World YWCA participates in the Caribbean Women’s Bible Study Workshop
The World Communion of Reformed Churches and the Presbyterian Church in Grenada, in collaboration with the Caribbean and North America Council for Mission (CANACOM), hosted the Caribbean Women’s Bible Study Workshop from January 13 – 19, 2011. Approximately 25 people participated in the workshop and participants included the Bible study leaders, pastors, bible study writers, lay people and young men and women.
In the Caribbean, women have played an important role in survival, and have found ways to resist injustices and to bring healing, food, shelter, comfort and reconciliation. Women in the Caribbean also make up the majority of church membership and they share responsibilities in leadership and service. They therefore have good possibilities of having a stronger voice and leadership in church and in society. The investment in women’s training and capacity building will, therefore, yield good results for both church and society.
The Women’s Bible Study workshop is a project that aims to serve as an instrument which will inspire the public to consider the role of the church in transforming society. The project is made up of two components and processes: A Bible Study workshop and a Bible study book, which is the main outcome of the workshop.
The Bible study workshop aimed to strengthen Bible study skills and pedagogy of church leaders. A congregational/community based approach was used - gathering expertise, knowledge and skills from practitioners and academics. The main purpose of the Bible study workshop and book is to share and explore the understanding of God's presence and to work in Caribbean communities through creative and innovative Bible studies, from a women’s perspective.
The Bible study book includes stories of women a Bible study guide, a reflection on emerging Caribbean hermeneutics, short poems and prayers.
Marie Claude Julsaint, World YWCA Programme Director for the Americas and the Caribbean, was invited to make a presentation on YWCA work on violence against women. Marie Claude and Tonni Ann Brodber, a young woman from the UN Women Caribbean Office, shared the presentation, and after the workshop participants expressed their interest in the campaign.
“I have learned so much at this retreat, including different perspectives for reading the Bible, like the feminist, womanist and Caribbean post colonial approaches. I look forward to the outcome of the Caribbean Bible Study book, which will be very useful for the Caribbean YWCAs as they explore a theological approach to issues of sexual and reproductive health and rights, HIV and violence against women,” said Marie Claude.
