News Release: Women from 10 churches in the South receive WARC scholarships
World Alliance of Reformed Churches News Release 20 June 2007
"Laurent Schneller" <lsc@warc.ch
Women from 10 churches in the South receive WARC scholarships
Eleven women from the Pacific, Latin America, Africa and Asia have received scholarship awards worth more than 80,000 Swiss Francs as part of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) support for women in the South studying for the ordained ministry.
In announcing the awards on 20 June, WARC said that the ordination of women remains a priority for the Reformed group because it is a significant step both in their advancement as leaders in the church and in the building of partnership between men and women.
"Theological education is a rare opportunity for many women in the South," said Patricia-Sheerattan-Bisnauth, executive secretary of the WARC Office for Church Renewal, Justice and Partnership.
"The Scholarship Fund is highly appreciated for reaching the grassroots in churches and for making theological studies accessible to women who are breaking new ground in their churches," she added.
The women supported by WARC's Theological Education Scholarship Fund for Women in the South in 2007 range in age from 25 to 41.
They come from 10 churches: the Congregational Christian Church in American Samoa; Ekalesia Kelisiano Tuvalu; the Kiribati Protestant Church; the United Church in the Solomon Islands; Iglesia Presbiteriana de Colombia; Iglesia Reformada Calvinista de El Salvador; Iglesia Evangélica Valdense en el Rio de la Plata, Uruguay; the Church of North India, Mumbai Diocese; the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Togo; and the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian, Zambia.
The scholarship recipients expressed deep desire to serve the church as ordained ministers even while the challenges remain significant.
"I really wanted to be there for those who need spiritual advice, especially teenagers and women, to give them courage, especially to strengthen their hope in our Lord Jesus Christ," said Faailo Eliesa Pasefika of Tuvalu.
"I would like to be there for those who need help in anything concerning their lives, especially women. At last, there will be a female pastor for them to talk to freely."
Pasefika is one of the first women to study in the Diploma in Theology programme at Kanana Fou Theological Seminary in Samoa and will be one of the first women to be ordained by Ekalesia Kelisiano Tuvalu.
Since launching the Scholarship Fund in 2001, WARC has supported 49 women from Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America and the Pacific, providing scholarships worth 339,000 Swiss Francs. The fund is supported by agencies, churches and individuals.
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The World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) brings together 75 million Reformed Christians in 214 churches in 107 countries - united in their commitment to making a difference in a troubled world. The WARC general secretary is Rev. Dr. Setri Nyomi of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana. WARC's secretariat is based in Geneva, Switzerland.
Contact: John P. Asling Executive Secretary, Communications World Alliance of Reformed Churches 150 Route de Ferney P.O. Box 2100 1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland tel. +41.22 791 6243 fax: +41.22 791 6505 web: www.warc.ch