As we joined together at Debrecen in our section on Partnership in God's mission: Breaking the chains of unjust relationships we discovered that we ourselves were becoming partners on a journey. Day by day we shared together the affirmations, challenges and transformations that we had experienced in our churches, in our own lives, and our regions around the world. The stories we told, the struggles we shared, the difficult questions of faith we explored all led us to the conviction that the process of transformation into partnership is at the heart of the Christian life.

Our journey in Debrecen was like that of Cleopas and his wife on the road to Emmaus (Lk 24.13-35). Our hearts burned within us as Christ was present to us in opening the scriptures and breaking the bread of life. And we want to share this story of transformation as partners in Christ with all our churches!

A lifelong process of transformation

The partnership we discovered was not only about women and men. It was about the way we live our lives as followers in Christ. The word partnership is a translation of the Greek word, koinonia - In Paul's letters it has many meanings but points to a two-sided relationship of giving and receiving, rooted in Christ. It is frequently translated as community, participation, or fellowship. Thus Paul describes the Lord's supper as koinonia. "The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a koinonia in the body of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a koinonia in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread" (1 Cor 10.16-17).

Such a community or partnership is made up of many different people who contribute their gifts to the building up of the body of Christ. Through the power of God's Spirit we are transformed into partners and then sent out to witness to that transforming love in all the aspects of our lives, not just in church or family. One way of describing partnership is to say that it is a new focus of relationship in Jesus Christ that sets us free for others.

Paul reminds us in Romans 12.1-8 that this transformation into new relationship is what life in Christ is all about. Our being transformed in body, mind, and spirit is the basis of our unity or partnership in Christ. Such transformation is at the heart of breaking every chain of unjust relationships. It is part of our action "to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free ..." (Is 58.6). The economic, ecological, political, cultural and ecclesial chains must be broken if we are to be partners in God's mission of mending the creation.

In our churches nurturing the relationship of women and men as partners is crucial to transformation as members of Christ's body. Although woven into all forms of oppression, sexism is particularly harmful to the life of the church because the gifts needed for life in the community often go unrecognized in traditional relationships of domination and subordination. In addition, the model of male domination and superiority becomes a model to the way we treat those in our communities who are marginalized such as young or elderly people; those who are poor or sick; or those of different racial/ethnic identity, or sexual orientation.

In our discussions we discovered at least three things about the meaning of partnership among women and men in our churches and societies.

The process of transformation into partnership with God, one another, and the earth is a lifelong process. It is not just a one-time occurrence. Like conversion and baptism, it continues to unfold throughout our lives. It happens in concrete and specific ways that are part of our lives, cultures, political and economic realities. For instance, a woman from Africa and one from Indonesia told of resisting the payment of bride price for themselves and their daughters to break this chain of women's oppression. A delegate from Brazil told of a church that formed an Adult Society out of its women's and men's guilds where couples are appointed jointly to leadership.
The good news that we have spoken here repeatedly is that this transformation is for everyone, women and men alike , indeed it is part of God's intention to mend the whole creation, beginning with us. In our section, a pastor from Sri Lanka told of how his wife moved out of her customary role as church pastor's wife to organize a Women's Development Centre for the self-empowerment of young widows and young village women. A bishop from the Philippines told of his conversion when he was challenged to break the chain of oppressive biblical interpretation by a group of women who asked him to speak on women in the New Testament.
There is no one who has arrived at partnership and knows fully what this koinonia is like. All of us are on the road to conversion by Jesus Christ. We each begin where we are and are transformed there, in that place and that way. If we are a doubting Thomas our life is turned around and made new by the marks of the cross in Jesus' hands. If we are the Samaritan woman, it is made new by sharing the living water with Christ at the well.

If our church does not ordain women, we can begin to wrestle with this in scripture and in the pain of women's lives. If our church does not place women on synods or welcome their service as pastors, we can begin there to ask about the way the gifts of the Spirit are distributed. If our church is being torn apart by fear of open discussion of issues of gender and sexuality, then the dialogue needs to begin there. If sexual harassment and violence against women is a reality within our churches, as well as in our homes and nations, we need to begin here.

