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!

A new assembly inaugurated

Today I spent the morning in Vällingby. As the general secretary of the Swedish Bible Society I was, some time ago, invited to attend the inauguration of the Pentecost City Church in Stockholm. I gladly accepted the invitation and today was the day.

This specific Pentecostal denomination has its origins in Ghana. It was formed in 1953 and has over 20 000 congregations with more than 4 000 000 members worldwide. This is "mission to the north". The worldwide church in changing landscapes.

The congregation rents a venue in Vällingby. It used to be a place where an organisation of immigrants from Syria had its operations. The leader of the Church told me that since the Government of Sweden had changed its policies and decided not to give grants to such organisations, the Syrians moved out and the Pentecost Church could move in. Some companies were also looking at the same venue, but the landlord were Christian and decided to allow the Church to get the contract. 

The history of this Church started already in 2016. I quote from a text that was part of the program for this occasion:

The story began in 2016, when the leadership of the Church of Pentecost – Sweden headed by the then National Head, Ps Livingstone Joseph Mensah, carved a small group of young adults from the Central Assembly to start a PIWC using the English language as a communication tool to spread the gospel within Stockholm and its environs. These young adults met weekly to pray, study God’s Word, and encourage one another. Their heartfelt prayer and desire were simple: that God would raise a church where people from every nation could experience His presence, find a spiritual home, and be equipped to spread the gospel. The congregation started meeting in a rented hall in Hallunda, using the mornings between 10 and 12 on Sundays for services. Out of this humble beginning, God began to move. Resources were limited, yet faith abounded.

Dr Ben Debrah presents the leadership of the Pentecostal 
City Church of Stockholm.

We were further told that Apostle Dr Ben and Mrs. Oheneba Akua Debrah came from UK in 2021 and took over the leadership of the Church of Pentecost – Sweden. The text continues:

They were convinced that God had called this small group of young adults not only to plant a congregation, but to establish a spiritual family which is very much inclusive and opened to people from all walks of life. Despite the challenges at the time — such as inadequate permanent meeting spaces, barriers to becoming more culturally and racially diverse, and financial constraints—the fellowship grew steadily. /…/ Today a small group of 8 which begun this journey records a total congregation of 76 comprising 4 nationalities.

We were three guests. Nausikaa Haupt who is an Ecumenical Officer at the Christian Council of Sweden was one of us. She also represented the Catholic Diocese of Stockholm and Bishop Anders Arborelius. Olof Edsinger is the General Secretary of the Swedish Evangelical Alliance. He was well known to especially the Dr Ben Debrah. And then it was me.

The hospitality of the congregation was warm and welcoming. Dr Ben preached over Acts 19 (the full chapter was read) and the theme was: Jesus and the city. It was a contextual sermon wanting to encourage the congregation to influence the city of Stockholm in a transforming way. He spoke about gangs and drugs and how the problems we have in Sweden cannot be changed with new legislation. Jesus is the cure!

I was especially impressed by three young males who delivered some Spoken words. I believe that this young, vibrant Church walks the talk.

After two and half hour, which to me – with my South African experience – was not especially long, the service ended and we were all invited to “fika”. That was one of few Swedish words used. One of the Bible readings, however, was read in Swedish. Also the announcements were given both in English and Swedish.

When I left the building a second service had already begun. It was the Ghanaian part of the worship – in Twee – one of the most used languages in Ghana. Dr Ben told me that this service would be much more African and vibrant. After having opened the door to the hall and seen for myself I realised that this was the case.

Probably half of the service we sang worship songs.
And the worship was led by a number of different, young persons.

At one stage some of us just had to enter the floor
and start dancing.

At the end of the service Dr Ben asked if someone was
there for the first time. Thos persons were all ask to come
in front and introduce themselves.

Emmanuel is the local Pastor.

A group of young women were responsible for the technical part
of the service.

This is how the stage looked like when I arrived.

This is the entrance of the Church building.

