Introduction

Nyambura J Njoroge

Six weeks before the consultation on women and men of Reformed tradition in the Middle East, scheduled to take place at the Zahle Evangelical Conference Centre, Lebanon, in June 1996, the UN peace-keeping compound in Cana, South Lebanon was bombed by Israel and the lives of many women and children were lost. The volatile situation in Israel and Lebanon forced us to move the consultation at short notice to Ayia Napa, Cyprus, where eight women and four men gathered to reflect on the "partnership of women and men in God's mission". As one participant observed in her presentation, this violent incident at Cana forced Evangelical churches in Lebanon for the first time in their history to reflect on how to carry out God's mission in partnership, not as women and men, but as different denominations!

The escalating violence and destruction of life in the region calls for greater partnership among people of different Christian traditions and religions to foster right relationships and peace in the Middle East. During our time in Ayia Napa, leaders of Muslim and Christian traditions in the region held a meeting in Beirut, Lebanon, on "Muslims and Christians together for Jerusalem's sake". This gathering was convened by the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC). The meeting took place within the context of the ongoing peace talks between Israel and the Arab countries and the centrality of Jerusalem, sacred to three religions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam. As a result, and even though women were not official delegates in the Beirut gathering, our host in Ayia Napa, Ms Roseangela Jarjour, general secretary of the Fellowship of Middle East Evangelical Churches (FMEEC), had to divide her time between the two gatherings. Without Ms Jarjour's dedication and competence our consultation could not have taken place within such a short time of rescheduling. We owe Ms Jarjour our gratitude and greatly appreciate her wide knowledge of the churches in the region. In Beirut, Rev. George Mourad and Ms Najla Kassab helped to keep the plans going at a very difficult time indeed. They too deserve our gratitude for their wise suggestion to change the venue and for making sure that all participants and churches were well informed of the changes.

This was the third regional consultation planned and coordinated by the WARC/PACT office in Geneva, Switzerland. Two earlier consultations took place in Africa and in Asia and the Pacific; in Europe, a workshop on community of women and men was organized by the European area of the Alliance and held during the European Area Council in 1995.¹ It has been a great learning experience for me, as the coordinator of these consultations, to see women and men acknowledge, and struggle with, the reality of discrimination, exclusion and marginalization of women in the life and mission of the church. It is clear from these encounters that breaking unjust relationships between women and men demands great courage and dedication from all involved.

Even though the ordination of women has not been given a special place in these consultations but has been treated within the wider context of the full participation of women in all the ministries of the church, the issue attracted some in-depth discussion. This is the only region where no church has endorsed the ordination of women to the ministry of word and sacrament. As with many other churches that do not ordain women, theological arguments against women in the ordained ministry are not the only hindrances; rather, the socio-cultural milieu has much to contribute. In this respect, the ongoing gospel and culture dialogue should play a central part in the attempt to break unjust relationships between women and men.²

It is to be noted that Christian education for women at the Near East School of Theology (NEST), Beirut, Lebanon, has slowly paved the way for women to hold key positions in church and church-related institutions. Christian education has also given women an entry point into theological studies which are crucial in the dialogue between women and men about the full participation of women in God's mission.

On the other hand, given the socio-political context of the Middle East, the participants were mostly aware of the challenges that the Christian churches and, in particular, the Reformed churches face in their prophetic role in their encounter with the society. In group discussions, the participants were particularly engaged in clarifying their understanding of mission in their context, and of the Reformed identity and its place in the society. They also emphasized the need to re-examine how the Old Testament has been misinterpreted in the region, leading to great suffering and pain. On the whole, the participants affirmed the need to address the issue of partnership of women and men in the congregations and to teach children the concept of equality in God's eyes.

I would like to thank Prof. Jane Dempsey Douglass, who, despite her busy schedule as a full-time professor at Princeton Theological Seminary, New Jersey, USA, and president of the Alliance, 1990-1997, has attended the three consultations and the workshop and has made significant contributions in all the discussions. My appreciation also goes to my colleague Ms Karin Wisniewski who has been responsible for the logistics for all the consultations and has worked on the manuscript of this book. We extend our thanks to Rev. Páraic Réamonn, WARC communications secretary, who, together with Prof. Douglass, has edited the volume for publication.

We would appreciate it if readers could give us feedback on these reports from the regions which will enrich and facilitate the ongoing dialogue between women and men. We hope that these reports will motivate the churches to explore new models of ministry and mission which will enhance partnership in God's mission and which will affirm all God-given gifts in the community of faith.

Rev. Dr Nyambura J Njoroge is executive secretary in the department of partnership of women and men, formerly the PACT programme.

Notes