About Gender-Based Violence

Since a number of years, I participated in the World Council of Churches campaign:

Thursdays in Black

A global movement for a world without rape and violence.

This means that I dress in black every Thursdays and that I try to influence others to also participate in the fight against Gender-Based Violence.

This morning, I led an online prayer session that the United Bible Society holds the first Thursday every month. In the prayer meeting I mentioned this as a prayer concern. Present was our Secretary General, Dirk Gevers, who lives in South Africa. He then mentioned that South Africa has classified violence against women a national disaster. When I read about this on BBC it says that an online campaign has led to this stance:

Women were urged to "withdraw from the economy for one day", and lie down for 15 minutes at 12:00 local time (10:00 GMT) in honour of the 15 females who are murdered in the country every day.

When we lived in South Africa we saw how widely spread this scourge was. It gives me hope that women are raising their voices

We are in the middle of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence which is a UN campaign from 25 November (International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women) to 10 December (Human Rights Day).

If you have an opportunity to raise your voice – please do so!

World Assembly – day 1

For the first time I have chance to attend the World Assembly of the United Bible Societies. The Swedish Bible Society belongs to this worldwide fellowship with around 150 other Bible Societies. The meeting is held in the Netherlands, north of Amsterdam in a village named Egmond aan Zee. Today I took a walk on the beach. Very windy but nice.

The vice chairperson of the Swedish Bible Society, Karin Wiborn and I form the Swedish delegation. Officially. But my colleague, Lotta Ring, is also here. She is our fundraiser and communication officer, and she takes the opportunity to network with people, since almost every Bible Society in the world is present. Sadly, not all are here. For instance, the Israeli, Arab-Israeli, and Palestinian Bible Societies could not make it. Also, from some other conflict zones, people have not managed to travel. This is so unfortunate, and we really miss them. This fact speaks directly to the theme of the Assembly:

God’s word: Reconciliation for the world.

This was really the theme of one of this morning’s programmes. One of the invited guests, Jerry Pillay, who is the General Secretary of the World Council of Churches, spoke about reconciliation. He stressed that there will be no reconciliation without justice. Jerry Pillay is from South Africa. Just like the Secretary General of the United Bible Society, Dirk Gevers. They are both from the Presbyterian Church and they know one another since there theological studies. The conversation they had this morning took us back to the apartheid era in South Africa. Jerry Pillay is Indian and Dirk Gevers is white. This means that they, in the 1980s, lived totally different lives. Today they can describe one another as friends. This gives hope. Change is possible.

Today an anthology was also launched. A collaboration between
the United Bible Society and the World Council of Churches.
The book is edited by Rosalee Velliso Ewell and she handed
over copies to Dirk Gevers and Jerry Pillay.

We also listened to Michel Kenmogne from Cameroon. He is the executive director of SIL, which is another organisation working with Bible translation. He was talking about Bible Justice. The way he showed that language minorities often are marginalised also in many other ways, was convincing.

Another guest was David Cárdenas from Wycliffe Global Alliance. His contribution was about collaboration between organisation that receive funds and organisation that donate funds. It was about the legacy of colonisation and the possibility of showing one another respect and build relationships of trust. He spoke in Spanish, and this meant that all of us who are used to listen to speakers who speak in English had to use the devices with translation. It is much more difficult to follow a speaker that way. But a good experience.

After the session on collaboration, I had a short conversation with my colleagues from Ghana. We support a literacy project in Ghana with funds from Sida, which is the Swish state aid agency. We could speak openly about our relation, and I asked them how they experienced our project visit last month. I trust that we have the same experience that our relationship is built on mutual trust and respect. It is nevertheless good to verbalise that.

The General Secretary of the Bible Society of Ghana, John Kwesi Addo Jr,
their Board Chair Daniel Sylvanus Mensah Torto and an emerging leader,
Catherine Naa Adjeley Odjidja together with me in the conversation.

Between the different sessions we eat and share fellowship with one another. I really get to meet so many interesting people. It is so valuable to be here.

Dr Agnes Aboum

Dr Agnes greats the German State President, Frank-Walter Steinmeier,
at the 11th General Assembly of the World Council of Churches, in 
Karlsruhe i Germany in 2022. (Photo: Albin Hillert, WCC).

Yesterday Dr Agnes Aboum, former moderator of the World Council of Churches, died. She was 73 years. Such a loss for the ecumenical movement. She was elected moderator at the 1oth General Assembly in Busan, South Korea, on 2013 and she resigned last year, at the 11th General Assembly in Karlsruhe in Germany.

She was born in northwest Kenya in a family with four brothers. She came to Sweden in 1976, learned Swedish and earned a doctorate in missiology.

We met a couple of times. Both in Busan and in Karlsruhe. I remember Dr Agnes as a strong leader who at the same time was humble. As a moderator of the WCC you need to be firm. In Karlsruhe there was a priest who had talked several times in the plenary. When he raised his card for yet another comment, Dr Agnes told him, mildly, that he had spoken enough and that she must allow others to get a chance. If my memory serves me well, I think he sat down and smiled.

