From the Worldwide Faith News archives www.wfn.org


Christian women in contextual inter-confessional dialogue


From "Ruth Gill" <rag@cec-kek.org>
Date Fri, 11 Jun 2004 15:27:24 +0200

Conference of European Churches - Office of  Communications

Press Release No. 04-28/e
11 June 2004

Christian women in contextual inter-confessional dialogue

"How can we as Christian women be relevant to the world of today
when the relevance of women's contributions in the church and in
society is often not recognised?" This was one of the questions
arising at the outset of the conference in Volos (Greece)
sponsored by the Conference of European Churches, co-organised by
the Ecumenical Forum of European Christian Women and hosted by
the Church of Greece.  It is a contextual inter-confessional
dialogue from the perspective of women from countries throughout
Europe.  The 35 participants belong to a variety of churches,
such as Orthodox, Lutheran and other Protestant churches as well
as the Roman and Old Catholic churches.

The overall purpose of the conference is to address the status
of women. This is being done at several levels.  The participants
have been listening to the stories of several women and their
experiences working as women in society.  Delegates identified
that a common theme of inequity was, in terms of work, salaries,
education and care responsibilities for children and the elderly.
 For example, it was identified that some countries in Europe do
not have laws guaranteeing equal rights between men and women,
and it is something, which is not sufficiently addressed in the
EU constitution.  There was also a perception that poverty is
becoming feminine in the sense of the lack of earning power,
family responsibilities and prejudice against working mothers.

Participants then considered the relationship between society at
large and the churches. It was observed that churches in the past
were quite involved in social action. In today's secularised
Europe, much of this work has been taken over by non-governmental
organisations (NGOs) with no direct connection to the churches.
This may give the impression that churches are less involved in
charitable activities today. In addition, there is a perception
that governments could withdraw from their perceived statutory
obligations by abdicating their responsibilities to the volunteer
sector of their societies.

The conference will continue exploring issues in the Orthodox
Church and then consider perspectives of other Christian
traditions.  This will include a visit to an Orthodox convent and
discussions with the sisters living there.  It is hoped that the
conference will produce directions for future action.

* * * *

The Conference of European Churches (CEC) is a fellowship of
some 125 Orthodox, Protestant, Anglican and Old Catholic Churches
from all countries of Europe, plus 40 associated organisations.
CEC was founded in 1959. It has offices in Geneva, Brussels and
Strasbourg.

For more information:
Conference of European Churches
Solidarity & Women's Desk
Rev. Dr. Eva-Sibylle Vogel-Mfato
Phone +41 22 791 62 34 or 791 64 69
Fax +41 22 791 62 27
E-mail: evm@cec-kek.org


Browse month . . . Browse month (sort by Source) . . . Advanced Search & Browse . . . WFN Home