Episcopal Press and News

Time to Hear African Women's Voices, Diana Marshall Affirms

Episcopal News Service. January 14, 2005 [011405-3-A]

[ENS, Diocese of Bethlehem] "It is time to hear the voices of African women," said Diana Marshall, wife of Bethlehem Bishop Paul Marshall, as she laid the foundation stone of the Mothers Union Training Center in Kajo Keji, Southern Sudan, on January 7, 2005.

Mrs. Marshall observed that the church in the United States is grateful to have heard the wisdom of African men for some time now, but that the African witness will be fully present in Anglicanism when women's wisdom is celebrated and revered by all.

The Women's Training center will provide young women with education and skills to build a life for themselves with a new independence. Diocesan programs already provide training in sewing and tailoring, also equipping women for their eventual roles in government and public administration - roles not previously available in the Islamic regime. The site will eventually include a nursery school and health center.