wfn.org | WARC - Scholarships help women prepare for ordination

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

> World Alliance of Reformed Churches
> News Release
> 9 June 2008

Scholarships help women prepare for ordination

Nine women from Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Pacific have
been awarded scholarships from the World Alliance of Reformed
Churches (WARC) to help them prepare for the ordained ministry in
their churches.

In announcing the awards on 9 June, Patricia

Sheerattan-Bisnauth, executive secretary of the Office for Church
Renewal, Justice and Partnership, said that the ordination of
women is a priority of the family of Reformed churches and a
significant step in the advancement of women in the church.

This yearâ??s scholarship winners include:

> - Emilienne Netom of Cameroon, 42;
> - Missie Kananji of Malawi, 23;
> - Romina Anabella Dubs of Argentina, 27;
> - Flora Carolina Fuentes de Aguilar of El Salvador, 44;
> - Lima Tura of the Solomon Island, 27;
> - Lilian Tanaqu of the Solomon Islands, 32;
> - Nakho Hlovy of India, 20.

Support will be provided for one more woman from Malawi to be
named by her church.

Since launching the Theological Education Scholarship Fund for
Women in the South in 2001, WARC has supported nearly 60 women
from Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America and the Pacific,
providing scholarships worth more than 400,000 Swiss Francs.

It is supported by agencies, churches and individuals.

â??The scholarship fund has been well received and is seen as
another opportunity for discussion on the role and place of women
in the church,â?? Sheerattan-Bisnauth said. â??It has been  highly
appreciated for reaching the grassroots in churches and for
making theological studies accessible to women who are breaking
new ground in their churches.â??

The fund has had significant impact on WARCâ??s member churches,
especially in the recognition of women in ministry,
Sheerattan-Bisnauth added. WARC also accompanies women in
ministry through solidarity visits, advocacy, training and
networking.

The scholarship fund is one of the projects in WARCâ??s gender,
power and leadership work, which envisions a radical,
revolutionary and transformative process as a necessity to
unravelling power based on patriarchy and dismantling its systems
and structures.

â??The current ethics of dominance and control, in which many
leaders prosper and find their power, are detrimental to the
quality of life, not only for women but also for the majority of
men and for communities as a whole,â?? Sheerattan-Bisnauth said.

WARCâ??s Gender Justice network is currently developing a global
study on gender, power and leadership, which will look at reading
the Bible, globalization, cultural identity, leadership, as well
as racial and ethnic identity.

â??The aim is to challenge leadership based on a
domination/subjugation model of power and to explore liberating,
empowering and participatory models of leadership as well as
addressing the gap between women and men in leadership
positions.â??

> ***

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