![\"Elizabeth](\"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/lutheranwomensordination\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1349\/2019\/07\/Platz-ordination-1-300x220.jpg\")
Photo used with permission of the ELCA Archives<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n
\u00a0On November 22nd, 1970, Elizabeth Platz made history by becoming the first ordained Lutheran woman in America. A first-generation college student and graduate of Gettysburg Seminary, she had been working as a lay minister at the University of Maryland-College Park for the five years prior to her ordination. She was one of a small number of women who were qualified for ordination directly after the approval of women\u2019s ordination in 1970. Platz remained dedicated to her ministry at College Park and worked as a chaplain for her entire career, retiring after 47 years of service at the university.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0In this regard, Platz was distinctive among the group of initial pioneers in women\u2019s ordination. The field has a high rate of burnout among women, often attributed to stress and discrimination that the early female clergy faced while balancing the positions of role models for the female community and responsible members of the clergy. Janith Otte, the first woman ordained in the AELC in 1976, had herself removed from the roster of official clergy in the mid-1980s due to an unhealthy level of stress. That Elizabeth Platz persisted within her career for 47 years is quite remarkable.<\/span><\/p>\n Platz has often acknowledged the contributions of those who helped her in her journey to ordination, many of whom were male clergy. The high level of support that she received, especially from leaders within her synod, also makes her journey distinctive. Many clergy women encountered strong opposition from male clergy, while the male clergy close to Platz seem to have been quite supportive. In her essay \u201cMy Story, Our Story,\u201d Platz credits former Gettysburg Seminary President Donald Heiges for suggesting that she complete a course of study in systematic theology and Maryland Synod President Paul Orso for encouraging her to not apologize her gender and even counseling her to, \u201cact like you belong, for you do.\u201d This is not to say that Platz didn\u2019t face opposition to her ordination \u2013 she recalls being called a \u201cwhore of Babylon\u201d among other insults \u2013 but that she also received invaluable support from the male clergy in her life that likely gave her the necessary support to sustain a 47-year career in ministry.<\/span><\/p>\n In regards to historical accomplishments, Elizabeth Platz\u2019s ordination was significant as it was the first ordination of a Lutheran woman in America. Due to this milestone accomplishment, Platz has been seen and represented throughout her career as a symbol for the advancement of women within the church. She is often seen more for this single action than for her daily contributions to her university and ministry within 47 years of dedicated service. Like other female clergy members, Platz has worked hard to be accepted as a clergy member and be seen as a pastor before all else. When describing her own ordination, Platz emphasized her spiritual call and distanced her decision from cultural events, saying, \u201c \u2018I\u2019m not much of a Woman\u2019s Lib type,\u2019 she said, \u2018I\u2019m not being ordained to prove a point\u2014that I\u2019m as good as a man.\u2019 \u201d In this way, Platz tries to turn the narrative of her ordination away from herself, as an individual, and more towards her spiritual call to serve the gospel. Because, while she was the first woman to achieve ordination, she sought this ordination not to put her in the spotlight of the press, but to enable a lifelong career in the ministry.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”2_5,3_5″ custom_margin=”-81px|auto||auto||” _builder_version=”3.25.4″][et_pb_column type=”2_5″ _builder_version=”3.25.4″][et_pb_video src=”https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=TmO95Nz-LeM&t=1s” admin_label=”Platz Interview Video” _builder_version=”3.25.4″][\/et_pb_video][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”3_5″ _builder_version=”3.25.4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”References” _builder_version=”3.25.4″ text_font=”Georgia||||||||” text_text_color=”#493a38″ text_font_size=”16px” header_font=”||||||||” header_2_font=”Georgia|600|||||||” header_2_text_color=”#000000″ header_2_font_size=”27px”]<\/p>\n \u201cA Note on the Ordination of Lutheran Women in 1970.\u201d Journal of the Lutheran Historical Conference<\/i> 6 (2016): 112\u201316.<\/p>\n \u201cFirst Woman Lutheran Pastor in U.S. Is Ordained.\u201d New York Times<\/i>. 1970.<\/p>\n \u201cForty Years Later, ELCA Pastor Elizabeth Platz Still Serves Maryland Students,\u201d August 30, 2010. https:\/\/www.businesswire.com\/news\/home\/20100830005955\/en\/Forty-Years-ELCA-Pastor-Elizabeth-Platz-Serves<\/a>.<\/p>\n Platz, Elizabeth. \u201cMy Story, Our Story.\u201d In Lutheran Women in Ordained Ministry, 1970-1995<\/i>, 45\u201351. Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 1995.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n<\/div>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.25.4″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.25.4″][et_pb_toggle title=”Learn More” open_toggle_text_color=”#000000″ open_toggle_background_color=”#dbc895 ” closed_toggle_background_color=”#dbc895 ” icon_color=”#814509″ use_icon_font_size=”on” icon_font_size=”18px” admin_label=”Learn More” _builder_version=”3.25.4″ title_text_color=”#000000″ title_font=”Georgia|600|||||||” title_text_align=”center” title_font_size=”18px” closed_title_font=”Georgia||||||||” body_font=”Georgia||||||||” body_text_color=”#493a38″ body_font_size=”16px” border_width_all=”2px” border_color_all=”#814509″]<\/p>\n Documentary: Lamp Unto My Feet – Ordination of Pastor Platz<\/a><\/em><\/p>\nReferences<\/h2>\n