Beyond the Stained Glass Ceiling: Women Clergy in a Still-Patriarchal Church

by Alina Gayeuski Read a Sample Stop just surviving the "stained glass ceiling" and start building a church where every leader is celebrated. While the right to ordination was won decades ago, invisible patriarchal structures still force women clergy to portage around systemic obstacles just to exercise their call. It is heartbreaking to see gifted leaders leave the ministry or diminish their own voices because the institution remains stuck in the past. You do not have to accept this as "just the way things are." In Beyond the Stained Glass Ceiling, Rev. Dr. Alina Gayeuski serves as your guide to move from survival to transformation. By naming the painful truths of sexism and sharing anonymized stories from across mainline Protestantism, she provides a roadmap to dismantle outdated barriers. Discover how to foster a feminist church—a community that operates from a place of abundance, values relationship over hierarchy, and ensures the next generation of leaders can flourish. Join the movement to create a sanctuary that finally reflects the full, beautiful diversity of the body of Christ. Endorsements “With devastating detail and evocative imagery, Rev. Alina Gayeuski describes a church not much more open to women’s actual leadership than sixty years ago. Yet she offers a hopeful vision of a church that breaks the bonds of patriarchy and makes way, at last, for a new beginning.” — Rev. Dr. Sharon E. Watkins, General Minister and President (retired), Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the US and Canada Beyond the Stained Glass Ceiling confronts the pervasive and global challenges facing women in ministry, even in churches that affirm women’s ordination. Gayeuski insists that efforts to decolonize the church must also dismantle patriarchal practices that limit women’s full inclusion and leadership. — Rev. Dr. Karen Georgia Thompson, General Minister and President/Chief Executive Officer, United Church of Christ “Bold and courageously prophetic, Beyond the Stained Glass Ceiling is a timely, necessary, and urgent call to interrogate and deconstruct decades of discrimination against female clergy. Its visionary call for a feminist church where all can flourish is compelling, hopeful, and inspiring.” — Rev. Dr. Leah D. Schade, associate professor of preaching and worship, Lexington Theological Seminary, author of Preaching and Social Issues “With courage and story, Alina Gayeuski names the patriarchy that holds the church imprisoned—and calls it to finally break the stained-glass ceiling. Her message is ultimately hopeful, urging the church to become a full expression of the God who calls every human beloved.” — Mary Kay DuChene, co-director of LeaderWise and co-author of A Path to Belonging: Overcoming Clergy Loneliness “This book is an urgent summons to all who envision a church where women can thrive without sacrificing the fullness of who we are. Gayeuski does not ask for cracks in the ceiling—she hands us a hammer to dismantle patriarchy so new systems can emerge.” — Rev. Christa M. Compton, PhD, bishop of the New Jersey Synod of the ELCA “Sharp critique joins creative vision in this eye-opening and hope-inspiring little book. Gayeuski invites the church into a difficult but essential conversation about exclusion—and into a feminist future where all can flourish.” — Dr. Jon Pahl PhD, Peter Paul and Elizabeth Hagan Professor of the History of Christianity, United Lutheran Seminary, Gettysburg/Philadelphia, and author of Fethullah Gulen: A Life of Hizmet, Why a Muslim Scholar in Pennsylvania Matters to the World “Through personal stories and examples of discrimination, this book urges the church to reform its understanding of what it means to serve as a Beloved child of God. It is a practical and valuable tool for Bible studies, call committees, and seminaries.” — Rev. Dr. Patricia Davenport, former bishop, Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod, ELCA “Written skillfully and rooted in both experience and research, this book explores the realities women clergy face within patriarchal church structures. Gayeuski offers feminist pathways toward transforming ecclesial culture into one of genuine flourishing.” — Dr. Natalia Marandiuc, associate professor of systematic theology and director of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Program, United Lutheran Seminary “Beyond the Stained Glass Ceiling sparks the imagination of what might be possible if we work together to create change. Gayeuski helps us see beyond entrenched patriarchy so women can serve fully and powerfully in the church.” — Rev. Dr. Karyn L Wiseman, the Stuempfle-Folkemer Professor of Homiletics, United Lutheran Seminary, Gettysburg + Philadelphia, author of Queering the Pulpit: A Sexegetical Approach to Preaching an Inclusive Word “While often sobering, the book is leavened with laugh-out-loud anecdotes that underscore its central truth: ordaining women was not enough. The church must become a place that says to everyone, ‘This place is made for you.’” — Dr. Karla Bohmbach, professor of religious studies at Susquehanna University, Selinsgrove, PA “Interviews and personal stories are masterfully woven with rigorous research, offering both clarity about patriarchal church systems and hope for a different future. Readers will come away with deeper understanding—and renewed possibility.” — Rev. Dr. Becca Ehrlich, author of Christian Minimalism: Simple Steps for Abundant Living, executive director of New Breath Spirituality Center and Spiritual Director (Albany and Saratoga Springs, NY) “Alina Gayeuski is a prophet for our times, grounding her case in research, story, and heartbreakingly real accounts of women clergy. She invites readers to settle for nothing less than liberation.” — emilie boggis, LeaderWise staff consultant, spiritual director, reflective pastoral supervisor and ordained minister “With truth and hope, Gayeuski illuminates the challenges women leaders still face and offers practical ways to build a more just church and world. This book is essential reading for both church leaders and parishioners.” — Rev. Louise N. Johnson, executive for vision, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America “This book bears witness to the lived realities of women clergy and names how ordination alone failed to dismantle patriarchy. It boldly envisions what a feminist, liberative church could become—and invites us to hope again.” — Crystal L. Hall, PhD, coach for women in ministry