The World Council of Churches has issued a press release with more information.

After her return to Kenya last year she was appointed as a lay canon of the Anglican Church of Kenya. On Youtube she speaks about this and says:

It is a new chapter in my spiritual pilgrimage of justice and peace.

This pilgrimage has now come to its goal. May she rest in peace!

More Thursdays in Black ambassadors are needed

The last three years I have been a Thursdays in Black ambassador. This means that I dress in black every Thursday and use different channels to spread the message that we must continue to fight against gender-based violence. The vision is a world without rape and violence. There is a long way to go. But we must continue the struggle.

Last week the board of The Christian Council of Sweden and the board of the Swedish Mission Council met at the Ecumenical Centre in Alvik, Stockholm. Since it was a Thursday and also in the period that is called the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence it was natural to ask all board members to get dressed in black. I spoke to most of the people and felt that they support this campaign.

Now, the WCC starts a new program period after a General Assembly. This means that some Ambassadors will end their period and others will join. Therefore, it is also time to nominate new ambassadors. Read more via this link.

It is an honour to be part of this team. We have regular meetings on zoom and one example of our work are the online Bible studies that are published on the Website of the WCC. Please read more via this link. Sometimes we also hold online Bible Studies with participants from the whole globe.

Final day at the Assembly

Mission and ecumenism form parts of the same movement. In this post I would like to take my point of departure in five concepts that historically has been part of the mission of the church. They are all translations of Greek concepts (in brackets). I am sure there could be other, possible translations.

Communion (koinonia)

The Ecumenical movement has to do with communion – or fellowship. To meet totally unknown persons and become close friends in short time is fantastic. Of course, it also happens in other ecumenical spaces (or other contexts outside the ecumenical movement, for that sake). Nevertheless, it is a blessing. I return back to my home having shared life and deep conversations with so many different people. And not only with people that I agree with. I could give examples but that would reproduce a feeling of otherness. My point is that I have realised that “the other” is my neighbour and even friend. This is one of the aspects of the WCC General Assembly that has been and is important to me.

Proclamation (kerygma)

This is usually connected to the proclamation of the Gospel. If have listened to a few sermons but the Word of God has also been preached through drama and in other ways. This is still not the most striking part of the Assembly. Most of the talking take place in the form of conversations and speeches.

It could be said that all the Bible studies are part of proclamation, but the methodology is much more a kind of sharing than somebody proclaiming the Christian message. In that sense, Bible studies and group conversations could also be explained as a part of koinonia.

Service (diakonia)

Service to one another takes place at the assembly. All the young stewards are part of that. They work long hours to make everything function. And they work well. I got to know some of them. One I already knew from before. Rebecka Folkesten (in the photo). Thank you so much!

Personally, I belonged to the Pastoral Care team, but I was only assigned to two shifts. I know that our group made a difference at the Assembly.

One aspect of diakonia also finds its way into several resolutions, minutes, and messages. The WCC urges its member churches as well as all Christians to serve one another, all human beings, and the whole creation. The Church is part of God’s mission (Missio Dei) and this means that it (we) is sent to this broken world. The most urgent form of diakonia that is needed and long overdue is for us as humans to understand that we have to serve the whole creation and not to act out of greed as masters, which we have done and still are doing. Especially the youth demanded action in this respect.

Witness (martyria)

Sometimes the Church needs to witness in such a way that it might lead to persecution. Many member churches are experiencing this and therefore the Assembly spoke out to several situations. The war in Ukraine is one example. But the document about the illegal invasion of Ukraine was according to me rather weak. I wonder why? I understand that the Russian Orthodox Church is one of the largest member churches, if not the largest and the dialogue with them is important. But to me the document sounds as if both sides are to blame.

Another document that became weaker than I would have hoped for was the resolution about the Middle East. But in this case the plight of Palestinian Christians is at least recognised in a more direct way.

Other situations where Christians are suffering are in Nagorno Karabach, West Papua, Armenia and Syria, just to give some examples of contents that the Assembly has issued statements about.

But the Assembly also spoke out about gender justice, justice for people living with disabilities, human rights for indigenous people and the situation of the youth. But there are also groups that are muted at the assembly. To talk about human sexuality and the experiences of LGBTI people is still something that the Assembly shies away from. This is very problematic. We sing in the morning devotion that all are welcome but not all are.

Liturgy and worship (leitourgia)

This is one of the most beautiful parts of the Assembly but also one of the most hurtful. Eucharist is at the heart of Christian worship but cannot be shared since several member churches don’t buy into that form of ecumenism. Those churches regard shared Eucharist as the expression of Church unity, not as part of the journey towards church unity.

Having said this there is a lot of sharing taking place. Especially morning devotions have been filled with wonderful expressions from almost every corner of the earth. So many languages, so many church traditions represented, so many cultures. Indeed, an enriching experience.

Conclusion

If I am to sum up this experience, I am more than satisfied. Deeply grateful and inspired. Not all has been good. But being fortunate to attend an Assembly is a huge encouragement.

