Message of the EFECW Eighth General Assembly, Loccum 2010

Participation and Responsibility - In the Path of Justice is Life

166 women from 27 countries of Europe, from different national and confessional backgrounds, from all walks of life and all age groups, met at the Evangelische Akademie Loccum, Germany, August 23 - 29, 2010, for the Eighth Assembly of the Ecumenical Forum of European Christian Women. EFECW had made a special effort to enable young women to participate in the Assembly, thus initiating a generation change, and taking the first steps into a next phase of ecumenical cooperation and community building among women in Europe. The young women seized this opportunity and took an active role in the assembly.

We are profoundly grateful to the German branch of the Forum for excellent local preparations and warm welcome and to the Akademie Loccum for providing staff time, hospitality and assistance in many matters.

The Context, the "Kairos"

We met at a time , when many European countries are still affected by the global financial and ecological crises and by processes of restructuring that have come in their wake. In many societies the weaker sectors continue to suffer severe cuts in employment, income and social security, while processes of enrichment continue unabated, increasing and deepening existing inequalities and destroying social cohesion. These developments hit women harder, threatening to undo the gains they have made in the past decades. However, this moment of crisis can also be an opportunity to think which future of economic, ecological and social justice we desire as women for ourselves and our societies.

Participation

The charisma of EFECW is its commitment to building bridges between women in Europe, overcoming old resentments that still linger in our personal and collective memories. It has done this from the beginning, giving special attention to bringing women from all parts of Europe together, to reflect on emerging European issues from women's perspectives and to respond to the kairos of the moment. We remain committed to our goal of working out a Christian and European identity as women, of doing this together with women of other faiths, and of working for a Europe that stands for justice, equality and peaceful living together of all its citizens.

Justice and Equality

Justice and equality belong together. No justice without gender equality! Equality is not fulfilled as yet in the countries of Europe, even though the EU and other European institutions have provided and continue to provide many decisive impulses (we refer to the work of the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality).

In spite of these there is still no equal pay for equal work; there is still no common European law concerning violence against women; women still have a higher risk of becoming poor, especially when they are single parents; women still are working in precarious jobs, with little security, low pay and fewer career opportunities than men, and unemployment is still higher among women.

Modern market economies are still being defined around the concept of human beings as independent male adults. But we come into the world, and often go out of it as helpless creatures, dependent on the care and solidarity of others. A new effort is necessary to overcome still persisting dualisms; to put human needs into the centre of economic activity; and to redefine economy in light of the question how to meet the human needs of all. The market is useful as a tool, but not in the centre of the economy!

Taking Responsibility

Standing up for women's/human rights and furthering justice for all can be a costly decision. The Assembly honoured the memory of six Russian women, among them Anna Politkovskaja, who were punished or even paid with their lives because they stood up for the human rights of others out of conviction that this was their responsibility as citizens. Taking responsibility is also the Christian way of "being here for others", as Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Mother Maria Skobtsova showed, and it is possible in every situation.

Recommendations

Understanding that all our efforts are aimed at building peace with justice, we recommend the Forum to focus especially on our responsibilities as European Christian women in the following areas:

Community building, networking and dialogue

Interfaith/intercultural dialogue

Ecology and economy

Gender equality in church and society

Younger women in the life and work of the Forum

To that end the Forum should:

• Strengthen the Forum networks, especially amongst the Mediterranean countries
• Re-establish programme commissions/working groups that will work and reflect on specific issues:

1. theology and liturgy
2. ecology and economy
3. interfaith/intercultural dialogue

• Use ecological guidelines and gender budgeting as far as possible in the Forum, on all levels
• Establish an interim working group to consider the increased participation and involvement of young women in the Forum, on all levels
• Continue and strengthen the cooperation agreement with EPIL (European Project for Interreligious Learning)
• Co-operate with organisations on issues of mutual concern, as the need arises, such as: Andante (European Alliance of Catholic Women's Organisations); CEC (Conference of European Churches), especially CSC (Church and Society Commission), CCME (Churches Commission on Migrants in Europe); ECEN (European Christian Environmental Network); ESWTR (European Society for Women in Theological Research); EWFN (European Women of Faith Network); EWL (European Women’s Lobby); EWS (European Women’s Synod); EYCE (Ecumenical Youth Council of Europe); FLC (Fellowship of the Least Coin); ICETH (Interreligious Conference of European Women Theologians); UN Resolution 1325 network; WCC (World Council of Churches); WDP (World Day of Prayer), et al.
• Organize seminars and courses as needed, particularly leadership training on EU issues and policies 
• Expand the use of the internet and social media

Visions for the Forum

Vision is a work of community. Listen to the voices from different parts of Europe:

"... the Forum is an opportunity to find our own way of sharing and cooperation and a great hope that this cooperation will result in considerably improving our ecumenical situation ..."

"... the Forum functions as a network, enabling encounter and dialogue among women and authorizing joint actions ... and, because of our common practice, ensuring that unsolved theological questions will not increase division ..."

"... my vision for the Forum is that it will lead the way in creating a post-patriarchal order in church and society ..."

"... it is important again to continue building bridges ...".

A voice from Asia reminded us that we are united with women's organisations in other continents in advocacy on issues like forced migration, trafficking of women and children, climate justice and overcoming violence.

These diverse voices show that the Forum is reaching out into the future. The active presence of young women in the Assembly expressed a strong hope, shared by many women across the generations, that the Forum, approaching thirty years of existence, is still a powerful voice of European Christian women, open to new challenges and fresh insights.

"In the Way of Justice, There is Life"

To follow the way of justice is seldom easy. We are entering a spiritual path that asks from us to abandon self-centered interests and to become truly humble - not subservient or submissive, but strong and humble.

A difficult path. But it affords us the incomparable chance of truly living.

Loccum, August 28, 2010