The 10th General Assembly of the Ecumenical Forum of European Christian Women took place in the Monastery Sveti Nikolai, Soko Grad, Serbia from 7-12 August 2018. The conference theme was taken from the book of Esther 4:14 ‘If you remain silent at this time …’
We will be posting our reports from the Assembly over the next few weeks. T
Kathy Galloway gave a keynote speech on the first day.
She described how a few years before she had been given the Esther text to preach from – it had become clear that the woman reading the lesson had not read in advance as her voice gradually became higher in pitch as she became more indignant. Ancient stories may be heard differently by modern woman – Esther is a horror story of misogyny and violence – three women speak within it.
Vashti – we are not told what she said – we are told what she did – she is perceived by men to be great threat to all men. The second woman to speak – Esther herself who has to be seen to be the most beautiful – after a year of becoming groomed in the harem. The wife of Haman also speaks – she builds him up – and tells him to raise the gallows.
We are presented with the bad wife, the complicit wife and the good wife.
Vashti is used to show asolute male dominance. The wife of Hamam brings disaster upon her family and Esther is the great tactical heroine.
But the saved people go on to kill 75,000 it is not a comfortable story. In a continuing struggle against patriarchy what does it mean to speak truth to power?
There are many biblical women to encourage us.
It is always important to speak to those around us – look at the Samaritan woman who risks to speak to Jesus. We can volunteer, post on bulletin boards, offer hospitality, meeting spaces in churches or homes, partner with existing resources and speak without words through our physical presence. Look at Rizpa sometimes all that remains is to bear witness and call to account the rulers of the world. We can become a resource like Mary in her home. We can give voice by supporting professional training like Lydia in her agency as a successful business women. In readiness to listen and act in faith
Our leadership is important – in Scotland – the Side by Side movement for gender justice -coordinated by Christian Aid to encourage male faith leaders to speak out on issues of gender justice especially violence – and especially violence within faith.
We can never give up
Politely and patiently – with determination- as women we are ensuring the silence breaks on gender injustice.
We can say no. We can resist everything that distorts the image of God in human beings. And we can be the one who says yes – like Mary the mother of Jesus.
The women in the bible are there because they broke the rules
To need to move from personal comfort to solidarity – we are not alone – in the midst of our struggles is Jesus saying do not be afraid.
Booking is not essential, but, for catering purposes, please let LKH know if you will be attending :
Five years ago at the Conference of European Churches general assembly a vote was taken to remove quotas of women and young people that had been in place for many years. The EFECW voting place was also removed. Members of the forum strongly opposed this at the time believing that this would diminish the voices of women within CEC. When the subsequent CEC assembly begins on May 31st we will be watching to with interest to see the balance of women, men and young people looks the same as the last assembly with the quotas in place or whether there is a marked decline in the numbers of young people and women.
been appointed as the new Chief Executive of White Ribbon UK. White Ribbon UK seeks to end male violence against women, once and for all, by engaging men in calling out violent, bullying behaviour amongst their peers, and spreading a message of equality and respect. You can find out more at 
We partnered with Luther King House in February with a lecture from Sue Barclay, ‘View from the Mat – theological reflection on gender based violence in Uganda’. Sue opened by sharing some of the many stories in the bible that offer opportunities to reflect on gender based violence. Asking the question, ‘What if we use the life experience of the majority of people in the world ?’
The mermaid image was chosen to illustrate our original report – The Leading Question? because, whilst the mythical female figure of the mermaid is often seen as threatening and dangerous, luring sailors to their death, this has not always been so. At Zennor parish church in West Cornwall, there is a late 15th century carving of a mermaid on one of the pew ends. The mermaid was seen as a symbol of Christ. Her two natures, half human and half fish, echoed Christ’s humanity and divinity. The mermaid can still be seen as a beautiful symbol of our faith – of who Christ is. She speaks of living with ambiguity and mystery, of the importance of taking risk and calling us all out of complacency.
The Ecumenical Forum of European Christian Women in the UK 