Event

Pan African Women of Faith “Third Thursdays Webinar Series on the Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace”

In five episodes held on the third Thursday of each month beginning in November, the webinars will explore the following themes: “Answering the Ancestral Call of Legacy and Leadership,” “The Healing in Our Lament,” “Hope: Unity Within Diversity,” “The Celebration in Transformation,” and “Resurrection: The Diakonia at Work in the World Today.”

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PAWEEN webinar series

The purpose of the Pan African Women of Faith webinar series is to provide an ecumenical and interfaith educational tool of intergenerational lectures. These lectures will be four 90-mintues webinar episodes that will highlight and demonstrate the uniqueness and individuality of a community’s canon while including the Pan African Woman’s (PAW) context.

The inclusion of both the respective Canon and African culture and tradition (connected culture of the diaspora and experiences) will be the foundation of each episode. Each episode will illustrate how PAW have a cannon within this community based on the stories and experience that connect us with a holistic Pan-African approach vis a vis our head, heart and Spirit.

Episode V

Episode V: Reimaging the Future Pt. II

18 March, 7:30 - 8:15 EST (12:30 - 13:15 GMT)

In memoriam to Rev.  Robina Marie Winbush and Rev. Dr. Mary‐Anne Plaatjies van Huffel

Speakers:

Rev. Reza-Astrid Fourie, Stellenbosch University, South Africa

Rev. Dr Karen Georgia Thomson, United Church of Christ, USA

Rev. Nicole Ashwood, WCC Just Community of Women and Men, Switzerland

Registration: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwtc-ugpjgrH9ACOWacHZRztIFtm1fxAbSo

 

Check below for information about episodes I - IV

Episode IV: Reimaging the Future, Pt. I – February 18, 2021 - 7:30 (ET), 12:30 (GMT), 13:30 (CET)



Speakers:

The Reverend Dr. Marjorie Lewis is the Chaplain and Dean of the Manning Memorial Chapel at Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. She is a member of the Jamaican Cultural Association of Nova Scotia (JCANS). She is a Practical Theologian and United Church Minister.  Her previous experience includes being a Chaplain to hospitals Nova Scotia, and the first woman to be appointed President of the United Theological College of the West Indies (UTCWI).  Her accomplishments include international experience as a researcher, having published in peer reviewed journals and co-authored and co-edited books on racial justice and Black Theology. She is known for her seminal work in developing Nannyish T’eology, her nomenclature for Caribbean womanist theology.  Dr. Lewis has been a Lecturer in theological education and formation programmes in the Caribbean, Britain the USA and Canada.  Her career has included work in congregational ministry, individual and group spiritual care, ministerial formation, secondary and tertiary education, ecumenical relations and community development. With a passion for civic engagement, Dr. Lewis has served in the past as Chair or member of governmental committees and Boards of educational and other Jamaican institutions. She currently participates in professional organizations such as the Canadian Association for Spiritual Care (CASC), and has membership in organizations and groups including the World Council of Churches (WCC) Reference Group on Human Sexuality, the WCC’s Pan African Women’s Ecumenical Empowerment Network (PAWEEN), the Jamaica Council for Interfaith Fellowship (JCIF), the Jamaica Women’s Political Caucus and Caribbean Women Theologians for Transformation (CWTT). She is a member of the Editorial Board of Black Theology: An International Journal.



Dr. Kimberly Lymore: Associate Convener of the Black Catholic Theological Symposium-US and Pastoral Associate at St. Sabina Catholic Church in Chicago

In 2000, Kimberly Lymore left Corporate America for full-time ministry as the Pastoral Associate at The Faith Community of St. Sabina, which is known for its social justice activism under the pastorate of Rev. Michael L. Pfleger. She is responsible for the sacramental preparation of children and adults and the team leader for Eucharistic Ministers. Kimberly is the Director of the Augustus Tolton Pastoral Ministry Program at Catholic Theological Union (CTU) and the Associate Convener of the Black Catholic Theological Symposium. Kimberly received her Master of Divinity with a concentration in Word and Worship from CTU in 2003. In 2009, she received her Doctor of Ministry from McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago. Her thesis article was titled, “God Doesn’t Tilt: Making the Connection Between Worship and Justice.” She is a preacher, professor, retreat, and workshop facilitator. Her goal is to be obedient to the purpose God preordained for her life.