Heaven on earth

The morning prayers at the Assembly are well prepared and well thought through. There is a book with all the songs, and they really represent the whole worldwide church. In front there are so many different persons leading us. Regardless of gender, faith tradition, age, or other variations. We are children of God in unity. The woman that worshipped next to me said what I had already thought.

This is heaven on earth.

It is of course sad that we cannot share Eucharist. Be this as it may, we still praise God together, we listen to the Word, we lament, and we turn to God in prayer for this broken world.

Having said this, I need to stop and deepen the analysis. Since we cannot share Eucharist in this ecumenical space, we don't reach the profound unity that Jesus prayed for the night before his death. I lament this.

When I reflect on other spaces I lament even more. Nominations yesterday were depressing. Less young people are nominated to the central committee, less laity and I guess maybe also less women. We are moving in the wrong direction.

What is it that we don't understand? We read from Galatians 3:23-29 in the morning prayer:

There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.

And a fantastic drama over the text about the Canaanite woman, from Matthew 15:21-28. The text was not read but it was there to be understood for us that a woman approached Jesus and Jesus changed his mind and listened to her prayer.

The Canaanite women makes Jesus listen.

It is hopeful and at the same time troublesome. But the singing together still gives me more hope than despair. We sang so many songs but I especially remember the short chorus with the text

Act justly

Love mercy

Walk humbly

With your God 

After the morning devotion the Thematic plenary followed with the theme:

Affirming Justice and Human Dignity

Different persons representing people with disabilities, women, youth and racialised people were talking.

The best part, however, was a dance. Fadi El Halabi from Lebanon sits in a wheelchair. But he danced with Karen Abou Nader who is an international dancer. Have a look at it. You won’t regret it. It starts 23.30 into the YouTube clip.

I was also glad that Samson Waweru Njoki - who is blind - made a comment on yesterdays Bible text about the blind man whom Jesus cured. Samson asked the question about who needs to have his or her sight back?

The drama from the morning prayer continued. I was proud to see a number of my friends from A Just Community of Women and Men acting. The whole plenary also ended with the words from the song:

Act justly

Love mercy

Walk humbly

With your God

The drama included a journalist who asked questions and summarised
the impact of the encounter between the Canaanite woman,
who was given a name: "Justa" and Jesus.

Talanua

This morning started with a Talanua dialogue. I quote from Wikipedia:

The Talanoa Dialogue is based on the Pacific concept of “talanoa” - storytelling that leads to consensus-building and decision-making. The process is designed to allow for participants to share their stories in an open and inclusive environment, devoid of blame, in the hopes that others can learn and benefit from their ideas and experiences.

The theme of the Plenary was

Affirming the wholeness of life

A number of people were invited to the conversation. It was moderated by Tara Tautari from New Zealand. The others were: Iemaima Jennifer Vaai from Samoa, Ruth Mathen from India, Jocabed Solano from Panama, Gideon Byamugisha from Uganda and Rudelmar Bueno de Faria from Barazil. What a rich representation from different parts of the globe. And the sharing also became rich.

It all started with the Bible text of the day, from John 9 about how Jesus heals a blind person. It would have been helpful if one of the blind persons who are at the Assembly had been asked to share their story about how they interpret this text. Maybe the organisers had asked somebody, I do not know. But I missed that perspective.

Ruth Mathen speaking at the preassembly.
Photo: Albin Hillert/WCC

Let me share only a few things from the Talanua. I know one of the persons and that is Ruth Mathen. She is a charismatic and brilliant young feminist from India. Read more about her via this link. We worked together in the preassembly of a just community of women and men. And we are also together in the Ecumenical Conversation on Gender Justice.

Ruth said a few things that stayed with me. She spoke about the uncomfortable compassion of Christ. Not only compassion but the kind of compassion that is costly. And she spoke vividly about greed. How this is a poison that causes so much hurt in the world. So, there is a need for repentance – metanoia – on a personal, a communal, a social and an institutional lever.

When we shared our thoughts in the home group afterwards our smaller group agreed that this was profound. We need to understand that we cannot just show some sort of artificial compassion. If we want to be change makers, we need to be uncomfortable. Both in relation to the vulnerable in our midst but also in relation to the creation. It’s time to put an end to greed.

Christ’s love is for all

The probably strongest message today was delivered by a Muslim. Professor Azza Karam is the Secretary General of Religions for Peace International. She was the quest of the General Assembly and was invited to the podium to give a greeting. She compared religious leaders to political leaders. And her point was that religious leaders have more power than political leaders.

Then she made a plea to all the Christian leaders present in the big conference hall. A plea that they should extend their love to all human beings. And she became very particular when she stated said:

I believe as a Muslim that Christ’s love was meant for all.

Of course she alluded to the Assembly theme:

Christ’s love moves the world to reconciliation and unity.

This is not easy. Some Christians live under great pressure. I have spoken to Church Leaders from Nigeria telling me about how it is to live close to Boko Haram. Or to Church leaders in India whose congregations consists of mostly Dalits. Or just look at my own context in Sweden. Today Muslims are blamed for many things when parliamentarians don’t differ between Islam and Islamism. White supremacy is the order of the day. When racism is allowed in society, sexism will come suit. And it goes on. Discrimination of persons, that don’t fit the hetero norm comes after that. I could mention other groups of people.

