wfn.org | WARC - Kenyan situation offers a case study on need for justice-building skills in churches

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

> World Alliance of Reformed Churches
> News Release
> 12 February 2010

Kenyan situation offers a case study on need for justice-building skills in churches

Violence in Kenya following elections in 2007 has become a case study
for a church-sponsored workshop in eastern Kenya designed to promote
peaceful and respectful relations between men and women in church and  society.

The workshop which focused on promoting equal and non-violent
relations between men and women was held in Eldoret, the city said to
have been the epi-centre of violence over contested election results
in December 2007.

Co-sponsored by the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) and the
World Council of Churches (WCC) in collaboration with St. Paulâ??s
University of Kenya, the event gathered 45 participants from around
the world for meetings February 3 ? 7 at a training centre run by the
Reformed Church of East Africa. Participants were testing a manual on
gender awareness for men. The manual encourages discussions of
violence, sexuality, and ministry in local contexts of culture,
religion, and socio-economic conditions.

Philip Vinod Peacock of India expressed appreciation for the local
case study. "The workshop on masculinity in Eldoret was a deeply
moving experience for me not only because it was in a community that
was ripped apart by violence but also because the workshop made
connections between the post-election violence and the issue of  masculinity."

The workshop on â??Men as Partners: Promoting Positive
Masculinitiesâ?? focused particularly on supporting the Reformed
Church of East Africa in creating equal opportunities for men and
women to serve the church. Participants included the churchâ??s
Moderator and former general secretary.

Kenyan participant, George Wahome Botto, noted, â??We appreciated the
open approach to what was expected to be a difficult subject ? one
which is not addressed by our churches. We are committed to move
forward with this agenda in our churches and men's fellowships."

The session in Kenya is the result of a series of nine regional
gatherings organized by WARC between 1998 and 2003 on gender awareness
and leadership development. Participants in the regional gatherings
recommended developing a manual for use in churches worldwide to
promote the development of attitudes and skills in men and women which
will contribute to reducing gender-based violence and to ensuring
equal treatment of women and men in churches and communities.

Fulata Mbano Moyo of Malawi, the WCC staff person responsible for
gender justice programmes, believes that workshop techniques such as
the study of biblical texts and personal stories were validated by the
meeting in Eldoret. â??These techniques raise aspects of healing for
community that not only struggle with gender justice but with justice
after the post-election violence.â??

WARCâ??s head of gender justice programming, Patricia
Sheerattan-Bisnauth, notes, "In many societies some men feel
marginalized and disempowered. Like women, men have been socialized
with deeply-held beliefs and values and have had to carry the weight
of societal expectations of being masculine. The Eldoret discussions
encouraged honest, mutually-respectful and faithful relationships."

The manual on promoting positive images of masculinity is expected to
be available from WARC and WCC in June 2010.

> ***

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:
> Kristine Greenaway
> 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

> email: kgr@warc.ch

> web: www.warc.ch