wfn.org | "Women are Partners in Bringing Healing to the World"

["Frank Imhoff" <FRANKI@elca.org>]

"Women are Partners, Not Instruments in Bringing Healing to the
World"
LWF Pre-Assembly Gathering Focuses on Theological, Social
Challenges for Healing

MONTREUX, Switzerland/GENEVA, 17 November 2002 (LWI) - "Women are
partners and not instruments of God in bringing healing to our
hurting world," Dr Musimbi Kanyoro, General Secretary, World Young
Women's Christian Association (YWCA), told participants in the
first preparatory consultation prior to the 2003 LWF Tenth
Assembly.

The pre-assembly, the first in a series of seven similar
consultations before the 21-31 July 2003 Assembly, is organized by
the Women in Church and Society (WICAS) desk of the LWF Department
for Mission and Development (DMD).

Kanyoro, former WICAS Secretary, urged women to subscribe neither
to a victim mentality nor regard themselves as instruments of the
church but as "active agents of change" * even in the face of war,
increasing poverty and the staggering figures and realities of
HIV/AIDS.

In her presentation she provided the social context for the
pre-assembly and assembly theme, "For the Healing of the World"
while Rev. Dr Isabelle Graessle, Moderator of the Protestant in
Geneva, introduced the 60 representatives of LWF member churches
to a theological understanding of healing.

Graessle referred to the Bible story of the ten lepers (Luke
17:11-19) who asked Jesus Christ for help. Jesus healed all ten in
the sense of becoming physically healthy and reintegrated into the
social and religious community. But only one returned, "raising
God in a loud voice." The tenth person, Graessle said, experienced
something that went beyond healing, namely resurrection - a kind
of confidence enabling him to "go on a new road."

This kind of healing has been taking place at meetings of Lutheran
women during the past years, Kanyoro stressed. International
meetings of women have been instrumental as self-healing processes
by providing opportunities of sharing local and personal
experiences, networking and empowerment, providing women with
information on social and political issues and by "translating our
individual domestic and private troubles into public policies."

Women who meet as global partners have experienced a
transformation of powerlessness into the power to change, and are
therefore well equipped to reach out to those in society who are
still powerless. The language of Christian women should therefore
reflect the spiritual aspect of healing. While Lutheran women are
deeply committed to the language of human rights they should
always add the spiritual aspect of the language of healing of the
world and thus give it an added value, said Kanyoro.

Although the world is full of wars, increasing poverty, hunger and
the HIV/AIDS pandemic has reached a level of an "incomparable
human catastrophe," Kanyoro reminded listeners that this world
"opens up new unknown opportunities to bring back spirituality
into our lives while searching for answers." That ecumenical
prayers and inter-faith gatherings are increasingly taking place
all over the world; churches have started working together against
the spread of HIV/AIDS and are organizing common response to
threat of war against Iraq are a examples of such hope.

Concluding her presentation, Kanyoro asked leaders within the
women's movements to ensure that sufficient young women are
trained for leadership positions to create room for young adults
"to come in at all levels of women's movements."

(The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the
Lutheran tradition. Founded in 1947 n Lund (Sweden), the LWF now
has 136 member churches in 76 countries representing over 61.7
million of the 65.4 mllion Lutherans worldwide. The LWF acts on
behalf of its member churches in areas of common interest such as
ecumenical relations, theology, humanitarian assistance, human
rights, communication, and the various aspects of mission and
development work. Its secretariat is located in Geneva,
Switzerland.

[Lutheran World Information (LWI) is the information service of
the Lutheran World Federation (LWF). Unless specifically noted,
material presented does not represent positions or opinions of the
LWF or of its various units. Where the dateline of an article
contains the notation (LWI), the material may be freely reproduced
with acknowledgment.]

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