World Assembly – Final day

After a long and engaging day, the World Assembly has come to an end. I could write a long blog post about this gathering but tonight I will only share a few things. We had some business meetings in the morning. We made a statement and took some decisions about how the United Bible Societies will navigate the coming few years. We resolved to continue with Bible translation and making the Bible available both digitally and in printed format.

But what fills my heart this evening is the fellowship with sisters and brothers from all over the globe. Especially during the dinner when people from Africa gathered in the hall and formed a procession and started to sing and dance. I directly felt that I had to join the group. A saying from the founding father of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah, came to me:

I am not African because I was born in Africa but because Africa was born in me.

So, it felt natural to be part of the African group tonight.

Tomorrow I will leave Egmond aan Zee and begin my journey back home. It has been an intense week. But a very good week.

World Assembly – day 3

Yesterday - Sunday - was a day of rest and celebration. No presentations and workshops. As every day we started with morning prayer. This time I was happy to read the words “Prayer dance” on the screen. It turned out to be some minor movements but still, very refreshing in the midst of so much talking. The prayer was led by two delegates from Asia. The 30 minutes long prayer, which also included some prayers from the ancient St. James liturgy, we were blessed in Aramaic, the language of Jesus. This is always powerful. To understand that some of our Christian sisters and brothers still use Jesus’ own language.

At 10 we all gathered and went to Amsterdam. We got a chance to see the canals by boat and were also served sandwiches on board. At three in the afternoon, we all gathered in Westerkerk close to Anne Franks house. The Bible Society of theNetherlands and Flanders, that arranged the whole day, also were hosts for this service. The musicians were excellent, and we shared the Word of God in so many languages. Most of all I loved all the singing, also in several languages. An again, the musicians really helped to make the singing into a beautiful experience.

The day ended with dinner in the magnificent wintergarden of hotel Krasnapolsky. It is so good to be able to sit down and enjoy the company of colleagues from all over the world and to share a meal.

Today we will continue with the presentations and discussions. Before we leave on Wednesday some important decisions are to be made that will set out the direction of the Untied Bible Societies for the next 5-7 years.

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.

Transformative masculinities

On the second day of the Pre-Assembly of a Just community of Women and Men we had arranged separate conversations for women and men. It was too short but still so rewarding. About 50-60 men met and listened to four, short presentations on Transformative Masculinities. We started with a recorded speech by Ezra Chitando from Zimbabwe. I liked it when he – based on Paolo Freire – said that we as men are allies to women and girls and that we need to sit at their feet. Three other presenters were in site and shared views from the Bible, and from their respective contexts. They were Algernon Lewis, originally from the Caribbean, Rastko Jović from Serbia and Thomas Ninan from India.

It was such a strong feeling to see this group of men having vivid conversations on how we can become transformative in the struggle for gender justice. I am grateful for being able to journey with them.

After lunch I was asked to moderate the session when the whole Pre-Assembly was going to discuss our report. It became an almost three-hour long session with some strong emotions. Some of the speakers underscored that the report needs to be phrased in a diplomatic way so that members churches of the WCC should want to read it. Others wanted to use a more direct language. Some issues about human sexuality and about naming patriarchy as a sin are sensitive. After that session I was rather exhausted but also energised at the same time. It was a good experience to hear especially many strong women sharing their anger and lamenting the slow pace when it comes to transformation in this regard.

In the evening I joined a rather different group of people when I had been invited to share a meal with the leadership of the United Bible Societies. This is also a very important group of ecumenical leaders to meet. I understood that the incoming Director General of the United Bible Societies, Dirk Gevers and the incoming General Secretary of the World Council of Churches, Jerry Pillay both are Presbyterians from South Africa, and they have worked together before. It is good if the WCC and UBS can continue to cooperate.

Tomorrow the Assembly itself will start. I look forward to that.

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.

Biskopsval

(An English version follows below.)

För en tid sedan fick jag frågan om jag kunde tänka mig att bli biskop i Växjö stift. Jag svarade med glädje: Ja! Det var början på en spännande process/resa. Den har tagit en del energi. Men även gett energi. Att några personer ville nominera mig och på olika sätt föra fram mig som en tänkbar biskop, kändes stort och känns fortfarande stort. Min bön är att de nu hittar sin väg tillsammans med den som till slut blir vald till biskop, den 3 december.