So, it takes a Muslim woman to come and tell us that Christ’s love was meant for all.

The rest of the first plenary was about the war in Ukraine. Also, very important. Hopefully the WCC can be a space where Christians in Russia and Ukraine can deepen their dialogue.

I also want to say something about the voice of the young delegates and participants. They are literally shouting for Climate Justice. Adults like me need to hear this cry. Also a Professor Mathew Koshy Punnackadu, leader of the Department of Ecological Concerns in the Church of South India was clear when he made a comment about the parable about the good Samaritan. The man who was attacked by the robbers is the soil, the water, and the trees, he said. It is not only other humans that are our neighbours. Food for thoughts.

No to exploitation

Today the start of the Season of Creation and Thursdays in Black were in focus at the 11^th Assembly of the WCC. There are several links between those two concerns. Usually combined in ecofeminism, which points to the fact that those (we?) who are in power – in this patriarchal world – exploits the earth in the same way as they (we?) exploit women. The earth is often referred to as Mother Earth.

The morning prayer was beautiful. Especially when representatives from the eight regions of WCC had brought water to the Assembly and came with the water in different forms of jars and poured into a bowl. I was especially moved by the women from Middle East. I know how scars the water resource is in that part of the world.

In the first plenary the moderator, Dr Agnes Aboum, interviewed to young delegates. One of them was Julia Rensberg from the Swedish part of Sápmi. She came well prepared. But she speaks in a very gentle way. Nevertheless, her message was crystal clear. Indigenous people have seen the effects of climate change for a long time. In Sápmi the rise of the temperature has already reached 3 degrees centigrade. I hope that a strong dedication will come out of this Assembly.

After the plenary I went to a place where a huge tapestry is placed. It is part of the Thursdays in Black campaign. Together with other ambassadors for Thursdays in Black I was there because a photo was planned to be taken. Hopefully we can do much more in Sweden in the coming years.

Patriarchal structures and mindset lead to exploitation of women (and other humans). I lead to exploitation of indigenous people and of Mother Earth. Let’s say no to that.

Photo by Mike DuBose/WCC

Please read about the tapestry and the stories behind the different pieces of art. They are available at the wesite of the World Council of Churches. The link is here.

Three strong voices at the WCC Assembly

Photo: Albin Hillert, WCC

Today the opening of the 11^th General Assembly of the World Council of Churches took place. It is fantastic to be with almost 5 000 other Christians from the entire world. Colourful!

I want to highlight three of the speakers. The first one was the report of the Moderator, Dr Agnes Aboum. What a strong leader for this enormous, ecumenical organisation. One could really sense her passion for justice and peace. She spoke about …

… Jesus’ compassion for stigmatised minorities, for those for whom little compassion is visible today.

After her the outgoing acting General Secretary, Prof. Ioan Sauca delivered his report. The person sitting next to me said, that it was a hot report. And I agree. He did not shy away from controversial issues.

For instance, he defended the decision not to exclude the Russian Orthodox Church from the World Council of Churches, which some member churches had asked for. He said that the WCC is needed as a place for dialogue. But at the same time, he clearly took the side of Ukraine.

Human sexuality was another issue that he spoke to. Of course, in a diplomatic way but still, he was clear that everyone must respect the dignity of every human being, to defend and affirm human rights of all. In the context of human sexuality this means that many churches must revisit their theologies.

Antisemitism was also in the report, and he clearly stated that the WCC …

… oppose, reject, condemn, and denounce all forms of antisemitism.

At the same time, he took a strong stance for the Palestinian people. And used the same words, saying that the WCC ...

... support equal human rights for Palestinians and oppose, reject , condemn and denounce situations when these are not respected.

The third speaker I want to mention is the Federal President of Germany, Frank-Walter Steinmeier. He made a strong impression when he thanked the WCC that the council had accepted German churches as members already in 1948, only three years after WWII.

He also discussed antisemitism, Russia’s war on Ukraine – and he really criticised the Russian Orthodox Church. At the same time, he mentioned that more that 100 Russian Orthodox priests had opposed the war.

Later today the opening prayer gathered all participants in the prayer tent. Beautiful and very spiritual. With much singing and dancing. I am so privileged to be part of this.

First day of the Pre-Assembly

Today the Pre-Assemblies started. At 7.30 I was present at Konzert Haus where WCC staff already had started to prepare for the day. The programme started with morning devotion at 8.30 and the two first hours we were together – all four preassemblies:

A Just Community of Women and Men Pre-Assembly

Ecumenical Youth Gathering

Ecumenical Disabilities Advocates Network Pre-Assembly

Indigenous Peoples Pre-Assembly

It was a moving experience to participate in the devotion. Let me give one example. The text that was read was from John 6. When Jesus multiplies two fish and five loaves of bread. Representatives from all four Pre-Assemblies shared their perspectives on the text. A woman pointed out that it was a woman that had prepared the food, that the boy brought to Jesus. So, the person who made food available isn’t even mentioned in the text. That is really an eyeopener.

