We learn from scripture of a new understanding of humanity and human relationships, a vision which the church exists to embody. The first creation story in Genesis tells us about the common blessing and later the common responsibility of women and men: "...in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them, and God said to them..." (Gen. 1:27-28, NRSV).

Later, in Jesus, God's incarnation, this vision of humanity was clarified. Jesus reached out on numerous occasions in his ministry, to involve both women and men in ways which were unheard of in his time. Jesus calls his followers "friends", placing himself within the circle of friends, as a way of discipleship "because I have made known to you every thing that I have learned from my Father" (John 15:12-17). Jesus invites his followers into life in community-based friendship and love rather than according to a master-servant model.

Friends care for and share with each other, all equally created in the image of God. This is the image of the church which Jesus left to his followers/friends. This is also the vision which many women hope to see the church become: the vision of a transformed and renewed church, inclusive of both women and men, created equally in the image of God, participating fully.

Such a vision has serious ecclesiological implications for our common understanding of the nature of the mission of the church in and for the world.

The call for full participation for women's freedom and power to respond to God's call to service in every aspect of the life of the church is first of all a justice issue. Second, it is related to the age-old question of the self-understanding of the church. What does it mean to be the Church in the Spirit of Christ? We believe this calls for a renewed understanding of the roots of ecclesiology. Women around the world expect responses by the churches that will transform their lives.

The reports from the various team visits disclose signs of an emerging new self-understanding of what it means to be the church, glimpses of a new community in which no one is regarded as another's slave, where no one is subservient to another, but rather a community in which: "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" (Gal. 3:28).

While the depth of women's love for the church and their willingness to commit themselves to work in the church were strikingly evident wherever we went, just as evident was the failure of many churches to receive and respond fully to women's gifts and challenges, to admit women to key areas of participation.

Women are a majority in most congregations and participate strongly in the spiritual and liturgical life of the church. They are active in a wide variety of lay ministries. They gain strength and satisfaction from all these kinds of participation even if their contribution is not always recognized and they are unable to attain leadership in these areas.

One year after the mid-Decade visit, a church president said that he had discovered that women are keeping his church alive, that without the women there would be no life and hardly any regular activities in the church. "They do everything that we men decide without them," he added. "If they were to leave, we would have only decision-makers and no doers. (Togo) Women are active in the traditional and well-defined areas like Sunday schools, mothers' union and women's fellowships. From within these traditional places they make a significant contribution, but most men are yet to be convinced of the need to include them at other levels. There is no incentive whatever to enter into a conversation on the ordination of women. (Pakistan)

As far as theological education is concerned, the number of women students is increasing in almost every region. Yet visits to Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Pacific and Europe all noted lack of deliberate support for example, through scholarships for women to pursue theological education. Furthermore, too few theological schools have women faculty, either lay or ordained, or libraries with feminist literature, or courses that deal specifically with theology from women's or a feminist perspective. In some instances feminism is dismissed as a Western idea, and related topics are considered irrelevant for preparation of students for ordained ministry. The unfortunate reality in most theological institutions is that hermeneutical tools to reinterpret oppressive biblical texts, particularly the Pauline texts, have yet to be put in place.

Women's participation in ordained ministry, particularly the priesthood, is even more of a problem than theological training. There are churches in all regions which forbid the ordination of women, even where they can cite no doctrinal or theological reasons why this should be so. While some churches recognize women's gifts, many are quite slow and even resistant, to recognize and support women in ministry. Even where women have after much struggle been trained and ordained, fair pay, stable placements and moral support as they exercise their ministry are not guaranteed to them. After graduation many women ministers must wait a long time to receive a posting. They may be forced to choose between vocation and family. Those whose husbands are pastors may be obliged to follow them. Once given a posting, women ministers may face doubts and even hostility from both men and women in their congregations.

In one church where women have been ordained since 1970, only four of the sixty ordained clergy are women. In another, where women have been ordained for over 120 years, only 30 of the church's 9000 ordained ministers are senior women pastors. (USA) In situations where the husband and wife are both pastors, the church actively encourages the wife to "support" her husband but not to remain the pastor in charge. (Indonesia) In some churches which accept the ordination of women but do not have enough pastors, it is maintained that women in the church do not really wish to take advantage of the opportunities to become pastors. Other churches do not actively promote or encourage women to put themselves forward for the ordained or theological ministry. (Kenya) One woman pastor said that when she was training for the ministry, she was told by her director of studies that four factors were against her when it came to accepting her for ordination: she was a foreigner, she was a woman, she was married and she was pregnant! (Switzerland)

Most discouraging was the clear evidence that women are marginalized by their own church structures. Church leaders in general do not seem to recognize the imperative for an inclusive community of women and men in the church. All the teams noted women's lack of or limited access to decision-making processes and thus power in their churches; and some church leaders insisted that church constitutions cannot be changed. This situation both reflects and promotes a similar imbalance of power in society.

It is evident that, in spite of limited concessions, the men do not seem to be prepared to share power. Likewise we should underline that because of this situation, certain women are discouraged and no longer take the pains to integrate men in their fight. So they stay separated in an incomplete women's world. (The Netherlands) The reason given for the failure of women to participate in leadership was that "women are their own worst enemies" because when given opportunity to elect women, they elect men. (Ghana) The number of top women in positions of hierarchical responsibility in the churches is infinitesimal... It became clear that most churches do not have a policy and have not developed a theological position to empower women to become clergy, theologians or lay leaders in significant positions of decision-making in the church. (Kenya) We were deeply disappointed to note that the participation of women in the decision-making structures of the church is minimal and often non-existent. At the parish council level it is constitutionally impossible, although attempts are underway to change the constitution to allow women to become members. At the level of the diocesan councils few women are included, but hardly any in the executive bodies. Even the executive of the National Council of Churches had only one woman member. (Pakistan) These women did not feel supported, but rather felt used by their church... We were impressed with their work and very affirming of it. The women were hungry for affirmation and very appreciative of our visit and conversation. (Philippines) "We have no problem with our women. Everybody is happy, because our women have no time to think," a male church representative said. (Myanmar)

We observed that women respond to rejection by the churches in different ways: with frustration and anger, with resignation, with patience, with courage and combativity, with despair. Such feelings may lead them to accept the status quo, or try to change it from within, or go "outside" to be the church as they understand it.