If a stumbling block to partnership is the bride price or dowry system, begin there. If it is oppression of widows, begin there. If it is abuse and killing of girl children, begin there. If conservative churches withhold money from churches in the south if they ordain women, begin there. We can begin to act as partners in spite of the problems we face because Christ has called us into a process of transformation and new life.

Jesus' challenge to be transformed

We grew into our understanding of partnership in our journey in Debrecen. In this ongoing process we saw many signs of transformation in our lives. Seeking to discern the signs of the Spirit is not always easy. As we shared stories of affirmation and challenge in our small groups we discovered some clues to transformation that can help our member churches respond to Jesus' challenge to become partners in the community of faith.

Jesus tells us in Matthew 19.30 that in God's reign the first will be last and the last will be first. He came to earth to become one with humanity, freely choosing to serve others. He taught all who would listen that hierarchies of power are a denial of the full humanity of both those who are dominated and those who dominate. Jesus lifted up women and other marginalized groups, but he often confronted powerful religious and political people and their hierarchies, even at the cost of his life!
In our group discussions the challenges to women are still to "take up their bed and walk". In places where they are very limited in their decision-making authority, or economic power, they are learning alternative ways of building coalitions and networks as partners in the church and society. For instance, church women in Taiwan give a special contribution to PACT, in addition to the regular WARC contribution, because they know the importance of empowerment for all women as full partners in their churches.
Jesus also tells in Matthew 25.31-48 that he is to be found among those who are the least of the sisters and brothers. He taught us to look for him not just in the broken bread, but in the broken people in our midst and to find transformation with them. For Jesus the place of transformation was with those at the margins of our church communities and societies who seek the breaking of the chains of injustice.
Many of the challenges shared in our groups were stories of street children denied shelter and education, or families starving because of structural adjustment policies; of women blamed and shunned when their husbands died of Aids; of unspeakable violence against women and children trapped in virtual slavery, battered in their homes, and subject to rape in their own communities as well as in times of war and civil strife. We called for the churches to join others in working for laws to protect women and children, and to begin to transform cultural customs that marginalize women.
Jesus reaches out to heal persons in both body and spirit and teaches us in Matthew 6.9-13 to pray that God's will be done on earth as well as in heaven. Transformation may be a fearful and life changing process, but it is one that begins here and now as God breaks into our lives and calls us out as partners together in the mending of God's creation.
Our groups discussed many questions about the ways in which the gender of women and men is socially constructed in each culture, and challenged the churches to begin to look at their own assumptions about what it means to be a man or a woman through programmes in gender awareness. One of our plenary speakers helped us to see that relationships between women and men are like the seed that has to die to be reborn again. Old structures of family life, child rearing, and economic welfare may need to die and be reborn in more mutual patterns.

Our Reformed heritage of partnership

Churches of the Reformed tradition have been about this search for new ways of participation together in community for a long time. The first woman ordained in our tradition was Antoinette Brown Blackwell in 1853. Over the years both women and men have worked to develop ways of living out the priesthood of all believers. Many women were pioneers in ecumenical ventures which lifted up the contribution of women to the churches. For instance, both the World Day of Prayer and the Fellowship of the Least Coin were begun through the efforts of women in the Reformed tradition.

In recent history women have taken great strides as leaders in the churches, both ordained and lay. This is particularly easy for us to see as we are convened in the 23rd general council by our first woman president, Jane Dempsey Douglass. Her tireless ministry in representing WARC in churches on every continent, combined with her service as Moderator of PACT, has set a high standard of leadership for men and women alike.

The exciting and very fearful part of this process of transformation into partnership is that it happens to all kinds of people. It happened to Zacchaeus and to Paul. It happened to Mary and Martha. It even happened to Jesus in the encounter with the Canaanite woman. It seemed also to be happening to us as we considered ways to affirm the work of the programmes of PACT and of the Ecumenical Decade of the Churches in Solidarity with Women [1988-1998], and to plan our recommendations for WARC and the churches in the continuing journey of transformation.

