"Stained Glass Ceiling": Exploring Women's Leadership Roles in the Church Through My Art

This artwork is centred around the idea of the “stained-glass ceiling” which is a phrase I first heard from the book by Lisa Weaver Swartz of a similar title[1]. The “stained-glass ceiling” is a Christian ministry comparison to the proverbial “glass ceiling” noted in general society when a woman is unable to reach lead positions in the corporate world. Similarly, the stained-glass ceiling limits women in the church. Women are limited by tradition, culture, and even our own Bibles that we use in our churches. This piece reflects how I have been affected by this concept within my own ministry and church context.

I have created this piece as a self portrait with mixed media including several layers. It is three-dimensional and can be hung on a wall. There are 4 components to this artwork including a stained-glass piece, a self-portrait, a collage of words representing a traditional or complementarian understanding of church and theology relating to women, and lastly, there is a portion of collage behind the stained-glass piece that reflects an egalitarian perspective. The image of myself is placed amid the traditional complementarian view, and is pushing against the stained-glass window to break through to the contemporary and egalitarian view. I hope this is a goal that will be reached and achieved by myself and other women. In the following artist statement, I will both explain detailed portions of each piece as it relates to me and my story, and to the Biblical studies that I have encountered through my lectures and reading during the past 3 months through attending my class on Women in Ministry.

Bottom collage underneath self portrait

Amid a Complementarian (Male Leadership) World

In the space occupied behind my portrait, I created a collage representing the complementarian view that many traditional churches hold which restrict women in ministry and in leadership positions in the church. There are some church spaces that are overtly complementarian, but there are others who are egalitarian and affirming toward women; however, even the progressive churches may have some key members who hold traditional views. Sometimes people are unaware of the issues that hold women back, so I have highlighted some of those in my artwork particularly focusing on issues of Bible translation.

I covered the entire surface of this portion of the artwork with pages from a New Testament King James translation of the Bible. I have used these pages to share some of my concerns of this translation in this piece. First, I selected some pages which highlight verses that have been traditionally used against women in ministry settings. These passages have been highlighted in yellow. Some passages include First Corinthians 11:2-16, 14: 26-35, and First Timothy 2:8-15. First Corinthians 14 is highlighted with a larger text near it noting “Silent suffering” and a mouth image to bring attention to the passage which says, “Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak… for it is a shame for women to speak in the church” 1 Cor 14:34-35 (KJV). I argue that with better translation and understanding of context that this passage does not limit all women for all time from speaking in the church, but that Paul was speaking to specific women who were interrupting worship and needed further instruction before speaking during worship. The words seem clear to many who read them, but the translation and context matter and have left many women suffering because they are unnecessarily restricted from speaking in places of worship.

Secondly, I selected passages highlighting women in the KJV. Including these women may be seen in a somewhat positive light, but due to translation, the full value of these women may or may not be clear. These passages are highlighted in orange in my artwork. Some of these passages include 1 Cor 12: 13, 27, “Now ye are the body of Christ”; Acts 2:16-18 which shows that sons and daughters will prophesy and will receive gifts of the Spirit; and Romans 16 which highlights the many women that Paul acknowledged. Unfortunately, in Romans 16, some women were noted with lesser titles or even as men. Pheobe is a “sister” and “servant” rather than a deacon (NIV), Pricilla is a helper instead of a “co-worker in Jesus Christ” and Junia, in verse seven, is called Junias and grouped in with “kinsmen” when she is woman. Other passages I chose that showed women in the Bible in a more positive light included Acts 21:19 which shows that Philip had 4 daughters who were known to prophesy and John 20:17-18 which highlights the women finding the tomb empty and being the first evangelists. Women were still represented in the King James Bible even though it may not have been with a clear or full understanding of how we might see women in more modern translations today.

Lastly, I chose pages that highlighted the many passages that are still translated as “man” even when “human” or both male and female are intended in the Greek. The word “man,” “men,” or “brethren” is highlighted in pink throughout the collaged KJV pages. In reading Discovering Biblical Equality, I was very intrigued by the chart titled “Woman and man in select translations,” which highlights the number of times the Greek indicates the word “woman” or “man” should be used compared to other translations of the Bible.[4] In Greek, the word “man” should be used two hundred and sixteen times, however the King James version, which was translated in 1611 CE, uses the word 1356 times - an increase of over 1100 times! I decided to include this chart amid the KJV pages so the viewer can be challenged by it as well.