There were women who were not interested in the hierarchical structure and its attendant "power games" and who did not see the need to be part of these structures. They rather preferred to serve in a dynamic way wherever they were placed. (Indonesia) In the women's judgment, the process of empowerment should not be understood simply as a gift to be received from the men who presently control the instruments of power. Power can be unceremoniously retrieved. (Kenya) We found many women who have ambivalent feelings about whether or not to join the decision-making structures of the churches. On the one hand, they believe that their participation is necessary in order to change things. On the other hand, they feel that the process is too slow, that too often they have to adjust to a male-dominated style of working and that it costs too much mental and emotional energy to be in the forefront of this struggle. But the situation is not altogether bleak. The team met men Ä though not often in leadership positions Ä who told us that they were in favour of sharing decision-making responsibilities with women, and render structures more inclusive. In Decade committees, women and men generally work well together. Some churches have set up leadership training courses for women, favour the hiring of women in case of equal qualifications and delegate more women to ecumenical bodies and gatherings. (Germany)

Not all church women feel rejected, however. Some are perfectly content with their roles and activities, "at home" in their churches, accepting their church's traditions and ecclesiology.

A woman leader, herself a theologian, said clearly that women do have the opportunity to become leaders by going to the monastery, where they are fully recognized. (Poland) Concerning the place of women in the church, they insisted on the specificity of each of the roles of men and women. At the parish level the priest has mostly a spiritual role, whereas the administrative decisions are taken through the parish council, which is mostly in the hands of women. Women are very active in diakonia, charity, social and religious education work and they are well recognized. They are well prepared to fulfill these tasks, often through academic training which in many ways can be compared with the training of priests. This clear distribution of roles does not seem to lead to frustration... We did not hear any complaints about the absence of women at the top levels like the holy synod. They even told us of their satisfaction to share in the decision-making process at several other levels, in particular in those instances where women's sensitivity is most needed. (Russia)

It should be noted that women may find it extremely difficult to voice discontent in the presence of men in general and church leaders in particular. Time and again during our visits we had the experience that women said little or even expressed general satisfaction while male church leaders were present but eventually, when the men were not there, told quite another story. Occasionally, it happened that the visit encouraged women to speak out for the first time about being denied a place in church structures, even in the presence of the head of their church!

Most of the meetings included male leadership. The latter always assumed the role of moderators and spokespersons even when our questions were directed to the women present. The women themselves in almost all cases would not respond immediately and waited, as if they also expected the minister, bishop or whoever to be the one to respond. We detected some degree of uneasiness on the part of the male leaders when we posed questions to the women and some hesitancy on the part of the women. (South Africa) Often men were the first to tell us how it was for women. When the women in the same meetings finally spoke, their assessment of their own situation was radically different from that given by the men. In turn, the men simply did not appear to hear what the women were saying. (Zambia) Our meetings with women alone produced more viewpoints, information and observations than those with church leaders. We were told that in discussions with their male counterparts the women often lack the courage to broach their problems as social rather than women's issues. (Portugal)

The Role of the Family

The family is probably the human institution that commands the most respect within the churches, if not in society. Throughout the visits, the need to protect the family as an institution at all costs was frequently mentioned. What was striking, however, was that the only family model which churches and church leaders had in mind and held up was the traditional, hierarchical, patriarchal family in which women play a submissive role.

Thus, when it is said that women ought to make the family their first priority, to "protect" the family, to "serve" the family, to "return to their main role" of caring for the family, this can sometimes be an appeal or command to submit to patriarchal order and authority. When this happens, the family is being used as a value system to oppress women.

If women question their subservient role in this system, they are accused of wanting to destroy the family. We believe that most women naturally and instinctively love the family; in any case, they have been socialized to take primary responsibility material, psychological, moral for the family. Thus they are often trapped by such appeals and accusations, caught between their love and duty on the one side and their rebellion against unjust treatment and yearning to be recognized as full human beings on the other.

Fortunately, in our discussions with churches and women, we occasionally caught glimpses of a way out of this trap. Women are creating and the Decade is celebrating new forms of relationship between women and men, whether in the framework of the blood-related family (parents, children, aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters, cousins, grandparents etc.) or new forms of family. Here and there, the notion of motherhood is being extended to apply beyond women to the caring community. Here and there, the role of fathers is being explored and expanded to encompass behaviour that used to be described as "mothering". Here and there, women are suggesting and men are beginning to consider a more inclusive worldview.