At 10.30 we continued in separate venues. We heard a number of short testimonies under the heading: visiting our wounds. I also contributed by giving some examples from the MeToo-movement in Sweden. After that other speakers were talking about mega-trends, like Covid. I was also part of the moderating team this morning. Bishop Rose-Marie Wenner, Ms Maha Milki (and Rev. Damon Mkandawire who is not in the photo) and I have formed the scheduling team. 

After lunch we had a two-hour interactive Bible Study, reading Acts 8:26-39 about Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch. Again, one woman pointed out that one person in the text often is forgotten. The Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. A powerful and rich African dignitary.

We were also visited by the Moderator of the World Council of Churches, Dr Agnes Aboum. She reinforced the need for gender justice and said that her daughter and granddaughter are having more challenges then she and her mother had. Sad to hear but maybe she is right.

One of the learnings from this day is that violence against women and girls (and men) are becoming worse. Covid didn’t make things better. Wars always mean an increase in rapes. As an ambassador of the Thursdays in Black campaign I will return from this Pre-Assembly and Assembly with fighting spirit. We can do better. I want my grandchildren to grow up in safety.

The Church is universal

This morning I attended the Gottesdienst (Service) in Stadtkirche Karlsruhe. It belongs to the 

Evangelische Landeskirche in Baden. This denomination is unified, which means that it is a merger between the Lutheran and the Reformed. Some of the German landeskirchen are that. The unification of the church in Baden took place in 1821. 

The service was held in German, and I was surprised that I could follow rather much, even the sermon. The theme was about the gifts that God gives to us. This was also the theme in Church of Sweden last Sunday, when I led the Eucharist service in Vindhemskyrkan in Uppsala. Such a coincidence. Our choir – Fyris Kammarkör – sang that Sunday, and the Choir Leader, Nils Pålbrant, asked me if I could suggest a song. I looked in some books and found a German hymn, translated into Swedish by the renown hymnwriter Per Harling. I had never seen the song before, but I felt that the text was in line with the theme.

Today we sang exactly that hymn in the service. Isn’t that amazing? And I must say, that the preacher today said a few things that I also touched upon last Sunday. Especially that the gifts are given to the community and not to us as individuals. It is biblical, so I take it for granted that preachers should draw that conclusion. It is still reassuring to realise that we are in line with each other.

Two new elders were installed, and it felt nice to be part of that, too. And also, to be part of the Eucharist which we shared in a different manner, forming full circles in front of the altar and receiving soft bread in pieces and wine or juice in small cups.

After a few planning sessions in preparation for the start of the preassembly I ended by taking part in a ceremony with the indigenous preassembly. We were approximately 60-70 people in a circle and the meaning of the ceremony was to acknowledge that the whole assembly takes place in a specific space. Led by representatives of different indigneous peoples from all over the globe, including sami people from my part of the world, we greeted soil, water, fire and wind. All was closed with the blessing. I felt privileged to be part of this. Now it feels good to rest and tomorrow I am prepared.

 

 

 

Saturday – a day of preparations

It was necessary to get a good night’s sleep which I also did. After breakfast I went to the Kongresszentrum. I managed to get my bag with “goodies”. This means a water bottle and a reusable coffee-/teacup, several facemasks and five testing kits for covid. The last thing that the organisers want is an outbreak of covid.

Before entering the hall were I collected my bag security personell scanned both me and my bag for weapons. We live in a new era and I understand the precautions. But it is sad.

Damon and I also found time to discuss about the two sessions in the preassembly that we are responsible for. 

After lunch the whole group that are planning the preassembly convened. We have some challenges but that is normal. We have met a week last year – but not all could attend due to visa problems. Most of the preparations we had to carry out on zoom, which is a valuable tool – and of course a very climate smart tool. But meeting in the same venue is the real thing. 

Today I could feel the vibe of the Ecumenical movement. More people are coming, and I also see several known faces. To be able to greet friends from Brazil, Canada, Lebanon, Togo, Russia, Fiji, and India is a privilege. And those are just examples. 

I have high expectations. The preassembly is on top of my mind. Two days are not much but we have done our best to find a methodology and ways to move forward. There are so many challenges for women and girls in the world. But men are also affected when it comes to patriarchal structures. Tonight, I read in a Swedish newspaper that as many as 20 percent of men in Kongo have been victims of sexual abuse, but they don’t want to report because it is shameful. 

We need to find ways to get the message across to the main assembly that gender equality is crucial if we want to build a better world for all.

But then there are topics in the Assembly itself that I look forward to learning more about. How will the WCC for instance relate to the conflict between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church? On Thursday this will be a highlighted.

And then of course the climate crisis. I read this question a few weeks ago:

Will theWCC 11th Assembly be a “divine last call” for ecological repentance?

September 1^st is the start of the Season of Creation. This is an ecumenical initiative. I hope this will be an inspiration to all of us.