On top of the collage, I have also painted an inverse reflection of the stained-glass window above. The stained glass would reflect this way with the light coming through, but I chose to paint this inverted and stretched design to represent some of the upside-down ideas that have been ingrained through history and in our Biblical understanding. I have concern that we are using a translation of the Bible that still uses language from the early 1600’s including using masculine words influenced by a male dominated culture when our language should more inclusive. Additionally, we are still handing out translations like the KJV which is based off of Biblical parchments that were available at the time. Since the 1600’s more older parchments have been found to help us have a truer interpretation of the Bible as it was originally written. Updated translations are better to help people understand what they are reading, but also to help people see that the Bible is more inclusive to all people, not mainly men.

To challenge our thinking process, I have added words like “Unpacking Biblical Truths” and “Where are the ‘female clergy’ Pastors?” as well as the chart indicating differences in translations. Questions like these, and more, in the midst of a complementarian setting help motivate us to push past this understanding toward an egalitarian understanding of the Bible and a church where men and women are equally valued in all roles. Something needs to inspire us to unpack biblical truths, dig deeper and push past the things that hold us back from using the gifts that we were given by the Holy Spirit to use.

The Stained-Glass Window

The Stained-Glass Ceiling: A Work of the Holy Spirit

The stained-glass ceiling is the central part of this artwork representing the barrier that limits women in ministry and leadership. Creating this part has been filled with personal meaning both in the planning stage and as I created it. I chose a simple image of the dove as representative of the Holy Spirit. I chose this image because I believe strongly that God blesses men and women with the gifts of the Holy Spirit and does not distribute the gifts based on gender. First Corinthians 12:13 says, “For we were all baptized by one Spirit” (NIV). There is no differentiation between gender here. Additionally, some passages name both men and women like in Acts 2:17-18, “In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy” (NIV). Women are not excluded. The Holy Spirit gives gifts to everyone!

Interestingly, the dove and the Holy Spirit have greater significance to me and represent parts of my personal story. There was one particular Sunday when I preached on the Holy Spirit and was challenged as a woman in ministry in more ways than one. I had not preached often at that time, but on this particular Sunday, there were two men who were known as street preachers in downtown London who had disrupted churches in the city of London, and they decided to visit our church.[5] Of all the Sundays, they chose the one where I was preaching. I noticed them out of the corner of my eye, and wondered if it was them, but I kept my eyes focused on the sermon I had written and continued to speak. Soon a couple of our leadership also noticed them and escorted them out of the building. As these men left, they told those who were escorting them out that we were, “going to hell in a hand-basket” because I was allowed to preach. This moment shook me personally, but my incident was minor and I was only one of many targeted women and eventually because of their persistent hate speech, charges were laid against these men both in London and in British Columbia.[6] 

As a result of that same sermon, our church received further challenges, specifically on my theology of the Holy Spirit. We hosted our sermons online through a conservative Christian website similar to SoundCloud, but it was only for sermons. We missed the stipulation that they did not support hosting women speakers on their platform and as a result of the sermon I preached that Sunday, they let us know that the sermon needed to be removed for two reasons. First, was because I was a woman, and secondly, because my theology of the Holy Spirit was wrong. I read their website and Statement of faith and I did not understand what I said wrong. I asked others if what I said was inconsistent with what the Bible taught and everyone was just as confused as I was. It was only through the reading for my class on women in ministry, that I finally understood what I said which triggered the “incorrect” theology.

