Called to Compassion and Freedom – Christian Women Shaping the Future of Europe
A Message from the Sixth General Assembly of the
Ecumenical Forum of European Christian Women
held in the Czech Republic 25 August – 1 September 2002
Compassion and freedom are a gift of God, to women and men, said Bishop Jana Šilerováá of the Czech Hussite Church. Dr Gret Haller, from Switzerland, Human Rights Ombudsperson for OSCE to Bosnia Herzegovina, urged women to participate fully in politics and in the whole life of the state, in order to help shape the future of Europe. She said that our contribution could challenge existing patterns, which were often one-sided and male dominated. The senator of the Parliament of the Czech Republic, Jaroslava Moserová, drew attention to the duty and power of women, in their capacity as mothers and educators, to break the vicious cycle of hate which passes from generation to generation. A paradigmatic view of relationship and community came from the Bible Study on Philippians 2:1-5 by Carmen Marquez, a Spanish theologian. The image of the Triune God provides a pattern for human communities, through unity in diversity.
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