World Alliance of Reformed Churches News Release 7 September 2007
When women lead: the Sylvia Michel Prize
A prize supporting women as leaders in the worldwide family of Reformed churches has been launched by the Reformed Church of Argovia in Switzerland in partnership with the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC).
The Sylvia Michel Prize was established to honour the first president of the Reformed Church of Argovia. Michel was the first woman to hold such a position in a Swiss cantonal church. She was ordained in 1964 and became the first woman to lead a Swiss Reformed congregation.
Michel was a pastor for many years in both Ammerswil and Bremgarten and in the 1970s hosted a Swiss television show, Sunday World. She has served on the Council of the Federation of Swiss Protestant Churches and represented it at WARC's 21st General Council in Ottawa.
"In thankful commemoration of her pioneer work and for the competence with which women sustain and lead churches, the Sylvia Michel Prize wants to encourage women also in other countries and churches to be in leading positions and to promote them on this important way for the churches," the Church of Argovia said.
A prize of U.S. $5,000 will be awarded every two years to an organization or individual working to promote women as leaders, encourage women to assume leadership positions or investigate inequality between men and women in leadership positions in Reformed churches around the world.
A jury consisting of the women presidents of Reformed churches in Switzerland and the executive secretary of WARC's Office for Church Renewal, Justice and Partnership, will review entries for the prize.
"The Sylvia Michel Prize honours an outstanding groundbreaker among women leaders in Switzerland's Reformed churches and allows WARC to work in a creative and collaborative way on its ongoing efforts to advance women in leadership and to promote the partnership of women and men in the church," said Patricia Sheerattan-Bisnauth of WARC.
The deadline for submissions for the 2008 Sylvia Michel Prize is 31 August 2008.
For further information, contact the Reformed Church of Argovia at gender@ref-aargau.ch or WARC at crjp@warc.ch and go to http://www.warc.ch/documents/APPFORM.doc for complete prize details and the entry form.
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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
More about WARC : http://www.warc.ch/newsreleases/visibility.doc
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