Honoring 70 years of women's ordination at annual conference

Each summer, Perkins School of Theology reconnects with alumni, partners and friends across the United Methodist Church during annual conference season. While these gatherings celebrate ministry and connection, this year also marked the 70th anniversary of women's ordination in the United Methodist Church – a milestone that changed the trajectory of pastoral leadership. 
 
Attending 19 annual conferences this summer, Perkins celebrated the current ordinations of graduates and alumni. While acknowledging the path paved by generations before, the school reflects on how women continue to shape the Church today. 

The power of red

Melissa Garza ’23 was ordained at the 2026 Texas Annual Conference alongside several close friends. She reflected on the journey that led to her ordination. 
 
“I remembered a friend of mine who, when I told her I had discerned a call to ministry and was going to seminary, said, ‘But you know you aren’t really going to be a pastor, right?’” she said.  
 
She also recalled writing a paper at Perkins about the Danube Seven, seven women ordained aboard a ship on the Danube River in 2002 by a Roman Catholic bishop despite the threat of excommunication. 
 
To honor the generations of women clergy, Garza paid homage to the signature tradition of wearing red shoes to these commemorative events by creating and sharing red shoe stickers with her community. 
 
“When I sketched the little red shoes, I was thinking of all the women pastors who have been so instrumental in my call to ministry and all the women who raised me in the UMC from the time I could walk,” Garza said. “I imagined the courage, faith, resilience, grit, and tenacity that women Methodist pastors embodied just to obey the calling God placed on their hearts.”

The growing call

Calyn Donaldson '26, associate pastor at St. Peter's UMC in Katy, Texas, was also commissioned as a provisional elder at the 2026 Texas Annual Conference. She described standing before the congregation alongside the other newly commissioned elders and deacons as surreal. 

Not long before, her call to pastoral ministry began as a quiet whisper during her undergraduate years. 

“I attended a Southern Baptist Convention undergraduate school, and it was there that I experienced my call to ministry,” Donaldson said. “Despite people speaking against my call to my face, I continued to lean into the whisper I heard from God.” 

During her time at Perkins, Donaldson never worried about her call being questioned because of her gender.  

 “Perkins gave me confidence in my call by not letting my gender call into question the work that God is doing through me,” she said.  

Donaldson attributed much of her discernment at Perkins to the faculty guiding her through the possible pathways. She is especially grateful to Assistant Professor Emily Nelms Chastain for becoming a steadfast advocate for her and other Perkins students from the start of her time at Perkins.  

“Dr. ENC spent time helping me discern the elder vs deacon calling, read through my paperwork, and she continued to be a cheerleader for me,” Donaldson said. “She drove down to the TAC so she could see my commissioning. I am incredibly grateful for her mentorship.” 

Perkins celebrates

Seventy years after women first gained full clergy rights in the United Methodist tradition, Perkins continues to prepare leaders who answer God's call with confidence.  

As more than half of the school's student body is made up of women, Perkins remains committed to cultivating a community where future pastors and ministry leaders can discern their vocation and develop their gifts wherever God leads them.