Igår blev det nämligen klart att det inte blir jag. Till stiftet och de två kvarvarande kandidaterna, Fredrik och Thomas, önskar jag Guds välsignelse.

För mig går livet vidare. Just nu i Nairobi. Tillsammans med trossyskon från olika delar av den världsvida kyrkan. Vi läser bibeln tillsammans. Och vi läser i varandras livsböcker – i den utsträckning vi vill och kan dela våra berättelser. Underbart.

Alla kände till att det var biskopsval igår. En dag då vi läste Lukasevangeliet 24:13-35. Berättelsen om Emmausvandringen. Jag var en smula frånvarande – delvis fysiskt men även rent mentalt. Sista passet var jag dock med. När grupperna gjort sina redovisningar, fick jag möjlighet att dela mina känslor några minuter.

Soave's skor gav mig något att tänka på. Hur
ser vägen ut, som mina skor vandrar?

Utifrån Emmausvandringen upplevde jag att jag nu är tillbaka till början av vandringen. Jag får börja om. Bilden för mig blev tydlig på Soave’s skor, som föreställer en spiral.

Min livsvandring har gått i en cirkel och att jag är redo att fortsätta där jag var nyss. Men omvägen har inte varit utan mening.

Så bad Soave, som är en av våra ledare, att de andra deltagarna från Sydafrika skulle komma fram. Mbali (hennes namn betyder blomma) och Kgomotso (hennes namn betyder tröst) tog mig i varsin hand. Tillsammans med resten av gruppen bildade vi en ring.

Sedan sjöng och dansade vi en sång på kiSwahili, som var direkt hämtad ur bibeltexten.

Karibia Yesu karibia, Karibia kwetu karibia

Texten betyder: kom nära, Jesus, kom nära. Kom nära oss, kom nära. Det är verkligen också min bön just nu.

Därefter sjöng vi en sydafrikansk sång, där vi i dansen byter riktning, för att vi behöver ändra våra liv. En välbekant sång som vi ofta sjunger och dansar i Sydafrika.

Sista sången hade en text med orden:

Why don’t you bright in the corner where you are?

Betydelse: Varför lyser Du inte i det hörn där Du är? Ja, det är en relevant fråga. Till slut bad Kgomotso, på uppmaning av Soave, för att jag skulle välkomnas tillbaka till Sydafrika.

En mycket stark avslutning. En befriande sång- och dansupplevelse. Och bön. I en trygg grupp. I den världsvida kyrkan. På början av vägen till mitt Emmaus. Och Jesus kom och slog följe med oss.


Election of a bishop

Some time ago I was asked if I was prepared to be one of the candidates when Växjö diocese in Sweden was going to elect a new bishop. With joy I answered: Yes! And an interesting process/journey began. It has taken some energy but I have also gained energy from it. The fact that some persons wanted to nominate me as a possible bishop felt special and it is still special. My prayer is that they will be happy together with the person, who will be elected bishop on 3 December.

Yesterday it became clear that this person is not me. To the diocese and the two remaining candidates, Fredrik and Thomas, I wish God’s blessing.

For me, life goes on. At the moment in Nairobi. Together with fellow Christians from different parts of the world wide church. We read the bible together. And we read in each other’s lives’ books. Insofar as we are happy to share them with one another. Wonderful.

Everyone was aware that Växjö diocese was electing a new bishop today. It happened the day when we read Luke 24:13-35 together. The story about the walk to Emmaus. Naturally I have been a bit absent – partly physically but also mentally. The last session, however, I got the opportunity to share my feelings with the group a couple of minutes.

The shues of Soave inspired me. Which
path are my shoes going to follow?

With reference to the Emmaus walk, I experience that I now am back at the start of my walk. To a new beginning. An image, on the shoes of Soave, picturing a spiral, made this clear.

My life’s journey has had this form and I am prepared to continue where I was recently. But the detour has not been meningless.

