News
The Pan- African Women’s Ecumenical Empowerment Network (PAWEEN) invites you to a breakfast conversation
The World Council of Churches, together with the Church of Norway and the Pan- African Women’s Ecumenical Empowerment Network (PAWEEN), invites you to a conversation among prominent women global ecumenical leaders focused on the question:
“Is there any chance today of effective two-way solidarity between Pan African and European ecumenical woman leaders?”
Come hear Bishop Helga Haugland Byfuglien of the Church of Norway, Dr. Angelique Walker-Smith, Convenor of PAWEEN, and Professor Mary Anne Plaatjies van Huffel, WCC President for Africa, share their hopes, concerns and vision. Ms Berit Hagen Agoey, General Secretary of the Church of Norway, hosts the discussion.
Date : Friday, 24 June 2016
Time : 08 :00 – 09 :00
Place : Hotel Scandic Nidelven, Trondheim
Room : Mollenberg
(Breakfast included)
The Pan African Women Ecumenical Empowerment Network (PAWEEN) was launched in 2015 to create a worldwide, vibrant chain of support and empowerment among women of African descent as one contribution to the World Council of Churches’ pilgrimage of justice and peace. The first milestone of the common journey was marked by an international consultation “Pan African Women of Faith: Lifting our Voices and Votes to end Hunger and Poverty” in Washington D.C, USA from 9 to 11 June 2016, an event underlining the global importance of engagement with Pan African women.
Bios
The Most Reverend Bishop Helga Haugland Byfuglien has been the presiding bishop of the Bishops’ Conference in the Church of Norway since 2011. She was ordained as a pastor in 1977 and has since held different positions within the Church of Norway. For four years she served as the Secretary General of the Norwegian YWCA/YMCA. In 2005 she was appointed Bishop of the Diocese of Borg in Norway. She has held a number of positions of trust. In 2010 she was elected Vice President of the Lutheran World Federation.
Dr Angelique Walker-Smith, Convenor of PAWEEN, is Senior Associate for Pan African and Orthodox Church Engagement with Bread for the World in Washington D.C., U.S.A and a member of the National Baptist Convention USA, Inc. Walker-Smith has extensive experience with the National Council of Churches U.S.A. and the World Council of Churches. She earned her master’s degree from Yale University Divinity School in 1983 and was the first African-American woman to graduate from the doctor of ministry program at Princeton Theological Seminary.
Professor Mary Anne Plaatjies van Huffel, a South African pastor and academic, was the first female minister to be ordained by a Dutch Reformed Church in Southern Africa. She is also the first woman to be elected as moderator of the General Synod of the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa (URCSA). She holds two Doctorates in Theology and is currently teaching Church Polity at the Stellenbosch University. Since 2013, she is one of eight presidents of the World Council of Churches General.
Ms Berit Hagen Agoey is the General Secretary of the Church of Norway’s Council on Ecumenical and International Relations since 2010. She is the Vice President of the Christian Council in Norway and a member of the World Council of Churches Reference Group, Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace. Berit is also a member of several inter-faith groups in Norway. She holds a masters degree in history with studies in Christianity and religion, Norwegian language and culture.
For information contact:
Ingeborg Dybvig, Church of Norway
email [email protected]
mobile +47 47481606
Kristine Greenaway, World Council of Churches
mobile : +1 416 837 8688
email : [email protected]
