Episcopal Press and News
Ann Smith Attends W.C.C. Women's Decade Meeting
Episcopal News Service. April 23, 1987 [87090]
CARTIGNY, Switzerland (DPS, April 23) -- Ann Smith, coordinator of Womens' Ministries at the Episcopal Church Center, represented the National Council of Churches when eight of the World Council of Churches' regional representatives working on women's concerns met here April 8-12 to discuss "The Ecumenical Decade -- Churches in Solidarity with Women."
The meeting was the first for regional officers with Anna Karin Hanmar, executive secretary of the sub-unit on Women in Church and Society, and its purpose was to provide Information, develop consensus, and decide on collaborative actions to implement ways of working together with women on all levels: international, regional, national and local.
The Ecumenical Decade will begin at Faster 1988 and conclude with Easter 1998. The recommendations from the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches are: "That...the focus of the Decade be on the situation of women in the churches as well as the churches' participation in improving the conditions of women in society."
Plans call for the celebrations to begin with women throughout the world bringing food to their churches next Easter, participating in the worship service and helping prepare a communal feast for the congregation. The remaining food would be shared by the community. A poster representing the Decade's theme will be developed by the W.C.C. The model will be sent to the regions for printing and distribution. An ecumenical liturgy by women will also be provided by the W.C.C..
According to those at the meeting, the most critical action needed to improve the status of women is to empower women by providing access to information and resources. Existing networks by and for women need to be strengthened and new networks created. Training to develop new networks for women and men is a top priority.
The first step toward this will be a women's newsletter for distribution to the regions, which will be expected to incorporate the news into existing church publications and newsletters and reproduce it in simple and inexpensive form for distribution at the grassroots level.
The second planned action is the development of a program of "Women in Solidarity with Women Exchanges" on local, regional and international levels. Among its aims is the exchange of practical solutions; "share together our vision and transform our hopes into political strategies;" breaking through barriers of class, language, race, age, etc.; mobilization for action; planning "by women, not for the women;" and solidarity.
Participants spoke of forming "a bond of trust, cooperation, hope, shared vision and a commitment for collaborative action," saying that even the interpreters "felt they were part of the process."
In addition to Smith and Hammar, participants were: Fernanda Comba, Ecumenical Forum of European Christian Women; Diane Cummins, Caribbean Conference of Churches; Beatrice Ferrari, Consejo Latinoamericano de Iglesias; Mizuho Matsuda, Christian Conference of Asia; Bagha el-Raheb, Middle East Council of Churches; and Odette Sakindi, All Africa Conference of Churches. During the course of the meeting, they also met with the General Secretaries of the World Council of Churches and Regional Ecumenical Conferences.
The nine women emerged from the meeting with a statement of their belief that "with a commitment from the Church to be in solidarity with women and the inclusion of women worldwide, we can overcome the barriers to reaching our full potential as women and men."