wfn.org | Ecumenical Decade Festival Beginsl

[George Conklin <gconklin@wfn.org>]

Ecumenical Decade Festival
Press Release No. 1 
For Immediate Use
28 November 1998

ECUMENICAL DECADE FESTIVAL BEGINS IN HARARE

Almost ten years after the Ecumenical Decade in Solidarity with women was
launched, more than a thousand women from all over the world are meeting in
Harare, Zimbabwe this week to take stock of what has been achieved and to
discuss what they will do with their collective power.

The World Council of Churches Decade Festival, meeting 27-30 November on
the campus of Belvedere Technical Teachers Training College, precedes the
Eighth Assembly of the WCC which meets at the University of Zimbabwe in
Harare 3-14 December. 

In 1988, the Council launched the programme to provide churches with an
opportunity to study and review their structures and teachings to ensure
the full participation of women. The aim of the decade was to enable women
and men to share equally the responsibility for nurturing and serving the
church and the world.

The common blessing of women and men was symbolised in the festuval
delegates themselves.  They displayed a wide diversity in dress and
language as people became one in worship, song and dance.  About 30 of the
Festival participants are men.

Dr. Musimbi Kanyoro of Kenya, general secretary of the World YWCA in
Geneva, Switzerland, pointed out the paradox of Africa having a lot of
poverty despite its natural riches because of heavy external debt.

"Our lives as African women are often marked by endless struggles due to
economic constraints resulting from unjust practices," observed Kanyoro,
who also noted that AIDS, wars, and the rape of women and girls has made
life especially difficult. 

Kanyoro paid tribute to Africans, however, for refusing to give up on God,
themselves and the church. She said in God's eyes, the downtrodden, the
poor, the refugees and displaced, the street children, abused women, the
sick and the dying, are precious.

"We can no longer just call for solidarity, but rather we need to be a part
of a redefining and redesigning process for all the changes we hoped for
during this decade," said Kanyoro, who called for a redoubling of efforts
for women's empowerment.

She identified trouble-making as another source of seeking accountability,
citing the many women who challenged their churches for justice on women's
concerns during the ecumenical decade, including women and children who
challenged apartheid and won.

"God invites us to join in the trouble-making that leads to justice and
reconciliation in our lives and in creation." Although the church did not
always stand in solidarity with women, the decade gave the latter courage
to "manifest the glory of God" that is within them.

The day began with the singing of the Zimbabwe national anthem by the
Children's Performing Arts Workshop (CHIPAWO), a local group, in the
country's two main languages, Shona and Ndebele.  The anthem was followed
by a Zimbabwean song of celebration and praise beckoning women and men to
Jesus. 

Delegates come from Asia, the Caribbean, Europe, Latin America, the Middle
East, North America, the Pacific and Africa. CHIPAWO capped everything with
a play which, although related to the playing of marimba (a local
instrument), taught that boys need to respect girls and their abilities for
them to be able to work together.

World Council of Churches
Press and Information Office, Harare
Tel:  +263.91.23.23.81
E-Mail:  jwn8@staff.wcc-coe.org
http://www.wcc-coe.org