World Economic Situation Changing Plans for Women's Meeting in Brazil
Episcopal News Service. January 10, 1992 [92005]
James Solheim
An international gathering of Anglican women may be forced to scale back because international economic conditions are making it difficult for women to attend, according to planners of the event.
Described as the Anglican Communion's response to the Ecumenical Decade in Solidarity with Women (1988-1998), the Worldwide Anglican Encounter expected about 2,000 women to register for the six-day meeting which opens March 29 in Salvador, Brazil. Registrations and financial support for the meeting have been less than expected, however, with many potential participants citing economic conditions for their hesitation in registering to attend.
"It would be a shame to limit the scope of the meeting because participants with fresh ideas, especially those from the developing world, are not able to attend," said Ann Smith, director of Women in Mission and Ministry and convenor of the planning committee.
Smith said that plans for the meeting "are looking good." Among the major speakers who have confirmed their participation are keynoter Professor Chung Hyun Kyung of South Korea, whose presentation stunned the World Council of Churches meeting in Australia a year ago; Bishop James Ottley of Panama; "outstanding speakers from indigenous cultures" including American Indian bishops Steve Charleston, William Wantland, and Stephen Plummer; and several prominent feminist theologians, including Professor Carter Heyward of Episcopal Divinity School in Massachusetts. Smith was also enthusiastic about the quality of leaders for a wide range of workshops on issues vital to women and the entire church.
From the beginning, the encounter has tried to include the participation of men, especially those in leadership positions in the church. "Most of the primates of the Americas, for example, are planning to attend," Smith said.
"The whole goal of the encounter is change," Smith added. "The old order doesn't work because it creates oppressive structures -- where men are given priority -- and that keeps us from being a community of men and women." Smith said that she hopes the Brazil meeting will help break down the isolation by modeling a community "that will make changes, make something new happen, helping us live out the Gospel."
When people understand what the encounter is all about, they get excited, Smith said in reporting on a recent presentation she made to the House of Bishops of the Church in the Province of the West Indies. "They were feeling some reservations about the meeting, but our discussion changed that, and they concluded that the encounter had great significance for our life as the Anglican Communion -- and especially for oppressed peoples."
Smith is deeply concerned that other bishops in the church are not as supportive of the encounter. Planners of the meeting originally sought $1,500 from each diocese of the Episcopal Church, but only seven have responded, and only four of those have paid the full amount.