Marilia Alves Schüller, an African-Brazilian Methodist, has a bachelor’s degree in theology and a master’s degree in social sciences and religion, is a former WCC’s Programme to Combat Racism staff, now a retired missionary of Global Ministries of UMC that served at KOINONIA Ecumenical Presence and Service, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Moderator:



Dr Fulata L. Moyo is a trained mediator, resource developer and a Viktor Frankl’s Logotherapy student with specialization in active listening techniques for mediation and trauma healing that acknowledge the importance of women’s narrative. She is a member of the Community Voices in Peace and Pluralism in Africa (CVPPA); the Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians; and the Board of Life and Peace Institute (LPI). She is the Vice President of the AfriAus iLEAC Inc board. She has researched and published widely mainly in gender and religion.  She is a founder of STREAM, a USA registered NGO responding to sex-trafficking through the accompaniment and mentorship of survivors. She is a former World Council of Churches staff (2007-2019). She earned a PhD in Human Sciences from University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa with a focus in ethics, gender and religion (2009). 

Episode III: Lament, Hope, and the Bible – Jan 21, 2021

7:30 ET (12:30 GMT)

Speakers:

Rev. Robin Joynes: public theology research engages intersections of faith, spiritual belief, spiritual practice and the direct correlation of these values on public policy, women’s issues and sustainable governance in the USA. She is founding director of Daughters of Faith Network, an FBO focused on spiritual renewal and justice advocacy. Currently, Robin is a doctoral student at San Francisco Theological Seminary. She is also a contributor to the Ecumenical Review Journal October, 2019 edition focused on PAWEEN/PAW.

Rev. Dr. Isabel Phiri: African theologian, renowned academic and ecumenist Prof. Dr Isabel Apawo Phiri is the Deputy General Secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC) in Geneva, Switzerland. A Malawian by nationality, Apawo Phiri was a professor of African theology, dean and head of the School of Religion, Philosophy and Classics, and director of the Centre for Constructive Theology at the University of KwaZulu Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. She also served as editor of the Journal of Gender and Religion in Africa. She is also a contributor to the Ecumenical Review Journal October, 2019 edition focused on PAWEEN/PAW.

Rev. Dr. Lydia Mwaniki (PhD): Director for Gender, Women and Youth at the All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC), before which she was a lecturer at St Paul’s University, Kenya. She is a Postcolonial Feminist Scholar with a PhD in Theology and Gender from the University of Kwazulu Natal, SA and an Anglican Priest in Kenya. Dr. Mwaniki’s exceptional contribution to church and society as a scholar and astute advocacy in gender justice in Africa, received recognition by the Archbishop of Canterbury through The Lanfranc Award for Education and Scholarship on June 30th2020 https://www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/news/latest-news/archbishop-canterbury-announces-2020-lambeth-awards-recipients . She is also a contributor to the Ecumenical Review Journal October, 2019 edition focused on PAWEEN/PAW.

Moderator:

Revd Dr Rachele (Evie) Vernon O’Brien is a former Theological Advisor and Programmes Manager for the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel) in London, England. Founded in 1701, USPG partners churches and communities worldwide in God’s mission to enliven faith, strengthen relationships, unlock potential and champion justice. We believe that ecological justice and our relationship with the world- and with each other- are critical as we look to engage in mission today. She currently has a role with Catholics for AIDS Protection and Support. She is also a contributor to the Ecumenical Review Journal October, 2019 edition focused on PAWEEN/PAW.

Episode II: The Healing in Our Lament

December 17, 2020

Speakers

Dr. (Ts'gye Maryam) Rachel Titilayo Leslie: Scholar of Religion in Africa. Associate Editor in Chief of Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Encyclopedia.

Dr. Ericka Elion: North America Governing Board of the Pan African Women’s Ecumenical Empowerment Network. She is a member of the State of the African Diaspora Parliamentary North American Cabinet. She has studied globally in ecumenical and interfaith environments and served in the United States Navy as a Cryptologic Technician.

Rev. Merlyn Riley: Ordained Minister of the Jamaica Baptist Union. She is the Immediate Past President of the Jamaica Council of Churches and Associate General Secretary of the Jamaica Baptist Union. A theologian, ecumenist and gender specialist with particular concern for vulnerable and marginalized people.

Moderator:

Rev. Dionne Boissiere

Chaplain of the Church Center for the United Nations (CCUN) and is the first woman of African Descent to hold this position in the history of this New York ecumenical and inter-faith landmark. 

Episode I: Legacy and LeadershipNovember 19, 2020 



Speakers: 

Dr Agnes Abuom, moderator of the WCC central committee

Rev. Ofelia Ortega, Presbyterian Church of Cuba

Prof. Dr Esther Mombo, 
vice-moderator of the WCC Commission of Ecumenical Education and Formation



Moderator/Overview:

Rev. Dr Angelique Walker-Smith