I was surprised to learn that some people hold a different theology on the trinity and the Holy Spirit, one where Jesus and the Spirit are submissive to God the Father and therefore, women should submit to our husbands or male leadership by following the example that Jesus submits to the Father. Swartz interviews students at the Southern Baptist Seminary in Kentucky who hold to this view. One interviewee, Alex, explained how the trinity related to his view of a how a woman should be submissive:

“You have three persons. They are all equally God. They are all equal in power. They are all equal in knowledge. They are all equal in their infinite character. But . . . the Son and the Spirit are willingly submitting to the father . . . a willingness to say, ‘you have been ordained for this, you are my head.’ So as the Father is head over the Son and the Son is head over the church, so too is the man head over his wife.”[7]

The submissive view for women is intertwined in the theology of the trinity. In later interviews by Swartz at Asbury, we see that they reject this view of the trinity as do other egalitarians.[8] In reading Discovering Biblical Equality, greater clarity on this theology is explained. Wayne Grudem developed and implemented his Systematic Theology and the doctrine of eternal subordination in 1994.[9] This theology continued to develop and “reached its zenith in 2015 with the publication of a collection of essays, … The aim of this book was to ground women’s subordination once and for all”.[10] 

Although I cannot remember the exact date my sermon was removed, it was in approximately 2016 when this theology was at it’s peak. It finally made sense why my sermon was rejected. I was thankful to be in a supportive community who chose to not only remove my sermons, but every sermon delivered by our male lead pastor and to fully remove our support from this organization. Afterward we found a platform that was supportive of women preachers.

Therefore, the image of the dove was the perfect symbol to include in the stained glass to show both the value I place in the gifts of the Spirit, but also how my sermon on the Spirit and the misinterpretation of the doctrine of the Holy Spirit has caused problems for me in my ministry setting.

Breaking the Stained-Glass Ceiling?

The second item I considered with the stained-glass window, was in asking the question, what state should it be in? Solid, broken, or broken through? I chose to place myself in this artwork and it is representative of my own personal journey as well as the challenging journey other women face, so in choosing the state of the window I looked at my own personal circumstances where I continue to feel limited in my leadership opportunities including attempts to become a lead pastor. It is unfortunate that I have struggled in this area and have been specifically told by some that they have limited me because of my gender, I at least feel like there is a crack in the stained-glass ceiling and I continue to push through.

Because I felt that there was a crack, I carefully planned 3 cracked pieces to be incorporated into this piece. This was the most difficult part of the artwork. This is only the second stained-glass piece I have made, with the last one being made when I was in high school, so intentionally destroying something I was proud of and that I put so much work and effort into, was painful. It helped me better understand the challenges we face as women as we try to break through the stained-glass ceiling. We can see through to the other side, but the barrier in the way is beautiful, it has been in place for a couple thousand years, it is a system that people believe works and we are taught to respect and admire the stained-glass ceiling. To break it would seem disrespectful. Why should we challenge this tradition? Even knowing the point of my artwork, I struggled with breaking the glass.

To increase the pain I felt, I accidentally dropped my stained-glass artwork creating more breaks in the glass. I actually needed time to grieve. Even though there were supposed to be cracks, I did not intend these ones and they mainly went right through the dove. After some time to recover and reflect, I almost felt like God was communicating that the glass ceiling is more broken than I may know, but also that God is in control of where and when the stained-glass ceiling breaks. I hope this is true and that we can continue to make progress in how the gifts of women are accepted and used to edify the church.

Collage Behind Stained-Glass Window

Beyond the Stained-Glass Ceiling

In choosing my stained-glass, I made sure the glass pieces were coloured, but also translucent so that we could see what was on the other side of the glass. Through the stained-glass, we are able to see glimpses of what a better view of the world looks like with equality for women in the church when we are all allowed to use the gifts given to us. To ensure that the viewer can see through the stained-glass I also added small lights to brighten the collage. Additionally, I tilted the stained glass forward so that it gave more of an impression of a ceiling, but also so that the collage can be viewed from the side without the obstruction of the stained glass.

The collage pieces I selected were magazine images and words that reflect who I am in Christ, but also who many women need to see themselves as in Christ. This portion of the artwork shows what our potential is as women. The collage pieces come from live magazine, Focus on the Family, forum, Today’s Parent, and some printouts of the NIV translation of the Bible. Although each magazine varied in its views, all pieces I selected highlight important words for us to consider.

A Calvin Theological seminary magazine, forum, was filled with words and images that were supportive of women in leadership and had a stronger focus on ministry. I was able to add images of the pulpit, words, like “seminary,” and “pastor” and “Where are all the pastors?”. These clippings help to explore a positive view of women in the church. The Focus on the Family magazines had many affirming words and beautiful imagery like the sunflowers and the tree; however, I have to admit that some of the words are taken out of context. The words are faith-based, but the magazine supports a traditional and complementarian view. As an artist, I am able to choose the right words that suit my artwork.

