Größeres Risiko von Gewalt gegen Frauen in der ökonomischen Krise

Der Reformierte Weltbund zum Internationalen Frauentag am 8. März

Geneva (ENI). Women are at higher risk of violence during the current economic crisis, yet the world is paying less attention to their needs, says the World Alliance of Reformed Churches. In a statement to mark International Women’s Day on 8 March, the Reformed churches alliance expresses concern that violent crimes against women, particularly rape and domestic violence, are on the rise at the same time that support for programmes to protect women is under threat. "The world seems to have become almost immunised to the stench of violence against women," said Patricia Sheerattan-Bisnauth, WARC's spokesperson on gender issues, in the 5 March statement.

Der Reformierte Weltbund (WARC) meldet:

The economic crisis is putting women at higher risk of violence yet the world is paying less attention to their needs, says a global church organization. In a statement issued to mark International Women’s Day (8 March), the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) expresses concern that violent crimes against women, particularly rape and domestic violence, are on the rise at the same time that support for programmes to protect women is under threat.

“The world seems to have become almost immunised to the stench of violence against women. Dowry-related deaths, honour killings, female genital mutilation, and rape as a weapon of war continue with impunity. Women and girls are sold in slavery as trafficking of persons across the globe for sexual and economic exploitation thrives,” says Patricia Sheerattan-Bisnauth, WARC’s spokesperson on gender issues.

“We cannot continue to ignore the plight of women and girls who are attacked in their homes or are targets of war crimes," says WARC’s general secretary, Setri Nyomi. “WARC calls for renewed commitment to accelerate rather than slow down the process of seeking to end violence against women and girls and to bring about justice.”

Poor women in poor countries suffer the most from the impact of the economic crisis, says Sheerattan-Bisnauth. Increased social unrest due to unemployment, rising food costs and disputes over scarce resources such as water and land, lead to rising levels of violence with women and girls most vulnerable to attack. Yet, warns Sheerattan-Bisnauth, funding for programmes designed to protect and empower women is being reduced. “Cuts to funding for social safety nets for the vulnerable – the elderly, sick, disabled and those in family crisis – exacerbate the situation”, Sheerattan-Bisnauth adds.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) warns that the world’s poorest countries are now being hit by what it terms the “third wave” of the downturn after first affecting the advanced and the emerging economies and says poor countries face greater exposure to the current crisis because they are more integrated into the international economy than they used to be. “This puts at risk the major achievements of higher growth, lower poverty, and greater political stability that many low-income countries have made over the past decade,” says the head of the IMF, Dominique Strauss-Kahn.

In responding to the crisis, churches in communities worldwide are seeking to counter the rise in violence through initiatives which engage both men and women. In ecumenical services to be held around the world on 6 March to mark the Women’s World Day of Prayer, the focus will be on one of the countries cited by the IMF as most at risk from the economic crisis. Women from churches in Papua New Guinea have written the liturgy for the annual service drawing on Biblical texts about the role of women in facing oppressors and citing modern day stories of women daring to meet for peace talks with rebels in remote areas of the country and to intervene to seek peaceful resolution in local tribal disputes.

“WARC celebrates the efforts of the women of Papua New Guinea to bring peace to their communities,” says Nyomi. “And we call on men to join with women in partnership in these initiatives.”

 


Barbara Schenck

Reformierter Weltbund: Georges-Lombard-Preis geht an Eun Young Hwang

Korean student wins Lombard Prize for study of Calvin and ecology
A Korean theology student has won the 2009 Lombard Prize for his study of the implications of John Calvin’s theology for the current ecological and economic crisis.

Meldung des Reformierten Weltbundes (WARC), www.warc.jalb.de

Calvin als Ökumeniker in und für Europa

Thomas Wipf über die Perspektive der Reformation der Flüchtlinge und die Vision einer Gemeinschaft mit Christus, aufs Engste verknüpft mit der Gemeinschaft in Europa und weltweit

Barbara Schenck
Clifton Kirkpatrick, Präsident des Reformierten Weltbundes, nannte in seiner Predigt Lewis S. Mudge ''the leading ecumenist in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)''.