Because the wife does not need to work, the family need no children's allowance. This penalizes the family, which is nevertheless celebrated as the highest value. (Austria) A young woman asked whether churches and the WCC should not question the positions of some feminist theologians who, for her perspective, undermine values of family and community. (Belgium) The Decade is seen as feminist and feminists are seen as responsible for breaking up families. (Canada) Many young women today feel it is too stressful to have both a career and family and are opting for the family. This trend is also being supported by the increasing emphasis on the traditional understanding of the family. (Denmark) They also talked about the serving role of women in the church and saw it as a result of the Karelian cultural tradition, in which the father has always been the patriarch of the family and was served by the women. (Finland) Women, due to family pressures and expectations, do not have the opportunity to pursue higher education beyond. Domestic stereotyping permits the husband to continue higher education, leaving the wife to play her traditional role of the "homemaker", yet she cannot sacrifice her job, as her income is a very important contribution to the family. (Finland) "The man is the head of the family according to the Bible, and in Hungarian culture women generally do not take on leadership roles," the women pointed out. (Hungary) Alternative life-styles which are chosen by women and which replace the traditional nuclear family were often mentioned. Despite the growing pluriformity of life styles and relationships, the churches often stick to the traditional family unit as the preferred basis for society. Many requested that these alternative life-styles be recognized and be treated on an equal basis as the traditional form of family life. (Germany) Churches are challenged to review male images of God and the way in which theology is done. It is also necessary, we were told, to assess whether the image of the family, and more specifically of the traditional patriarchal family, can continue to be a theological image which is inviting, helpful and healing. (Germany) The team was firmly and politely told by several women that what we were saying about women was against the teaching of the Bible. Also that we had come in and tried to disturb the peace and order of the church and of the family. (Taiwan) We heard several times from church leaders and pastors and also from some of the women that the question of male-female relationships is better approached from the perspective of the family rather than from that of the women. (Malaysia) Domestic violence is a confidential matter that should in their opinion be dealt with privately by the clergy. In the Asian culture the family unit needs to be maintained... The head of church who hosted us explained that rather than focussing on violence as such his church addressed the importance of keeping the family together. (Malaysia) A suspicion or clear aversion to "feminism" was often expressed, and often seen in contrast, even opposition to family, a primary value in Polish society. (Poland) No thought is given to the role of the father. (Portugal)

Oppressive Theology, Interpretations of the Bible

We were often reminded during our visits that oppressive theology and misinterpretations of man-woman relationships in the Bible are sometimes used to justify not only violence against women in its various forms but also other expressions of sexism - from exclusion from participation and power, to economic injustice, to racism against women.

The issue of theology and biblical interpretation which denigrate, ignore and oppress women came up in our discussions with church leaders and women in two ways. Sometimes people were aware that this is a problem, and are struggling with it. Women in particular are often aware that the Bible is used to hold them down, to justify male domination, to prevent them from participating, to make them feel guilty if they do not comply, to make them accept sacrifice and suffering. "The Bible is the problem!", many women told us.

Especially in Latin America and Africa we heard that women need to reread scripture through their own eyes. In their view there is a need to place the biblical stories in the historical context in which they were written, to take the cultural assumptions of their writers into account and, above all, to choose what is life- and community-building in the Bible. When theological education was discussed, we sometimes heard a call for feminist literature, for courses that deal specifically with theology from a women's or feminist perspective, for hermeneutical tools to reinterpret oppressive biblical texts, particularly the Pauline texts. Women are calling not just for specific courses on feminist theology, but for full integration of women's concerns and perspectives into theological education. They want to be present as students and as teachers.

On the other hand, in many instances men - and church leaders in particular - do not see a problem, and even cited theology and Bible passages to explain or justify confining women in their churches to their set roles and situations.

In some places, often in the context of Orthodox churches, women affirmed that it is possible to be faithful to tradition and still challenge what it has done to women, to work gradually but steadily for change. In some cases we were happy to see that this is happening.

There is often a polarization between male and female perceptions of the content of theology and of the ways in which faith and spiritual experiences can be expressed. The gap between the two perceptions can be quite deep and we even heard people wonder whether they are still part of the same Christian church. One of the areas in which this polarization becomes visible is in worship and liturgy, where male-dominated images of God and language are still dominant.(Germany) One church leader expressed the totally prejudiced opinion that [women engaged in feminist theology] were all unmarried mothers or divorcees who hated men; that they were anti-establishment and had broken with the traditions of their original communities. (Bolivia) The main divisive issue in the church continues to be the question of inclusive language... The resistance to inclusive language probably touches layers deep down in the minds and souls of men and women. (Canada) Theological colleges... train women to practise ministry in a male style. (Canada) Inclusive language was not evident in any worship. (Antigua) From the Bible Paul's writings were particularly mentioned as being used to affirm the subordinate role of women. (Botswana) We were most surprised when a church leader spoke in an inappropriately humorous vein. He referred to St Paul in a light, ironic tone, concluding his statement with the famous "Women, obey your husbands"... The pastor's humorous tone caught our attention as he used it whenever a woman intervened in the ceremony. (C“te d'Ivoire) The male-dominated structure of the churches seemed very evident to the team. Some biblical passages of St Paul are interpreted so as to justify a men-led church and a male-oriented reading of the gospel. (Lesotho) Lack of partnership in church structures was usually justified (by men) with quotations from the Bible. (Nigeria) The extreme view is that since Jesus did not include women among his twelve disciples he meant that only men should be ordained... Apostolic succession must be maintained, and this means only men would be heads of the church. (Nigeria) The fact that Christ is male is giving men a sense of being superior to women, and one has easily forgotten the stories of Jesus and the women. (Canada) Even the visibility of women within normal worship is limited. (Solomon Islands) The patriarchal leadership structure is very apparent in the physical arrangements during festivities. The chiefs, head pastor and wife... sit in specially designated places quite far removed from the rest of the assemblage. (Marshall Islands) Often the very arrangement of places at worship, especially the two-tiered seats by the altar, reinforces the man's central and elevated place. (Cameroon) Mary's role as intercessor on behalf of sinners is replicated at the cultural level: the role of women in Portuguese society is mainly to smooth things out, to act as intercessors or aides. This leads directly to a situation of subordination of women, who have been denied the education that would enable them to be independent and autonomous. This condition was especially evident during the Catholic-inspired dictatorship (1928-1974), when the equality of citizens before the law was recognized, "with the exception of women, owing to the differences in their nature and for the good of the family." (Portugal) There is no provision for biblical or theological formation from a woman's perspective. (Uruguay)

