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What have we achieved in building a just community of women and men?
What must we still do?
How can we strengthen ecumenical collaboration in reading the signs of our times in order to map the future direction of our work?
The World Council of Churches (WCC) fellowship and ecumenical partners will gather in an inter-generational setting seeking answers to these questions through a global consultation in Jamaica, 2-5 October, that commemorates the 20th anniversary of the Decade of the Churches in Solidarity with Women.
The event, hosted by the Jamaica Council of Churches, will be held in the context of the WCC’s 70th anniversary, its ongoing Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace, and the 2030 United Nations Sustainable Development Agenda.
By the end of the gathering, participants will share a vision statement for moving towards a just community of women and men in church and society.
The consultation will focus its activities around ‘celebrating the gifts’, ‘visiting the wounds’ and ‘transforming injustices’ in the relationships between women and men in the church since 1998.
Throughout the meeting, participants will highlight the four priority topics for the decade: violence against women in its various forms, women’s full and creative participation in the life of the church, the global economic crisis and its effect on women, and racism and xenophobia and their specific impact on women.
Participants will also take stock of how Thursdays in Black, a campaign seeking a world without rape and violence, has spread to member churches and the wider society. Speakers will share narratives of resilience and resistance from Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Palestine, South Africa, , South Korea, Japan, and North America.
The agenda also includes “pilgrimage visits” to local institutions in Jamaica addressing issues of masculinities and femininities, including Eve for Life and the Women Resource Outreach Centre.
Commemoration of the 20th Anniversary of the Ecumenical Decade of Churches in Solidarity with Women
