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The Lutheran World Federation
Lutheran World Information |
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| 19.11.2002 |
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| Women Are the “Gentle Troublemakers” in the Church |
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Final Message from the LWF International Women’s Pre-Assembly Gathering
MONTREUX, Switzerland/GENEVA, 19 November 2002 (LWI) - At times “healing only comes after aggressive intervention, but with love and care. … “We are gentle troublemakers, but also partners with God.” This was among main statements in the final message adopted by delegates attending the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Pre-Assembly Women’s Gathering. It was the first in a series of consultations before the 2003 LWF Tenth Assembly to he held in Winnipeg, Canada.
Under the Assembly theme, “For the Healing of the World,” around 60 women deliberated on how healing can take place in and through the church in a society that is “in a sick state right now, more than ever before.” Participants in the November 14-17 conference included the 14 regional coordinators of the Women in Church and Society (WICAS) desk of the LWF Department for Mission and Development (DMD), representatives of Assembly delegations, church leaders and resource persons. The international gathering was organized by DMD - WICAS.
In the face of numerous open and hidden wounds in individuals and society, the women clearly named the most hurting contemporary issues, because “there will be no healing without naming,” as stressed by Ms Inge Lise Olsen from Sweden. Violence in all its forms, HIV/AIDS, the hierarchical system in many churches that still refuse to ordain women, increasing poverty and economic globalization were cited as the most urgent problems.
“We call on all members of the Lutheran communion to name these wounds as openly as we did so that each church in its context can begin the healing process,” the women said. Their message refers specifically to the naming of the “disintegration of the family as a wound,” and calls for programs “relative to the changing face of the family.” They call for an aggressive stand on HIV/AIDS in a similar way as was done by the LWF on violence against women–through the “Churches Say ‘No’ to Violence against Women” document.
The pre-Assembly participants also specifically called on all member churches “to take seriously the voices of women and not to simply acknowledge their presence,” and to be examples of “respectfully including women (laity and ordained) in church leadership in all structures.”
The final message, adopted unanimously by participants, resolved to strengthen the healing process within the LWF and its member churches by further improving the education and thus the empowerment of women, especially in poorer countries. They also affirmed their commitment to continue promoting human rights awareness and the global networking of women across continents and cultures.
The issue of economic globalization was of special concern to representatives from Latin America and the Caribbean. As stated by Ms Aurelia Schöller from Argentina, there is urgent need for the empowerment of people “to determine the causes and consequences of economic globalization...and give impetus to alternative forms of creative forces such as small family enterprises and women’s projects.”
Drawing from the healing and enriching experiences during the women’s pre-Assembly conference and its diverse celebrations of sisterhood, peace and worship services, the final message also calls for the “searching for new styles of healing liturgy and liturgical language” as well as for the “reclaiming of the biblical concept of Shalom.”
In addition, the final document echoes the voices of numerous participants who stressed that the “wounds of the world do not need to discourage us but help us to recognize opportunities for partnership with God in healing.” Reaffirming their gentle approach to problem solving, the women stated that “with ‘soft eyes’ we are re-imagining the splendor of transformation which ‘hardened eyes’ do not see.”
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