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Dr Fulata Mbano-Moyo, the World Council of Churches (WCC) programme executive for Women in Church and Society, called on the movement of Christian students to reclaim its radical transforming nature towards a “pilgrimage of gender justice”.
The vision of a pilgrimage is inspired by the theme “pilgrimage of justice and peace” – promoted by the WCC Busan Assembly in 2013.
Moyo was speaking at the 35th Assembly of the World Student Christian Federation (WSCF), currently underway in Bogotá, Colombia, until 5 March.
There can be no peace if there is sexual and gender based violence, she said.
In her presentation titled “Discovering difference, effecting transformation: a postcolonial ecofeminist ethical perspective”, Moyo invited the assembly participants to “embrace the reality of shared vulnerability as interconnected and interdependent people”.
“This is probably the only way to radically transform a world where patriarchal hegemony colonizes all aspects of life - drugging everyone to live the façade,” she said.
Moyo encouraged the WSCF members to “embrace difference as an expression of being many”. “This is the way to get a glimpse into the mysteries of God, who created the universe in all its rich diversity. This is a compassionate God, who through Jesus Christ chose vulnerability as a way of inviting us into a relationship of love and honesty,” she said.
Moyo went on to say that contrary to how Christianity has often presented God as a patriarchal hegemonic disciplinarian, “God’s choice of creating us with free will reveals a God whose heart risked a love relationship, not an imperialistic manipulation”.
“The current economical, ecological crisis and violence could be turned into an opportunity to take a deep look into our difference and unite our varied resources to dismantle patriarchal hegemony that uses all of us but benefits only a few manipulators,” said Moyo.
“No need to pretend: let us be ourselves in all our vulnerability together so that we take our place on this journey of building God’s peace rooted in justice,” she added.
