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Women in church and society: challenges and hopes

This project offers women from different Christian traditions, regions and age groups an opportunity to speak out and share their visions so that they might contribute to society,  the ecumenical movement and the search for unity.

With an accent on advocacy on behalf of women, it offers a space for creative dialogue between women's diverse voices and experiences across regions and denominations, and enables women to challenge the churches on priority concerns affecting their daily lives. This is done in close collaboration with other WCC work on issues like women and economic justice, violence against women and children, and women in a religiously plural world.

Meetings within the scope of this project included for example a November 2007 gathering of women representatives of regional ecumenical organizations to plan the continuation of work on violence against women, reflect on the WCC's coordinating role in regard to women and inter-religious dialogue, women under racism and women and economic justice; this meeting will also reflect on a methodology for dialogue among women of various traditions, regions and ages.

Letter to the Eighth Assembly of the World Council of Churches from the women and men of the Decade Festival of the Churches in Solidarity with Women
Message from the women gathered at the Ecumenical Centre, Geneva, Switzerland 16-21 March 2002 at a consultation on "Peace with Justice: Women Speak Out!", jointly organised by the World Council of Churches, the Lutheran World Federation, the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, and the Conference of European Churches
This dossier lifts up a sampling of examples from materials received by the WCC to tell the world that the churches and communities of Christians and others do care and are acting with determination and conviction to overcome violence against women and children.

 
Related publications

With Love and With Passion - Women's Life and Work in the Worldwide Church

Barbara Robra, Elisabeth Raiser - Inspired by an exhibition in Harare, Zimbabwe, in 1998, which ended the Ecumenical Decade of the Churches in Solidarity with Women, this book picks up its key themes and images to make them available to readers worldwide.