Call to African Churches to Embrace the Gift of Women in Leadership

Pastoral Letter to Church Leaders Insists on Firm Action on Women’s Ordination

ABUJA, Nigeria/GENEVA, 26 March 2010 (LWI) – Women church representatives attending The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Africa Pre-Assembly and Church Leadership Consultation, have called on LWF member churches on the continent to “embrace the gift of women in leadership” while at the same time “promoting inclusivity in all structures of governance.”

In their message presented to the pre-assembly today, the women expressed their conviction about the essential perspectives that women bring to the ordained and lay ministry, especially in an increasingly fractured world.

“We affirm the wholeness of God’s creation; whereby women are integrated within all structures of governance within church and society. Embracing full participation of women and men is a sign of continuous reformation and transformation of the church,” they said. “Women are responsible for the management of their homes and their children’s education, why not in society and the church?” they asked in their message presented at the 24-28 March meeting.

Affirming the message from the October 2009 LWF Women’s Pre-Assembly, they recommended that churches in the region take action also on the issues of human trafficking and food justice and that they continue work on HIV and AIDS, violence against women and children, human sexuality and gender justice.

The women pointed out that poverty in Africa “has a woman’s face,” citing its relationship to harmful cultural practices and traditions, prostitution, human and organ trafficking, child labor, forceful abandoning of the faith, and HIV and AIDS among other issues that require urgent attention from the churches.

They urged the churches to speak out publicly against human trafficking, as “too many women and children are leaving our villages, towns and cities, to be trafficked across our borders within the African continent as well as abroad, being exploited for cheap labor or as sex workers.” The church, they added, “is called to engage in advocacy and awareness programs and developing strategies in order to overcome ignorance and in denouncing the sin of human trafficking.”

Diverse interpretations and application of traditional African culture do not favor women in some parts of Africa, stated the pre-assembly women’s message. The women cited the case of women who are barred from inheriting or owning land, which consequently reduced the once cultivators and food producers to the level of buyers, thus perpetuating a cycle of dependency and poverty.

In a separate pastoral letter addressed to the African church leaders and all delegates to the pre-assembly, the women participants urged “you, our church leaders and bishops, to act in solidarity, encouraging women to take up leadership positions and listening to the female theologians in their call into the ordained ministry.”

They expressed appreciation for the LWF’s longstanding support for the equal participation of women and men in leadership. “We [are] greatly impressed by the expected 40 percent involvement of women, and wish to highlight that the upcoming Eleventh Assembly is a wonderful opportunity for our member churches in the region to mobilize and afford female church leaders an opportunity to attend as delegates.”

The pastoral letter underlined that “there are still voices of women in our region, crying for inclusivity within the church structures, leadership and in the ordained ministry. Women, who have been divinely called by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ are not afforded the opportunity to fully practice their calling.”

The letter was received officially by LWF vice president for the African region Bishop Dr Zephania Kameeta. It will be discussed in the small group sessions and then integrated into the final message from the Africa Pre-Assembly.

The 90 participants in the Africa pre-assembly include 70 delegates from the 31 LWF members in the region. “Give Us Today Our Daily Bread – The Church in Africa Today” is the theme of the gathering to prepare delegates for the July 2010 Eleventh Assembly in Stuttgart, Germany. (655 words)

Journey | Africa Pre-Assembly Consultation

26.03.2010

Call to African Churches to Embrace the Gift of Women in Leadership

Pastoral Letter to Church Leaders Insists on Firm Action on Women’s Ordination

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