Barbara Schenck

WARC congratulates Obama on Nobel Peace Prize

Setri Nyomi: ''the right choise''
The General Secretary of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, Setri Nyomi, has sent a letter of congratulations to Barrack Obama following the announcement Friday that the President of the United States has been awarded the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize.

Quelle: WARC Homepage, 10/12/2009

Reformierte in Europa wählen neuen Sekretär

Pfarrer Alexander Horsburgh von der Church of Scotland ist seit heute (9. Oktober 2009) der Sekretär des Europäischen Gebietes des Reformierten Weltbundes.
Die in Wuppertal tagende Ratsversammlung der reformierten Kirchen Europas hat den schottischen Pfarrer Alexander Horsburgh (41) zu ihrem neuen Sekretär (Geschäftsführer) gewählt. Horsburgh tritt sein Amt sofort an. Horsburgh ist auch Mitglied des Leitungsausschusses des Reformierten Weltbundes.

Jörg Schmidt, Generalsekretär des Reformierten Bundes

Das ''reformierte Europa'' trifft sich in Wuppertal

Kirchenleitende aus 19 reformierten Kirchen Europas tagen am 8./9. Oktober im ''Theologischen Zentrum Wuppertal''
Bischof Dr. Gusztáv Bölcskei, Ungarn, hat am 8. Oktober in Wuppertal die Tagung von Vertretern des Europäischen Gebiets des Reformierten Weltbundes eröffnet. Etwa 35 Kirchenleitende aus insgesamt 19 reformierten Kirchen Europas kommen zwei Tage lang zu ihrer turnusmäßigen Ratsversammlung zusammen. Tagungsort für diese alle zwei Jahre stattfindende Sitzung ist das ''Theologische Zentrum Wuppertal'' auf der Hardt. Gastgeber ist der Reformierte Bund in Deutschland.

Pfr. Jörg Schmidt, Generalsekretär des Reformierten Bundes
7. Vollversammlung 20.-25. September 2012 in Florenz – gemeinsame Position der GEKE-Kirchen zur Sterbehilfe in Vorbereitung – Studienprozess für junge Ökumeniker beginnt 16.-18. Oktober 2009 – Konsultation zur Zukunft der Kirchengemeinschaft 15.-19. September 2010.
Geneva (ENI 10/06/2009). The Rev. Fred Kaan, a prolific 20th century English-language hymnologist, once described himself as the "world's most surprised hymn writer". Kaan, who has died aged 80, was unable to read music but wrote the words of more than 200 hymns in English, even though he started to learn the language only at the age of 16. He was born in the Netherlands in 1929 of Dutch parents, and moved in the 1950s to England, where he died on 4 October. Kaan was a retired minister of Britain's Untied Reformed Church. 1970-1978 Kaan was executive secretary of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches.

Barbara Schenck

GEKE: Ökumenisches Gipfeltreffen

Wipf: ''Wir sind eine Kirche. Wir müssen es aber auch leben.'' - Bukowski: Konfessionelle Weltbünde müssen zusammenarbeiten
In einem Gespräch mit den Spitzenvertretern der in Genf ansässigen ökumenischen Organisationen stellte die GEKE kritische Rückfragen an das Nebeneinander und Miteinander der konfessionellen Ökumene in Europa.

Pressemitteilung 21/2009 / GEKE, 3. Oktober 2009

RB/ERK: Setri Nyomi in Emden

Generalsekretär des Reformierten Weltbundes bei gemeinsamer Tagung von Evangelisch-reformierter Kirche und südafrikanischer URCSA
Der Generalsekretär der Reformierten Weltbundes, Setri Nyomi aus Ghana, hat die gemeinsame Globalisierungstagung der Evangelisch-reformierten Kirche und der Uniting Church of Southern Africa besucht. Vom 28. bis zum 29. September war der Ghanaische Pfarrer in der Emder Johannes a Lasco Bibliothek. 25 Theologen und andere Wissenschaftler vornehmlich aus Südafrika und Deutschland tagen seit dem 27. September dort zu Fragen der Globalisierung.

Ulf Preuß, Pressesprecher der ERK