The journey to Karlsruhe

The train between Uppsala and Karlsruhe ran without major problems. A few minor delays but overall, I arrived on time. Not without hardships, however. The World Council of Churches travel agency booked the ticket. Uppsala - Stockholm - Malmö - Copenhagen - Hamburg - Karlsruhe. Five changes, but I was prepared for that. What I wasn't prepared for, however, was the fact that the night train between Copenhagen and Hamburg only had seats. In other words, the sleep was not very good. And short because the train left at midnight and arrived at half past seven. But it’s fine. Tonight I shall sleep in a bed.

At Hamburg's central station I was able to eat breakfast and also visit a toilet. For one Euro you get access to a toilet and sink. There is a machine outside, where you put your Euro, and a barrier opens. Like on the subway.

But now a ragged person stood inside the barrier and opened it from the inside and then asked for a Euro. Hmmm! I understand how it works and what it is about. But that's not right. I saw many who hesitated, but what do you do when the need is great? And can you blame a person who creatively acquires a source of income? But it still isn’t right. I looked around for any staff but found none.

Ultimately, it is a symptom o society where some end up on the outside and see no other way out than the one I just described.

Of course, I could have refused to pay and put my Euro in the machine, but the guy didn't seem to want to negotiate.

The rest of the journey went without mishaps and now I have arrived in Karlsruhe.

One of the first persons I met was Damon. We are together responsible for a couple of sessions during the preassembly, when women and men are in sperate groups. We have met many times but only on zoom. It was such a joy to meet Damon face to face.

In the evening I went to the huge dining area and then the rain started to pour. In southern Africa rain means blessing. I take the rain as that. The following video is very short but one can hear the rain clearly.

Menstruation – a normal fact of life

Yesterday I attended a webinar arranged by the World Council of Churches, Norwegian Church Aid and International Partnership on religion and Sustainable Development. One reason was that the International day of menstrual hygiene was observed on Saturday. The webinar was well attended and included many good speakers. Mostly women, who spoke about how important it is to talk about menstruation. To break the silence means to reduce stigma. When we can speak about menstruation, we can also find solutions to obvious problems. There is for instance a lack of hygienic facilities in many schools in the world. This means that young girls experience hardships during their periods and often decide to stay at home. We need to find ways of making pads available to all. And clean water, decent toilets with doors that can be closed.

There were altogether nine speakers. Eight women and one man. The three concluding contributors represented Hinduism, Islam and Christianity. Rev Nicqi Ashwood represented the Christian family and took her point of departure in the narrative about the women who touched the cloak of Jesus. I prefer not to say, “the bleeding woman”, since she is much more than that. Rather point out that she had agency and did something about her situation. But of course, the women had “been subject to bleeding for twelve years” (Mark 5:25 – according to New International Version). New Revised Standard Version translates this with “who had been suffering from haemorrhages for twelve years”.

Nicqi chose the story about the woman and said that she was regarded as ritually unclean due to her bleeding problem. Nevertheless, she approached Jesus. This would have made him unclean to. Jesus acted against this and asked who had touched him. This broke the silence and made it possible for the woman to tell her story. Nicqi concluded and said:

Silence about menstruation must end now. Period.

The Russian Orthodox church and WCC

There is an ongoing conversation about the relationship between the World Council of Churches and the Russian Orthodox Church. The issue at stake is the standpoint of the Russian Orthodox Patriarch, Kirill of Moscow, when it concerns the war in Ukraine. The war started already in 2014 when Russia invaded and annexed the Crimean Peninsula. It exploded with the full-scale invasion that started earlier this year. As far as I have understood, Kirill is giving his blessings to this. The invasion started 24 February and three days thereafter Kirill wrote on the website of the Russian Orthodox Church:

Today we lift up a special prayer for His Beatitude Onuphry, for our Church and for our devout faithful. May the Lord preserve the Russian land. When I say “Russian”, I use the ancient expression from “A Tale of Bygone Years” - “Wherefrom has the Russian land come”, the land which now includes Russia and Ukraine and Belarus and other tribes and peoples. That the Lord may protect the Russian land against external enemies, against internal disorders, that the unity of our Church may strengthen and that by God’s mercy all the temptations, diabolical attacks, provocations may retreat and that our devout people in Ukraine may enjoy peace and tranquillity - these are our prayers today. (My bold text).

Notice how Kirill defines Russia. Both Ukraine and Belarus is part of Russia according to Kirill. He prays for Onuphry, he leader of the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine. But Onuphry had already on 24 February appealed to Putin and asked him to immediately end the “fratricidal war”. This is read on the website of the WCC.

The war between these peoples is a repetition of the sin of Cain, who killed his own brother out of envy /…/ Such a war has no excuse, neither from God, nor from people.

The acting General Secretary of the World Council of Churches, Fr Ioan Sauca, wrote to Kirill on 2 March and asked him to

… intervene and mediate with the authorities to stop this war …

In a letter dated 11 March Kirill answers in summary that the West is to blame:

This tragic conflict has become a part of the large-scale geopolitical strategy aimed, first and foremost, at weakening Russia.