Soave, who is one of our facilitators, then asked the other participants from South Africa to come in front. Mbali (her name means flower) and Kgomotso (her name means comfort) took my hands, one on each side. Together with the rest of the group we formed a circle.

And then we danced and sang a song in kiSwahili, with words directly from the biblereading.

Karibia Yesu karibiaKaribia kwetu karibia

The meaning is: Come close, Jesus, come close. Come close to us, come close. This is in deed also my prayer right now.

Thereafter we sang a South African song, where we change direction in the dance, because we need to change our lives. A well known song we often sing and dance in South Africa.

The last song had a text with the words:

Why don’t you bright in the corner where you are?

Also a relevant question. Finally Kgomotso prayed, to make me feel welcome back to South Africa.

This was very powerful. A liberating dance- and singing experience. Prayer. In a safe space. In the world wide church. In the beginning of the road to Emmaus. And Jesu drew near and walked with us.

Let justice roll down like waters

Every day at the Assembly revolves around a Bible text. Today Amos 5:14-24 which is a strong and prophetic message relevant in this context.

Every day at the Assembly starts with a Morning Prayer and bible study. I attend the English Plenary Bible Study. We are many hundreds but it works. The method is contextual bible study and we are asked to form small groups where we sit. Today it was led by my colleague at the UKZN, Prof Sarojini Nadar. Four people helped her read the text. Thereafter she welcomed Amos to the stage. First it felt as a humoristic role-play but it soon turned into a real encounter.

A prophet from Tahiti!

In our small group I met Ms Katia Tupara from the Maohi Protestant Church, Tahiti. When we were invited to share thoughts about the bible text she told us about the French occupation of Tahiti. This came as a very prophetic challenge to me. I have to realize that I did not pay much attention to the political situation of the people in the so called French Polynesia. I know about the nuclear tests which is of course only one part of a very complex situation. On top of that the people living on those islands also have to face the climate change and the rising of the sea level. I asked Katia about how she feels about the image from Amos:

Let justice roll down like waters

She said that there is a huge difference between the waters. Rising sea levels are caused by the big countries in the world. The water Amos is talking about is the fresh water springing up from the soil of these islands.

 

Ylva Sarri is drumming on her digital drum.

The bible study was done with words and drums. For instance the reading of the bible text was mixed with drumming. As a sign of how a prophet makes people listen by making a lot of noise. This made me think of the situation in Sweden. In the 17th Century the Swedish state (which was then in total union with the Church of Sweden) burned and destroyed the drums of the Sami people. Today the Swedish state allow foreign companies to exploit Sápmi. The mine in Gállok is only one example. I hope that the Sami people find their destroyed drums and also their prophetic voice. One such voice is Ylva Sarri. She is one of four delegates from Church of Sweden. You can find her blog through this link.

The first plenary this day began with three greetings. One came from the Archbishop of Canterbury (Anglican). The other was from the Chairperson of the Pentecostal World fellowship. He told us that his participation in the Global Christian Forum has been an inspiration for him. He quoted Mark 9:40 where Jesus says:

Whoever is not against us is for us ...

The last greeting was given by the leader of a Buddhist organization in Japan which has worked together with the WCC since Vancouver in 1983. They support some of the WCC programmes. I think this was great! But why is always those greetings given by elderly men. His Grace, His Holiness, His Eminence …. This needs to be changed! Now!

The plenary was called the Asia Plenary. We listened to five different speakers. One spoke (again) about multiple identities in Asia. Another one said that the 21st Century is called the Asian century. But how about Africa? I cannot recall all the presenters but one was a Korean Orthodox bishop who made a plea for the Orthodox churches in the Middle East. He also showed slides from the Holy Trinity Church in Pyongyang. The Orthodox Church in North and South Korea is united. The strongest message though came from a medical doctor from India who told the story about two girl conjoined twins that where born near the hospital. The family rejected them but the hospital and the whole village embraced them. Their names were Stuti and Aradhana, meaning Praise and Worship. When they were separated after a few years Aradhana died from an infection after some time. A tragedy, of course. But the outcome was that the family went through a process and accepted Stuti, who is now living with her biological family.