World Alliance of Reformed Churches Women React to Accra Confession

An international gathering had taken place between the World Alliance of Reformed Churches’ women where it was stated that there was an “inseparable link between ecology, economic justice and gender equality”.

Attendees at the gathering have committed themselves to developing a feminist critique of neo-liberal economics.

A statement released from the meeting stated, “This link shows its deathly face when elements of life such as water are privatised and thus become inaccessible for many. Women carry the main weight of the commodification of God’s creation.

“The feminisation of poverty can be seen in the fact that 60 to 70 per cent of the world’s poor are women.”

The gathering brought together 26 women to St Mary, Jamaica between 20-25 August 2005 to offer a response to the Accra Confession – a statement made by the 24th General Council of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC). On the economic justice issues raised by the Confession, the women sought to put in place a plan to make results clearly visible and progressive.

The WARC women came from six separate countries, and they stated that the language of the Accra Confession is so general that “women are rendered invisible”. However, this stirred them to call for women in the 218 member churches around the world to analyse the document closely.

The 2004 Accra Confession talks about neo-liberal economic globalisation and states that working to create a more just economy is essential to the integrity of Christian faith.

The Jamaica women’s gathering resulted in a statement that said, “We have taken time to listen to cries of injustice from particular locations in Ghana, Jamaica, the Philippines, Sweden, Canada and Germany, expressing women’s experiences of poverty, the impact of racial injustice, HIV/AIDS on women and youth, trafficking in women and children and the effects of neo-liberal globalisation on women and youth in urban settings.”

Conclusively the women agreed to:

- ensure that the Accra Confession is more widely distributed;
- develop a feminist economic perspective on the Accra Confession;
- share the Accra Confession with political leaders and organizations;
- develop liturgical materials that reflect a critical gender perspective;
- work in partnership with other church groups and social movements on economic justice issues.

The World Alliance of Reformed Churches is a fellowship of 75 million Reformed Christians in 218 member churches in 107 countries.