There are a number of voices that suggest that the WCC should be more vocal and even expel the Russian Orthodox Church from the Council. One such voice is the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams. The Tablet cites him:

When a Church is actively supporting a war of aggression, failing to condemn nakedly obvious breaches of any kind of ethical conduct in wartime, then other Churches do have the right to raise the question.

But there are still those who suggest that the WCC should continue with its diplomacy:

I believe that the WCC needs to bring everyone together, however sharply opposed they may be. The heated debate that is bound to take place is surely much more likely to lead to change than expulsion and isolation will.

This is said by Jonathan Edwards, a former general secretary of the Baptist Union of Great Britain, according to Premier Christianity magazine (The UK's leading Christian magazine).

Also, in Sweden there are different views on this. Should the WCC expel the Russian Orthodox Church or not? Yesterday I listened to Professor Cyril Hovorun at the Stockholm Shcool of Theology, who is an orthodox priest. He was very vocal about this and said that the WCC has fallen behind. He described how Pope Francis more actively has raised his voice. This he said, when the ecumenical leadership of both the Christian Council of Sweden and the Swedish Mission Council were gathered in Stockholm for their Annual General Meetings. 

My suggestion is that we could look at how global Christian networks acted during apartheid. The dominant white, reformed church of South Africa, the Dutch Reformed Church (DRC) left the WCC after the Cottesloe consultation in 1960. But with the white Lutheran churches the situation was different. When the Sixth Lutheran World Federation Assembly took place in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania in 1977 the Assembly resolved that

… the racial separation of the church in Southern Africa constituted a status confessionis or a matter on which there was to be no discussion.

But the white, Lutheran churches were only suspended at the Seventh Assembly in Budapest 1984. Between the two assemblies the those member churches were given a chance to change. But they did not and subsequently they were suspended. I have written about this in an article. The link is here.

In this way the WCC could make a strong resolution against the Russian Orthodox Church later this year but keep a door open for talks. But the time before the Eleventh Assembly in Karlsruhe is short. There needs to be a thorough theological conversation that undergirds such a move. But I guess that there are systematic theologians in a number of member churches who would be willing to work with this. To start with severel orthodox theologians have published extensively on this.

What I found encouraging in the LWF decision from Budapest is the commitment to continue to pray for the suspended churches. Yes, on one crucial point they had left the Christian doctrine, but they were still Christians. This is important. We need to be able to condemn what is evil but still see the other person. 

 

Thursdays in Black Ambassadors: Joint Statement

Idag vill jag publicera det gemensamma uttalande som vi ambassadörer för Thursdays in Black, gjorde i tisdags. Det är med anledning av UNWomen's kampanj: 16 Days Against Gender-Based Violence. Först kommer själva videon, där vi läser in uttalandet. Sedan kommer texten på engelska:

Thursdays in Black Ambassadors: Joint Statement on 16 Days Against Gender-Based Violence 24 November 2020

Sixteen days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence has been commemorated since 1991.

It begins on November 25th, the International Day against Violence against Women, and ends on December 10th, International Human Rights Day.

Recognized by the World Council of Churches as part of its commitment to justice and peace, 16 Days is a collective call by people to declare that violence against women IS a violation of Human Rights.

As Thursdays in Black Ambassadors for the WCC, we invite all persons of goodwill to join us in educating others about, and seeking the end of, Gender-Based Violence.

Together, we must protect those who are vulnerable and abused. We can create safe spaces for all people who are targets of this violence, especially women and girls in our societies.

We should promote transformative masculinities and femininities based on respect and

We can honour resistance and resilience to violence – and dream of a world without fear of sexual and gender-based harassment, abuse and violence.

Gender-Based Violence is not only physical, it is emotional, mental and even structural. We know that violence against women and girls occurs virtually and literally in every strata of society: in households, at school, in religious spaces and in the workplace.

And with ongoing physical restrictions due to the spread of the coronavirus, violence against women and girls has intensified. The resolve to end Gender-Based Violence must remain strong.

As Ambassadors, we have, in our various spaces, worked to effect change in policies and practices in our churches, workplaces and communities. Together with the WCC we are actively involved in preparing liturgies and Bible studies, which challenge attitudes and norms that foster Gender-Based Violence.

Physical distancing demands that our houses of residence and of worship are not opened to the public as they might otherwise have been. Therefore we must increase our awareness to recognize signs of abuse and identify ways to offer support through other physical and virtual safe spaces for those who feel unsafe in their homes.

As people of faith and of goodwill, we appeal to individuals and community agencies to stop the spread of Gender-Based Violence:

Participate in the 16 Days of Activism by learning more, speaking out, inviting others to take a stand against violence.

Find and share with others your local crisis services.

Post your photos where you are involved in the work to end Gender-Based Violence in your context on social media using #16Days and #ThursdaysinBlack.

We all must get involved. Every body. Every day. Not just for 16 days. Not just for Thursdays. 

Madejas contra la violencia sexista and Thursdays in Black

Earlier today we visited Kalmar konstmuseum (artmuseum). Two friends told us about the skeins in the entrance. This is part of a fantastic project. The website of the museum explains:

Since 2014 the Basque organisation Harituz has worked with the project Madejas contra la violencia sexista – Skeins against gender-related violence. Its artistic symbol – a giant and constantly growing scarf – travels around the world with the aim of one day covering the EU parliament in Brussels. Today the whole scarf is almost 5 km long.