The magazine I found most valuable was live which was a magazine published by the Canadian Baptist Women of Ontario and Quebec. This organization is very supportive of women in ministry, and they have also been very encouraging to me on my journey. They have even published some of my work in the past including an article where I shared about my calling.[11] In this artwork I included many affirming quotes and words. I took the words “female clergy” from an article about Kathy Root Parr’s call to ministry.[12] She received her M.Div. from McMaster in 1985 and is a woman I have been blessed to learn a great deal from in my ministry context.  I added “female clergy” above the question, “Where are all the pastors?” to read “Where are all the ‘female clergy’ pastors?” which is a question that I am finding important to answer. I also posted a clip about Muriel Carder who is the first woman ordained by the CBOQ in 1947.[13] The theme of one of our Baptist Women’s Conferences, was “Chosen, Holy, Called” which is a clip I also included because I was able to speak about at the conference from the stage that year and I believe that these words are ones that we should embrace as women, because we are chosen by God, we are holy, and called to do His work.

I also want to address the scripture that I included in this artwork that is behind the stained glass. I printed off Romans 16, Acts 2:14-18 and Galatians 3:28 in NIV and highlighted them as I had in the KJV in the collage behind my portrait. These were passages I found to be affirming to women, were meaningful to me, and where the translation mattered. In Romans 16, many women listed are highlighted, but the NIV translation acknowledges each woman’s credentials more fully. Junia, in verse seven, is no longer noted as a man. In her book Paul and Gender, Cindy Westfall notes that Junia was acknowledged as a woman apostle until the late Middle Ages.[14] It was around 1316 and in the years following, including the time of the writing of the KJV, that Junia was identified differently and they, “preferred to identify Junia as male (Junias) because she was called an apostle.”[15] Another name to note is Pheobe, in verse one, who is acknowledged as a deacon in the NIV rather than a helper as seen in the KJV. Thankfully there have been further updates to our translations which have been interpreted incorrectly and now there are more accurate translations that are closer to the original texts and meanings of the original church.   

The verse from Acts 2:14-18 is significant to me because it was one I valued in preparing for my ordination. This verse highlights the value of everyone receiving gifts from the Holy Spirit. “In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy” (Acts 2:17a NIV). All people can receive gifts, and it specifically says that men and women receive gifts. Peter is quoting Joel and is acknowledging these words as prophetic scripture that is being fulfilled in the early church. If this was being fulfilled in the early church, should it not also be true of our church today, where women can use their gifts and not be hindered because of gender?

The last verse I chose to print out was Galatians 3:28, “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (NIV). I find this verse to be affirming as a woman to acknowledge that women, as well as men, are acknowledged as “one in Christ,” as part of the body of Christ, and that we should be seen as equal and not as less than men.

Conclusion

We live in a world where women are often oppressed and even when we find we have taken some steps forward, there continue to be barriers which prevent us from reaching our full potential. It is unfortunate that we struggle to see and name the barriers and when we do start to notice them they appear as beautiful tradition that should not be tampered with.

Recently (Mar 2026), a national study on women in Canadian Evangelical churches was released and began to assess the status of women in the church. In their conclusion they noted the challenges women face:

“In practice, gaps between stated policy and everyday practice shaped women’s sense of belonging more than labels alone. This helps explain why some women feel deeply valued in churches with offices reserved for qualified men, while others encounter obstacles in churches with egalitarian policies but constrained pathways.”[16]

Some women are finding a sense of belonging, but even in egalitarian churches there are limits identified. There is a stained-glass ceiling of limitation. Although this study is noted as the first of it’s kind in Canada, it is only a start, and they identify that further research is needed to understand the inequalities that still exist and limit women to this day.

I hope that we can all reach out toward the stained-glass ceiling and be able to push past the barrier that limits us from the fulfilment of using one hundred percent of God’s gifts. As much as I hated cracking the glass on this art piece, to push through requires the pieces to break fully. When we look at broken pieces, we often see a mess or despair, but to an artist or a trained eye, those broken pieces can be picked up and reformed into something beautiful. God heals the broken and the wounded (Psalm 147:3) and brings each of us to a place where we can become whole again. It is my prayer that women can one day see beauty built out of the brokenness that we have experienced so that we can live fully in God’s Holy will using our gifts of leadership, apostleship, pastoring, preaching and teaching more so that we can edify the church as God wills it for us all.

