The conservative Presbyterian Church in America (PCA), founded in 1973 at Briarwood Presbyterian Church in Birmingham, Alabama, in part to oppose the ordination of women, reaffirmed its traditional stance this week.
At its General Assembly in Louisville, the denomination soundly rejected Overture 37, a proposal from Pacific Presbytery to amend the Book of Order and allow the ordination of women as deacons. The overtures committee recommended rejection, and the assembly endorsed it with a strong voice vote.
The PCA also approved Overture 61, endorsing the 1987 Danvers Statement as a “biblically faithful declaration.” The statement affirms traditional gender roles, including male-only leadership in certain church governing and teaching positions, and calls for wives’ submission to husbands’ leadership.
Birmingham remains a PCA stronghold, home to four of the denomination’s 20 largest churches, including Briarwood (3,701 members).
The decision aligns the PCA with other conservative groups, such as the Southern Baptist Convention, which recently strengthened its opposition to women pastors.
