mennonite Church in Lancaster.

James Street ordained one of its pastors, Elizabeth Nissley, on June 24 and recognized the ordination of another, Kathy Keener Shantz, whose credentials had been held by Pacific Southwest Mennonite Conference.

Like Nissley, Breneman’s credentials will be held by the Lancaster district credentialing committee, formed because the conference licenses women for specific ministries rather than ordaining them.

Shantz has been put on the conference pastor’s list and was interviewed by the conference’s credentialing body in December.

Shantz attended Breneman’s ordination service and appreciated the focus on Christ.

“It was a real celebration of her call and her gifts, without needing to prove that women could be ordained,” Shantz said.

A Bishop Board recommendation that would have allowed women to be ordained, but not become bishops or other leaders with conference oversight, failed in a January 2007 vote by credentialed leaders.

King received a letter of reprimand from the Lancaster Conference Bishop Board after Nissley’s ordination, as well as a letter in January saying the board may take disciplinary action after Breneman’s ordination.

The conference declined to comment on the ordination.

King said he will accept any discipline that may result from his actions.

“Somebody has to stand up for women,” King said. “We can’t just say it, we have to do something about it.”

Ordaining women is in accord with broader Mennonite beliefs, King said.

“It is in line with Mennonite Church USA, our Confession of Faith, our Mennonite polity, and down the line,” he said.

Many pastors in Lancaster district signed a letter to the Bishop Board saying the whole district should receive any reprimand, rather than just King, Breneman said.

Before becoming pastor of Laurel Street, Breneman, 58, spent three decades as a mission worker, Bible professor and congregational resource coordinator in Honduras and Guatemala.

Isaias Flores, then-president of the Honduras Mennonite Church, licensed Breneman for ministry while she was a mission worker in Honduras. Flores attended the ordination, bringing a stole from SEMILLA, the Latin American Anabaptist Seminary in Guatemala City, Guatemala, where Breneman taught for more than a decade.

Laurel Street, which has about 50 members and regular attendees, has a number of Hispanic participants, allowing Breneman to continue her connection to Latin America.

Breneman holds a master of divinity degree from Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary in Elkhart, Ind., and a doctor of ministry from Lancaster Theological Seminary.

Breneman grew up in Lancaster Mennonite Conference, the largest conference in Mennonite Church USA, with 16,693 members.

Breneman decided not to encourage her church to leave Lancaster conference, as some Lancaster churches with women pastors have done.

“I’m part of Lancaster Conference,” she said. “I really desire to remain in the conference, and yet be ordained.”