Attitudes to Sexuality

Sexuality was an underlying but mostly unspoken subject in all our visits. Where it was mentioned it was often with a negative connotation, in relation to problems like prostitution, sex tourism, promiscuity, polygamy, adultery, AIDS, violence against women. Rarely is sexuality celebrated in the church as a source of joy, companionship, an expression of love. Occasionally people explicitly acknowledged that churches cannot deal with sexuality, and that this is what prevents them from dealing effectively with these problems.

We were made aware of the double standards of sexual morality prevailing in many cultures and churches: women are punished for sexual activity or adultery while the men involved are excused. Women are sometimes blamed for their husbands' infidelities; when a man has AIDS some communities and churches may consider that it is somehow the wife's fault, and she is shunned by her relatives after his death.

We found that in many contexts women's sexuality and biological functions are perceived as impure and unclean, while no such opprobrium is attached to men's sexuality and bodily functions In many cases the idea that women are somehow rendered impure, or are at least handicapped, by menstruation, child-bearing, motherhood and their physical structure is used as a pretext to prevent them from being ordained. Some churches still uphold the Leviticus laws relative to women and impurity; liturgy and rituals related to the "cleansing of women" are still used in a number of churches.

To what extent do these attitudes in church and society express men's fear of and desire to control women's sexuality? Such fear and control is seen in many churches' disapproval of or harshness towards divorced and widowed women and the pressure placed on single women to marry. More fundamentally, this fear and control may be what underlie sexism in general, and all forms of discrimination, injustice, domination, and oppression of women by men.

The cultural code of discipline is favourable to the men and is very unfair. There is a double standard of morality. Women are expected to be virgins when they marry. Women suspected of having relations with other men are beaten... Even the wife's family could tolerate the beating if indeed the woman is at fault. Women cannot say no to their husbands. Procreation is seen as their role in society. If they object they could be beaten or money could be withheld from them. (Kiribati) The ordination of women is not a theological question: the ministry is basically open to women... The obstacles are more at the cultural and psychological levels. This can be seen partly in such restrictions as permitting women to be ordained only after age 45, when they can no longer become pregnant. (Myanmar) Male promiscuity is directly related to the male "stud" mentality, a cultural inheritance from the slave culture where men were kept as "breeders", not as responsible fathers in a family. Many women feel that when their mate leaves them it is their fault for not having satisfied the man... Some church leaders expressed different standards for men's and women's action in the world. For example, "Women should be restrained" and "Women who dress improperly invite rape." (Caribbean)

Gospel and Culture

The continuing ecumenical study - both at the level of the WCC and in many local settings - is certainly relevant to the aims of the Ecumenical Decade. The gospel and culture study is confirming the need to respect cultural contexts everywhere, reminding us that culture is the inescapable medium for the expression of the gospel and helping us to understand that culture and religion are capable of being both oppressive and liberating. We are learning about the need for contextual theology and inculturation and at the same time that the gospel can and should criticize and transform what is oppressive in culture.

Surprisingly, elements of culture which emerged most often during the visits were the oppressive ones. In a period when values and life-styles are being globalized along with the economy, one might have expected to hear from men and women alike that culture has much to offer women in terms of providing a sense of identity and integrity. Yet this was seldom the case.

Rather, we heard that culture assigns unequal male and female roles and destinies: domination, strength, wealth, pleasure, ease, knowledge and power for men; submission, violence, poverty, pain, hard work, ignorance and powerlessness for women. In the churches the influence of culture was sometimes deplored, sometimes accepted as inevitable, and sometimes even affirmed and celebrated. But only rarely did church leaders proclaim their faith in the power of the gospel to criticize and transform culture, or tell us about their efforts to fulfill the mission of the church in this way.

Thus churches blame culture for their inaction. Yet when the culture (or secular society) moves ahead faster to accord women their rightful place in society, the churches tend to distance themselves from it.

Women are asking the churches to play a leading role in providing a gospel vision of solidarity among women and men. Did not Jesus in his earthly ministry challenge all that is oppressive in the culture of his times? Did not Paul call on the communities he visited to place the gospel over and above culturally-sanctioned practices? Did he not preach and live out the message that in Christ all odious distinctions are erased? And yet we heard to often that it was Paul who gives men the right to discriminate against women!

Women's Liberation" is seen as a white middle-class North American phenomenon and another example of cultural imperialism in the Caribbean. Patriarchal hierarchy, however, was never seen as a contribution of the same imperialism. (Caribbean) As one person put it, "In our culture the man is always in front while the woman follows." In a number of cases the women shared this view; they did not feel qualified for positions, so they would not even challenge the men. Even where the opportunity exists to nominate women, they do not do so, because they lack confidence in themselves. (Malaysia) A church leader said: "We do not discriminate against women. Women play important roles at home. Men put women in the top place at home. They have important roles to play in looking after the children, doing housekeeping tasks, and they have the freedom to say anything at home. In community gatherings, women have a special place. The fact that they are not allowed to speak is not a discrimination. According to our custom in the maneaba, if they want to say something, they have a channel to go through (that is, their husbands). I cannot understand why things are made complicated. I guess these ideas reach our women through the influence of women from bigger countries where women are not cared for." On women's ordination, he said: "It is true that the church discriminates against women, but this is for the good of the community to obtain a peaceful society. Otherwise, we would go against culture." (Kiribati) We questioned why women must remain at the back if they are so powerful. The church leader told us that this is because women were traditionally not given education and such attitudes continue. There must be a deliberate attempt to encourage change, even if it is with legislation, and women themselves need to be reoriented - it is often they who oppose the leadership of women! A member of our team quipped that the image which has been carried over into the church is that of a woman carrying all the load - something on her head, a baby on her back and a baby in her belly. (Ghana) The main reason given for the apathy is that this is all part of the culture; and that in a predominantly Islamic country churches cannot do much on the issue. But male domination and apathy are also predominant within the Christian churches. The churches need to be helped to see through the hollowness of this argument. (Pakistan) The good news comes to many women as a liberation from the Confucianist patriarchal tradition, which might be one of the reasons why some 70 percent of church members in Korea are women. But even the church is not free from the influence of Confucianism... This patriarchal value system has influenced many church members, both men and women. Because of this, women who are struggling for change and for recognition of their own contributions sometimes receive only little support and often feel very isolated and alone. (Korea) The principal of the theological college believes violence against women will disappear as society naturally progresses. Also, he and his colleagues were at pains to explain that certain forms of contemporary behaviour towards women were a corruption of culture and tradition, which were in themselves women-oriented and caring. There was amazement at the ways in which they felt women in the West could choose simply to leave and/or divorce their husbands. (Zambia)

Solidarity and Divisions among Women

In many churches tension between two groups of women is a kind of "stone" needing to be rolled away. On the one side are women's groups or fellowships whose members, whether or not they question the church's patriarchal tendencies and support of an oppressive culture, nevertheless play the role society and the church expect them to fulfill. They are faithful to the church, usually very active, serving it with all their hearts. They are well aware that they are the "pillars of the church". For many, their fellowship is like a home and family base. In Africa, many women belonging to traditional church women's associations wear a uniform, and thus are called "uniformed women".

On the other side, new groups are emerging who, through their education and training, often in the traditional women's fellowships, challenge the preconceived roles assigned to them. They are assertive and question tradition when it is oppressive. They are also dedicated to the church, but are ready to undertake new roles.

Often the former are older women who keep younger women from taking responsibilities, or who will not allow harmful traditions to be stopped or even questioned. This threatens the church itself because the younger women leave.

These two groups have much in common. They come from the same cultural background, and they love the church. Unfortunately, their public quarrels unwittingly help church leaders and men in the churches to maintain the status quo. For example, the latter will justify their inaction by saying that women are "disorganized" or do not know what they want.

It may be that it is because they lack real power that women play the roles expected of them. By gaining approval, they stand to gain a little bit of power, mainly over other women. The strategy may be an unconscious one; it is clear that much of the approved, traditional women's work is motivated by genuine devotion to the church. Yet by joining together to do what is expected of them, they may inadvertently become an exclusive club that excludes younger women.

Other divisions between women appear. There may be jealousy and misunderstanding between lay and ordained women, for example. Frequently the issue of ordination and even of lay ministry is used to divide women, and they are set up in competition against each other. In some churches women pastors told us that women in their congregations do not support them.

As we have noted earlier, race economic and class interests can also destroy solidarity between women. There are divisions between women who consider themselves feminists and those who do not. Some in the South say that feminism is an imposed ideology from the North. Many men and women equate it with man-hating. The word has all sorts of negative connotations. We noted, however, that women who may not call themselves feminists are committed to the same goals and values as their feminist sisters. And in our view there is space for all to reach out to each other in the common struggle.

In spite of these tensions we felt that overall the Decade has revealed a deep well of women's solidarity with each other. In many places women bond over life-threatening issues, including violence and other forms of oppression. Even where they are divided, most women have a strong sense of the need to be in solidarity with each other.

From a group of women who meet regularly under the auspices of the ecumenical council to discuss the role of women in church and society, we heard comments like: "We are not militant feminists," "Feminist theology doesn't interest us," and "We are aware of the situation in our church which is so conservative in many ways, and we are still glad to serve." (Slovakia) Our team recognized regretfully and after many conversations that these two "women's branches" of the church co-exist uneasily. In fact there is almost undeclared war between them... Both factions deserve much better and, above all, the women they seek to serve and encourage require their total support. (Togo) There is fear of feminism in the church and women are afraid to name themselves as feminists in the church. (Canada) The team was struck by the evident lack of awareness of issues with which women are struggling. When a question was raised about the spiritual contribution of women, feminist theology was equated with radicalism. (Finland) The general secretary [of a feminist women's Christian group] cited an incident of trying to cooperate with the Christian council. This failed because of opposition from some of the women members of the council, who perceive the group as dangerous and do not want in any way to be associated with it. (Hong Kong) We also noted that the Decade has divided women from each other. At least three groups have emerged: an official Decade group of men and women, theologians and laypeople, appointed by the bishop; a group of feminist theologians and pastors, created at the initiative of the first woman to be ordained, who has also created a Woman Church; and a group of deacons and women studying to be deacons. At the same time, a certain division was evident between ordained women and women who work in the church but are not ordained. The phrase that recurred several times was "we have to make visible those who are invisible", in other words, those active laywomen who are not officially recognized by the church. (Iceland) Simultaneously church women experience great openness to their involvement as well as fear to open up new avenues leading to new ways and styles, to new theological reflection and expressions of faith. (Italy)

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The Impact of the Decade and the Visits

Throughout the mid-Decade visits we discovered many signs of new life, of a breaking out from the stoned-up tombs of oppression. We found that God's resurrected spirit is particularly evident among women. Their witness in the face of injustice in church and society points to the reality of resurrection. The Decade has inspired and supported their witness.

Unquestionably, the Decade has had an impact on the women in the member churches of the World Council of Churches. Our visits consistently revealed the Decade's capacity to empower communities, women's groups and individuals. It has served as a source of hope for renewal, as a medium for women to express their solidarity with each other, as an occasion for women - often with great courage - to voice their ideas and feelings openly in the presence of team members and men in their churches. At best it has been a catalyst, energizing women to launch new programmes addressing their concerns.

In some places, we found that the Decade had created or allowed existing tensions between women to surface. Different understandings of the role and function of women in church and society emerged even as they were pursuing the Decade goals. Happily, in many of these cases, the Decade (and our visits) provided a trusted environment where differences could be acknowledged and discussed and common concerns identified.

With deep regret, we also discovered that the Decade does not seem to have elicited the same kind of response from men in the churches. With the rare exception, it would be fair to say that the Decade has not been one of churches in solidarity with women. The seed is still falling on rocky soil. Many churches did not make the Decade an official priority or devote significant time and energy to realize its aims. Rather it proved to be a Decade of women in solidarity with women.

Generally speaking, we as "living letters" were received with appreciation and hospitality by churches and national ecumenical organizations. Most churches with local Decade committees worked hard to provide accommodation and useful and interesting encounters within a programme that provided a maximum of coverage with enough time to record, reflect and build community.

Sometimes, different groups within a church who had never seen the need to reflect together on the Decade issues came together around a table to meet with us. Sometimes it was church leaders and women who were thus brought together. In one country, for instance, our visit was experienced by men and women alike as an eye-opener, an occasion to hear (and not just listen to) women's voices for the first time. And sometimes the Decade, or our presence, prompted church leaders to discuss for the first time the issue of their solidarity with women. In one place we heard that church leaders had been embarrassed that so little had been done and were spurred into action by our impending visit.

Despite such impacts, most churches and church leaders responded to the Decade rather like the men in the upper room to the women who rushed from the garden to tell their story of the rolled-away stone. Just as almost all of the men in the upper room dismissed what the women were telling them as "idle tales", throughout the Decade many church leaders have remained indifferent to or complacent about what women are saying and feeling.

On our visits, some men told us that the church has other, more important priorities. Social, economic or cultural realities come first. Agreeing that the Decade is important, these leaders yet consider that the time is not ripe for sweeping changes. Some said that churches are already addressing women's concerns under other agendas. We wonder if these men are not using a rhetoric of sensitivity to women's gifts and concerns to mask comfort with and commitment to the status quo - an ability to "talk the talk" but not to "walk the walk".

Others told us that the Decade goals are too conflictual, would damage relations within the church, or with other churches, or with secular society, or with the state, or with other faith communities.

A very common reaction was that the Decade is a "women's thing". In some places, where feminism is seen as an imposed concept from the West, it is feared and rejected. In these places, church leaders were not available for dialogue with us or, if they were, expressed outright hostility to the Decade.

Not all church leaders discounted the women's story as "idle tales", however. From time to time, we too found a positive response. Among the men in the upper room, one reacted with amazement. "Peter got up and ran to the tomb". When he saw what had happened, "he went home, amazed" (Luke 24:12). And there were places where churches - leaders and people of God - reacted with amazement to the Decade, recognizing its central importance for the future of the church and its place in society, suddenly realizing that gender or community issues are not just "women's issues" but belong to the whole community of women and men, that is, the church.

The impact of an exercise of the magnitude of the Ecumenical Decade and the mid-Decade visits needs to be evaluated. The Decade itself of course is not yet over. Its effects will be discussed at the WCC assembly in Harare in 1998. We would suggest that, given the ongoing, dynamic nature of the Decade aims and goals, its success or failure is scarcely measurable in objective, fixed time. We can say, however, that the 1987 decision of the WCC central committee to launch the Decade set in motion a process of planning, priority-setting and networking at local and global levels that is still unfolding. A movement of reflection and action with transformative power was started that will continue to build momentum. The WCC and its member churches are being urged anew towards the formation of inclusive community.

As far as the mid-Decade visits programme goes, believing that the medium itself is often the message, we would wholeheartedly endorse the "living letters" approach or methodology. This programme was the first occasion when all WCC member churches were visited around a single major ecumenical theme; for some churches, it was the first-ever official visit from the Council. For others (in every region) who were feeling isolated, our visit was a precious opportunity to become acquainted with representatives from other member churches.

We were excited by the relational effects of the programme on visited and visitors alike and would like to emphasize its importance for the WCC. We believe that the Council should continue to be an ecumenical forum for dialogue and encounter, explanation and study of matters that affect the ecumenical and global community. To our mind, making possible extensive people-to-people contacts is an excellent means of fulfilling this task.

It must also be said that without the WCC women's office and the working group, neither the Decade nor the visits would have happened. For us the Decade and the mid-Decade visits demonstrated that a strong nucleus, capable of making and sustaining connections, building networks, helping to shape collective will is critical in a time of powerful global forces of disunity and destruction.

And finally, the impact of the visits on the "living letters" themselves cannot be over-estimated. Over 200 people of different ages and experience, from diverse cultural backgrounds and church traditions were involved. Composed of at least two men and two women from different parts of the oikoumene, united for a few days by their common task, each team itself lived out what being an inclusive community means, while the visits provided a chance of experiencing the ecumenical movement in its essence.

Women team members said they learned the meaning of solidarity with women in very different circumstances. And for some men, participation in the team and the visits were a moment of "conversion", allowing them to internalize the concerns women speak of, and thereby gain a new understanding of what it means to be in solidarity with women.

Reactions from Staff

The Decade team visit is a great opportunity to meet with church people and talk about the ecumenical movement, the WCC, the member churches that we represent, the various programmes, and to hear from the churches their concerns. The concept of living letters, written in the hearts of people, was really excellent. The church leaders were amused when we said that living letters cannot be thrown in waste baskets, but that we could dialogue together and express our common concerns. There are of course moments when we reflected whether we should be culturally sensitive, politically correct or gender-sensitive. It is not always easy, as we feel we are visitors. But we were able to respond in our own ways. This is the value of coming as a team from different regions. The concept of living letters visiting the churches every now and then, especially for the new churches as a way of nurturing relationship, is very important in the years to come.

Erlinda Senturias
Executive Secretary for Health and Healing
Churches Action for Health
WCC Unit II-Churches in Mission

The Decade team visit to South Africa was one of the best trips I have had during my four years at the WCC. What I liked most was that we interacted extensively with people in their reality. Even though we were challenging the leadership and other groups we met on the four Decade issues, we got to know something of them as people, gained a better understanding of their reality and learned a great deal about how they viewed these issues. The experience and the people I met will always be very special to me.

I think the methodology of teams visiting all the member churches is an extremely important tool for the WCC to use in the future. I believe these visits brought the churches closer to the WCC and provided an opportunity to interact with the member churches in a novel manner; we developed a new appreciation for those member churches visited. This is particularly true and very important for member churches that are rarely otherwise visited. It is just unfortunate that the visits could not be followed up with other contacts, visits and financial support to assist them in their work on the Decade.

Deborah Robinson
Executive Secretary
Programme to Combat Racism
WCC Unit III-Justice, Peace, Creation

The participation in team visits reconfirmed my conviction that there is no better form of communication than personal encounters, which make for far more intensive and interactive communication than can ever be achieved through letters and documents. The second important experience was the bond built among team members, even when we disagreed among ourselves on several issues and how they might be approached.

It is my firm conviction that the Decade team visits have put the issues related to women in church and society more forcefully on the agenda of the churches. Even those churches that were defensive or evasive were forced to confront the questions. It was fascinating to watch those who have never really faced those questions before realizing that this issue can no longer be avoided. It was also a positive experience to see women, who had been rather reluctant in their advocacy, receiving strength and courage by the presence of an international team.

Wesley Ariarajah
Deputy General Secretary
WCC

Reactions from teams

Our visit can be summarized in the images of a mirror, a bridge and a wind. In our discussions, encounters and sharing, team members and local partners became mirrors for one another: we were invited to look at our own thinking, our culture, our practices in the light of women's experiences, so that their words are no longer an "idle tale" to the church leaders.

The visit enabled us also to build a bridge by means of which those who should be listening to each but who usually do not even meet could get to know each other - for example, women's groups and church leaders, or church women's groups and secular NGO groups.

The team was a wind God's spirit with us, through us and in our midst blowing softly but steadily, making a smouldering fire flame up again. Its burning was a visible sign for communities where men and women were allowed to feel, to act, to think up to their full potential. Here the house of God was no longer doing without many of its resources, but rather preserving the ones in women which are so often undermined or restricted.
Team to Myanmar

It was very good to have WCC representation in the flesh. One of the benefits was that it helped deal with the negative image in the press of the World Council of Churches. It was good to see that WCC programme units are represented by people, not just policy statements and programme outlines.
Team to the Philippines

The church representatives visited said that ecumenism was not possible without personal relations and they therefore valued the "living letters". For the churches the logical conclusion of the living letters was a "living report", which they preferred to reports written with "foreign eyes and in strange languages".
Team to Portugal

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Opportunities and Challenges

We know that the Decade and our visits raised tremendous expectations among women for real change in their own denominations. We have expressed our vision of the Decade of Churches in Solidarity with Women as an unfolding process, a movement for transformation that will continue to build momentum beyond 1998 and into the new millennium.

To translate this vision into reality, to prevent the loss of what has been achieved, to ensure the churches do not "forget" the purpose of the Decade, to make sure that women are not disappointed again, we who have served as "living letters" affirm that churches and the WCC today face the following opportunities and challenges.

For the Churches

Violence against Women
We call on churches to name and denounce all the various forms of violence, culturally sanctioned or not, against women inside and outside the church. We call on church leaders to declare together that violence against women is a sin. We urge them to take the side of the victim instead of sheltering the aggressor, to offer pastoral counselling that targets a concrete improvement in the victim's life situation, instead of simply preaching patience, silence and submission. Often violence against women finds theological justification in the teachings of the church. We call on the church, with the full participation of women theologians, to deconstruct and reconstruct such basic, biblical and doctrinal teachings so as to usher in liberational paradigms and perspectives.

Racism against Women
We affirm that churches are challenged

• to recognize the links between sexism and racism so evident in the treatment of black, indigenous and minority women;
  
• to recognize and attempt to overcome racism wherever it exists in their midst;
  
• to make efforts to combat racism as a central part of the church's life rather than something marginal, located in special, semi-detached programmes and committees.

We also challenge church women's organizations to recognize the links between racism and sexism and to encourage and enable women to work in solidarity with other women across racial and ethnic lines.

And we urge men who themselves suffer from racism and draw strength and sustenance from their membership of black, indigenous or minority groups to take the responsibility to recognize that they themselves are sometimes guilty of oppressing their wives, sisters, mothers, who thus suffer from multiple forms of oppression.

Economic Injustice
We affirm that churches are challenged

• to recognize that poverty, economic constraints and limited resources are too often women's concerns, in that women and children suffer disproportionately from these ills; and that economic crisis and poverty must in no way be used to justify the exclusion of women or violence against them;
  
• to build on and expand the valuable work they already do in developing and supporting programmes that address economic injustice against women, and to do so in ways that take into account and address the root causes of such injustice;
  
• to practise economic justice within the church in terms of equal salaries for equivalent work, and women's access to leadership positions;
  
• where economic structures reinforced by culture dictate economic discrimination against women - in the form of barring them from owning or inheriting property, or managing money, or getting vocational training, or working outside the home, or gaining access to gainful employment or a wage equivalent to that of a man, or receiving any recognition of their economic contribution in terms of unpaid work - to identify and combat such injustice;
  
• where state laws discriminate against women because of religious practices and customs, to identify and combat such injustice.

Participation
Churches, which have developed sociologically as communities led by and embodying the concerns of men, are called to understand that women are not one among many priorities on a long list, nor simply a cause to defend.

We therefore call on the churches to understand that women and men are persons created in God's image and to God's glory and thus that the community of women and men - a new community of all persons across gender, racial, ethnic class and economic lines in partnership and solidarity with each other is of the essence of the church and its mission today.

We call on churches and church leaders to move away from a passive attitude of not being against women, to seeking actively to make full participation of women an ethical imperative based on our common faith.

We affirm that churches have the opportunity

• if necessary, to change their constitutions to ensure that women are eligible for appointment to executive/leadership positions, including synod membership;
  
• to open the door to women to participate in decision-making, leadership and non-traditional lay ministerial roles in the church and, at the same time,
  
• to work with men to help them to understand and go beyond gender stereotypes, to enable them to become more active in fields traditionally assigned to women in the church, with a goal of mutual sharing and exchange between women and men.

Christ came to give life for all. We need to develop and practice a theology of justice, empowerment of and solidarity with women. We believe that churches, theologians, theological schools and faculties have the duty to rethink theology, theological teaching and pastoral formation in the light of this challenge. We believe that they are called

• to reinterpret scripture, to read the Bible with new eyes to re-discover the role of women as part of its core message, to discover what is liberating and reinterpret or discard what is oppressive;
  
• to rethink with women the teaching of church history, systematic theology and all other fields of theology;
  
• to offer theological students access to diverse theological perspectives, including various theologies from women's perspectives;
  
• to renew liturgies, for example, marriage rituals, that portray women as somehow inferior or even impure and which relegate women to lesser, submissive, and demeaning roles;
  
• to re-examine the links between the gospel and cultural practices that oppress women, to acknowledge that such practices go counter to the gospel; to reflect on where and how gospel has the duty and power to criticize culture.

We ask the churches

• to ensure and facilitate equal access to theological education to women, and intentionally invite women professors to teach theology;
  
• to affirm all forms of ministry in which women are engaged, particularly the ordination of women to the diaconate;
  
• to consider what, if anything, in their doctrinal tradition expressly forbids ordination of women and, if such prescriptions really do exist, to consider how to evolve contemporary interpretations while yet remaining faithful to tradition;
  
• where they already ordain women, to affirm them clearly by providing vocational opportunities and practical support to help congregations accept women pastors with joy and gratitude, in the case of married women pastors, making sure that their placement takes the whole family's situation in account.

For the WCC

In our view the Ecumenical Decade - Churches in Solidarity with Women has important implications for the self-understanding of the World Council of Churches.

We believe the Council is called to reclaim a prophetic, ethical and moral voice on the subject of women in church and society, to monitor women's issues, to provide inspiration and leadership. It seems, however, that the Council is caught in an uncomfortable place between reporting on where the churches are now as regards their solidarity with women, and challenging them to do better.

We therefore suggest that one way of being that prophetic voice and issuing that challenge will be to make clear that member churches are expected to do all their power to bring about the full participation of women, as an ethical and theological imperative.

The current exploration of the Common Understanding and Vision of the WCC does talk about mutual accountability on racism, sexism and classism. But its main focus is on member churches staying together. We suggest that "staying together" requires a commitment to inclusion. Those who are presently excluded could then bring their gifts to the ecumenical table, with all the possibilities for ecumenical renewal which that would bring.

More specifically, we call on the WCC

• to reconsider the criteria for WCC membership in respect particularly to violence against women, and the participation of women in the life of the churches;
  
• to ensure an equal number of women and men in decision-making bodies and in conferences organized by any part of the WCC up to the 1998 assembly and beyond;
  
• to ensure that women get the benefits of lay training programmes supported by the WCC, particularly at Bossey. We suggest that the Council organize a debate on how far the churches have come on ordained ministry for women. We think the WCC should provide space for a dialogue of different methodologies of doing theology. And it should initiate a new phase of the Community of Women and Men in the Church study at the congregational level, with a focus on biblical and theological understandings of issues like community, violence and justice;
  
• to emphasize that the gospel is the basis for a critique of prevalent culturally sanctioned injustice and violence against women. We hope the WCC can support the production of educational materials for congregations on violence in families, materials that might help churches help men discuss the issue of male violence and male sexuality;
  
• to continue and strengthen the work of the women's programme, the work on women and economic justice, and the Women Under Racism programme;
  
• special attention must be paid to strengthening the young women's network;
  
• to review the functioning of regional groups, round tables, etc. to ensure women's full participation. We recall that the council's resource-sharing conferences recommended that 50 percent of funding go to women-centred projects, and add an appeal that 50 percent of scholarships be set aside for women. We further urge the Council to continue its particular attention to women in emergency and war situations, and to refugee and migrant women.

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