Bibliography

1. Callaway, Lindsay and Marie-Josée Fortin. National Study on Women in Canadian Evangelical Churches. Canada: Alberta & Northwest Territories District of the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada, 2026.

2. Ewart, Karine ed. Today’s Parent Toronto, ON: Rogers Publishing Limited, Sept 2012.

3. Florea, Jesse, et al., eds. Focus on the Family Canada, 10.3 (2025).

4. ______. Focus on the Family 10.4 (2025).

5. Giles, Kevin, “The Trinity Argument for Women’s Subordination” In Discovering Biblical Equality. 3^rd ed., 351-71. Downers Grove, IL:InterVarsity  Press, 2021.

6. Gollihugh, Jonah et al., eds. forum: A Calvin Theological Seminary Publication. Winter (2025).

7. James, Renee. “A History Moment” live: A Baptist Resource for Women on a Mission. 96.1 (2023) 23.

8. ______. ed. live: A Baptist Resource for Women on a Mission. 92.5 (2019).

9. ______. ed. live: A Baptist Resource for Women on a Mission. 95.4 (2022).

10. ______. ed. live: A Baptist Resource for Women on a Mission. 95.5 (2022).

11. ______. ed. live: A Baptist Resource for Women on a Mission. 96.1 (2023).

12. KJV Here’s Hope New Testament. Brentwood: Holman Bible Publishers, 2022.

13. Miller, Jeffery D. “A Defense of Gender Accurate Bible Translations,” In Discovering Biblical Equality. 3^rd ed., 472-488. Downers Grove, IL:InterVarsity  Press, 2021.

14. Pierce, Ronald W., et al, eds. Discovering Biblical Equity. 3^rd ed. Downers Grove, IL:InterVarsity Press, 2021.

15. Proctor, Jason. “Controversial so-called street preachers charged with hate crimes in British Columbia.” CBC News July 4, 2025. No pages. Online: https://ici.radio-canada.ca/rci/en/news/2181459/street-preachers-hate-crime

16. Rae, Tina. “Letting God Lead” live: A Baptist Resource for Women on a Mission. 91. 2 (2018) 10-11.

17. Root Parr, Kathy. “One Woman’s Call to Ministry” live: A Baptist Resource for Women on a Mission. 92.5 (2023) 21.

18. Smith, Lynn. Gender or Giftedness: Second Edition. Valemount, BC: Whitehorn Publishing, 2009.

19. Swartz, Lisa Weaver. Stained Glass Ceilings: How Evangelicals Do Gender and Practice Power. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2023.

20. Westfall, Cynthia Long. Paul and Gender: Reclaiming the Apostles vision for Men and Women in Christ. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2016.

21. ______. “Women in Ministry: Intro to Course/ Syllabus.” Presented at McMaster Divinity class lecture, Hamilton, ON January 5, 2026.

Footnotes:

[1] Swartz, Stained Glass Ceilings.

[2] Westfall, “Women in Ministry: Intro to Course”.

[3] KJV Here’s Hope New Testament.

[4] Miller, “A Defense of Gender Accurate Bible Translations,” 475.

[5] Proctor, “Controversial so-called street preachers charged with hate crimes in British Columbia”.

[6] Proctor, “Controversial so-called street preachers charged with hate crimes in British Columbia”.

[7] Swartz, Stained Glass Ceilings, 23.

[8] Swartz, Stained Glass Ceilings, 87.

[9] Giles, “The Trinity Argument for Women’s Subordination,” 353-55.

[10] Giles, “The Trinity Argument for Women’s Subordination,” 355.

[11] Rae, “Letting God Lead,” 10-11.

[12] Root Parr, “One Woman’s Call to Ministry,” 21.

[13] James, “A History Moment,” 23.

[14] Westfall, Paul and Gender, 270.

[15] Westfall, Paul and Gender, 270.

[16]  Callaway, National Study on Women, 66.