In the report, From Seoul to Debrecen , the article on "The Alliance Beyond 1997" provides us with key reminders of the importance of inclusive community to the Reformation tradition of the priesthood of all believers and the ministry of all God's people, and the ways we have often failed to live up to this heritage. The programme to affirm, challenge and transform: women and men in partnership in church and society (PACT) comes out of earlier work which led to a subsection on community of women and men in the 22nd general council. We have always insisted that PACT is not just one programme among many but ideally a catalyst to change all that we do. Our goal is partnership, a new unity which reflects just relationships between women and men."

The ongoing process of transformation includes the need for changes in the structures of WARC itself as it seeks to be reformed and transformed in Christ. Along with this many other areas for programmatic development and advocacy are outlined for implementation beyond 1997 in both WARC and our member churches.

WARC structures

Actions:

The general council

in the light of the fact that transformation into partnership is an ongoing process that is at the heart and not the periphery of the gospel message, and of the urgent need for Reformed churches to continue the long-term struggle against the sin of sexism, makes PACT a full department rather than a programme, and resolves that it be funded as part of the general budget;
in the light of the fact that WARC considers this programme "a catalyst to change all that we do" resolves that the executive committee be formed in a way that women and men are as equally represented on the committee as possible and that all committees reflect at least the gender balance in the 23rd general council, and directs the executive committee to make the necessary changes in the By-Laws to ensure this balance;
in the light of the fact that violence against women in church and society is a violation of the image of God and a rupture of community, recommends that WARC edit its sexual harassment guidelines and develop a booklet which can be distributed at all WARC meetings and can be used by the member churches. Guidelines should be distributed in advance of meetings and delegates asked to sign an agreement at registration. Work on the guidelines and booklet should proceed with careful representation of both genders and different regions as issues of sexual harassment are culturally conditioned and require great sensitivity;
in the light of the continuing need to model inclusiveness and partnership in our language as well as our actions, adopts the policy that WARC shall use inclusive language in documents, meetings, and worship.

WARC programmes and the continuing work of PACT

Actions:

The general council

supports the recommendation from the 22nd general council: "That WARC assign a staff member to full-time responsibility to women's issues; and that each member church appoint a staff member to be responsible for women's issues, and to maintain contact with the appropriate WARC staff member in Geneva"; but urges that the full-time staff member work with the newly formed department and be responsible for issues of partnership of women and men in church and society;
recommends that WARC develop a programme of gender awareness that can be used in the regions and then developed as materials for church use with all ages. Members of Section III should have their names, addresses and email available on the PACT network so that they can be called upon to continue in their work for transformation;
in the light of the fact that women's opportunity for study often comes later in life and with great economic hardship, recommends that WARC re-examine its scholarship policies, and those of member churches and their seminaries, to make them accessible to women whenever they find the opportunity to study, and to provide the possibility of equal access of women and men to theological studies;
in the light of the theological importance of partnership, we recommend that WARC's department of theology cooperate with PACT in developing cross-cultural materials on partnership of women and men for study in regional groups, churches and theological schools; and a course on partnership that could be introduced in the theological schools of member churches.

Member churches and the continuing work of PACT

Actions:

The general council

continues to support the motions passed at the 22nd general council and gives thanks that so much progress has been made since Seoul in the regional meetings, in the ordination of women, and in training and placement of women in the work of the church. It particularly wishes to lift up two of those recommendations for continuing action, in addition to the staff recommendation cited above:
1. "That all the WARC member churches who do not yet ordain women seriously reconsider their position in the light of the scriptural declaration of the oneness of women and men in Jesus Christ."
It urges that PACT develop materials that would be helpful in the study of scripture passages concerned with this issue;
1. "That all WARC member churches ensure that women be afforded equal access to assignment or position and receive equal pay for equal work in all church positions. "
It urges that PACT expand its network of women in leadership through training so that they may be equipped and empowered to be fit for places in leadership as appropriate;
recommends that each member church be urged to form a continuing committee on partnership of women and men.

At our section we responded to the theme of Isaiah 58.1 to "shout out" and "lift up our voices as a trumpet" for justice. We intend to keep on shouting out that partnership in Jesus Christ is a process of transformation in which both women and men are made new. We pledge ourselves to be open to this newness of life and we invite WARC and our churches to join us in our journey from Emmaus to Debrecen, and toward God's new creation (2 Cor 5.17).