Activism through craft is called craftivism.

As I try to dress in black every Thursday to protest against rape and violence it felt good to have a photo taken in front of a part of this beautiful scarf. Since last year I am an ambassador of the World Council of Churches campaign

Thursdays in Black

But it is possible to take part in more than one campaign. I am also a member of 

Me too Sweden

Anyone who wants to take part in this activity may knit a piece – not shorter than 30 cm – and send it to:

Kalmar konstmuseum

Stadsparken

293 33 Kalmar

Mark the envelope: ”Knit activism”. I feel tempted to do exactly that.

Thursdays in Black Ambassador

Some time ago I was approached by a co-worker at the World Council of Churches headquarters in Geneva. The question that was posed was: would I be interested in becoming an ambassador for the campaign

Thursdays in Black

With no hesitation I answered yes. I have supported the campaign for many years. Almost every Thursday I dress in black trousers and in a black shirt and put on the pin with the text:

Towards a world without rape and violence

How can anyone be in favour of rape? It is not possible to comprehend. Still it is happening all over the world. Every day. It is outrageous.

Here is the youtube film that the WCC has recorded. 

In 2013 I had the privilege of taking part in the General Assembly of the WCC, held in Busan in South Korea. I was especially present to moderate the men’s gatherings at the Pre-Assembly of Women and Men. The group of men that was gathered issued a statement. It started like this:

We the men in the first WCC Women’s and Men’s Pre-assembly express our immense gratitude to women who have enabled us to understand the pain and injustice of patriarchy and gender inequality.  We have experienced transformation in our lives, by the grace of the God of Life, which has begun to open our hearts and minds to a shared struggle for gender justice. Yet, we are painfully aware that we men still have a long way to go on our journey toward a true community of women and men in the churches and in society at large.

Since then I have tried to reflect on my own masculinity and the structures in society that we all are trapped in. Statistics are clear. Men are involved in more violent acts then women. This means that men also are victims many times. I cannot do much about this. But I can decide to be part of a transformation.

Being an ambassador for Thursdays in Black is one way to contribute.

Christ’s love moves the world

I feel at home in the school setting. In South Africa in the eighties many
congregations met in the schools, both for youth meetings and services. 

Once a month a group of Christians worship in a school canteen in Uppsala. It is not common in Sweden, that members of the Lutheran Church (Church of Sweden) use school facilities. Church of Sweden was a state church for centuries and there are Church buildings almost everywhere.

In this area, however, the Church was demolished. Saint Olof’s Church was built in 1983 but due to financial constraints in the Parish, it only lasted until 2008. Before that a group of parishioners volunteered to continue with Sunday services. The first two years they did so every Sunday but since 2005 once a month. I am part of a group of ordained priests who take turns to preach and preside. Likewise organists come there on a voluntary basis to accompany the congregation in the hymns.

The link with the Congregational Council is very good. The chairperson is part of the initiative. The basis however are ordinary church members who come there early in the morning to move tables and chairs, put altar cloths on a table, decorate it with flowers, and prepare coffee and cookies for the fellowship after the service, just to mention a few examples.

Today we focused on Jesus’ baptism. In the choir I belong to we have sung an old Christmas Carol, which I used as a kind of structure for the sermon. The song is a Cornish Carol from the 17^th Century, probably based on a much older medieval mystery play.

Tomorrow shall be my dancing day

It consists of fourteen verses and unfortunately – although not surprisingly – some contain anti-Semitic material. The version we sang in our choir – with music by John Gardner – only has the four first verses. They are fine. The reason for using the song for my sermon was the fourth verse. About Jesus’ baptism:

Then afterwards baptized I was;

The Holy Ghost on me did glance,

My Father’s voice heard from above,

To call my true love to my dance.

The song thus combined the Christmas theme with Jesus’ Baptism, which our lectionary does. I also like the idea of Jesus inviting us to dance. This idea is not unusual. There is a modern song named

The Lord of the Dance

Sidney Carter wrote this song in 1963. He might have been inspired by the older song.

When I prepared the sermon I saw a post on Facebook. Marianne Ejdersten, WCC Communication director, posted another song text. Well known song and hymn writer, Per Harling, has written a song for the upcoming 11^th General Assembly of the WCC. The text is based on the theme:

Christ’s love moves the world to reconciliation and unity

Well, I thought: if Christ’s love moves us – couldn’t that be a description of a dance? If Jesus is the Lord of Dance?

I asked both Marianne Ejdersten and Per Harling if the song could be used this morning and the answer was yes. Maybe it was the first time it was sung in a Swedish Church setting. I don’t know. It became obvious that a Church Service in a school canteen in Uppsala is as much at the centre of the World Council of Churches as the WCC Assembly Planning Committee meeting in Cyprus. 

So, we were happy to be part of the preparation of the 11^th General Assembly of the World Council of Churches, by singing this song in Uppsala: