texto en español

"WOMEN AND THE ACCRA CONFESSION: COVENANTING FOR LIFE"

August 20-25, 2005
Madge Saunders Conference Centre, St Mary , Jamaica

MESSAGE

The women gathered at the Madge Saunders Conference Centre in Jamaica covenanted as partners committed to the Accra Confession. We have come from North, South, East and West, Asia, Africa, Latin America, Caribbean, North America and Europe , from different backgrounds, races and ethnic groups. We have come as pastors, theologians, university professors, economists, church workers, students, homemakers, business executives, denominational executives, sociologists, political scientists, journalists, social workers, and ethicists.

I. Statements on the Accra Confession

We have come to Jamaica to engage the Accra Confession from the perspectives of many women. Grounded in a context of worship and theological reflection, we have affirmed, and critically reflected on the Accra Confession.

We have listened

We have taken time to listen to cries of injustice from particular locations in Ghana, Jamaica, the Philippines, Sweden, Canada and Germany, expressing women's experiences of poverty, the impact of racial injustice, HIV/Aids on women and youth, trafficking in women and children, and the effects of neo-liberal globalisation on women and youth in urban settings.

We have spoken about

•  The importance of acknowledging the inseparable link between ecology, economic justice, and gender equality. This link shows its deathly face when elements of life such as water are privatised and thus become inaccessible for many. Women carry the main weight of the commodification of God's creation. The feminisation of poverty can be seen in the fact that 60-70% of the world's poor are women.

•  The impact of ecological destruction, and economic and gender injustices on women and children.

•  The nature and effects of unjust trade rules, the International Monetary Fund, and World Bank policies.

•  The importance of using postcolonial analyses to engage the Accra Confession.

We affirm that

•  The Accra Confession places economic justice and ecological justice at the centre of our theological reflections and faith practices.

•  The struggle against the chains of oppression, the yokes of injustice, and the captivity of people who are oppressed is valid and central in the ministry of the church.

•  As women we need to read, discuss and analyse the Accra Confession from our different positions and locations and that the church must recognize these perspectives.

We critically reflected on

The Accra Confession from women's theological perspectives, focussing on where the Accra Confession affirms fullness of life for women and where the Confession has gaps in that affirmation. Speaking from those perspectives, we have these critiques.

•  The generalized language of inclusivity of the Accra Confession is so broad that women are rendered invisible.

•  The power imbalances in gender relations, and the patriarchal and racist structures that justify, support, and worsen the depths of the crisis for women are absent in the Accra Confession.

•  There are issues crucial to women that are not addressed, such as migration, legislation which affects women, and underemployment. Further, the definition of work as being solely productive fails to include or appreciate the reproductive work of women.

•  The lack of acknowledgement of the economic and political effects of multinational conglomerates which have undermined the authority of nation states.

II. Workshop Participant Commitments

As women from many positions and locations around the world, we have the power to move the Accra Confession forward. We commit to:

1. Adopt popular education methodological approaches that can be used in our different contexts;
2. Ensure that Accra Confession booklets are produced for distribution to clergy and others;
3. Develop a feminist/womanist/mujerista critique that honours the links between economy, ecology, and justice;
4. Develop liturgical materials that reflect a critical gender perspective;
5. Develop a feminist economic perspective on the Accra Confession;
6. Disseminate this statement to ecumenical organisations, seminaries, women's groups, youth, environmental organisations and other peoples' movements through the web, newsletters, and other spaces;
7. Work together with social movements in recognition of our common struggles;
8. Work to ensure participation of youth and women as delegates, participants and presenters in all follow-up meetings to the Accra Confession;
9. Share the Confession and our materials with political leaders and organizations;
10. Include our materials in the liturgical year activities of churches and ecumenical organisations;
11. Disseminate our materials to theological faculties, seminaries, women's organizations and other university bodies; and
12. Work in partnership with different ecumenical organizations through the World Council of Churches AGAPE (Alternative Globalisation Addressing Peoples and Earth) and other processes.

III. The Accra Confession Process

The process of interpretation and engagement of member churches must ensure full participation of youth, women and men, both lay and ordained at all levels. It should include these key concepts:

Key concepts:

•  Theologies that are ethically accountable which will address how as Christians we understand God's work in creation, Jesus' concern for the poor and outcast, and the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit in calling all peoples to the struggle for justice for all, especially those oppressed and marginalized on the basis of gender, race, class, ethnicity, sexual orientation and different abilities.

•  The development of biblical, theological, liturgical resources to ground the Accra Confession.

Engaging (1) Jesus' reinterpretation of the prophetic tradition in Isaiah 61 and in Luke 4 and (2) Micah's combining justice with ethics and (3) Micah's insistence that ethical responsibility is a necessary faith stance.

•  God's demand for justice, righteousness and shalom as the authority by which all systems should be judged.

•  Hearing the concrete stories and case studies from all regions, especially the stories of women and youth. Such stories and studies will identify life-affirming forces and share alternatives that are resisting the death-dealing forces at work in the world.

•  The inclusion of economic, ecological, and gender justice in the curricula of WARC member educational institutions so that students and faculty may understand the consequences of the neo-liberal economic model in all regions of the earth, and the inter-relatedness of different types of marginalization.

•  The development of popular education strategies by WARC, in consultation with its member churches. This will make the Accra Confession more accessible to, and promote ownership by, women and youth in different locations.

•  Enhanced ecumenical cooperation of WARC with its member churches and ecumenical partners in the promotion of economic justice. Such work is a visible sign that as members of the same household of God, we offer our unity as an alternative to individualism, competition, and alienation.

•  The development of alternatives to the culture of neo-liberalism. The Accra Confession process should offer alternatives in the area of language, techniques, values, and trade policies related to the neo-liberal culture.
Women and the Accra Confession Final Statement

25 08 05