wfn.org | Women Are the "Soft Troublemakers" in the Church

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

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 Schoeller 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."

(The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the
Lutheran tradition. Founded in 1947 in 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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