9 minute read
Vulnerability of the Earth
These items noted by Giovetti are noteworthy as the learnings and opportunities of COVID-19 continue to be gathered. Each of these ten items point to challenges for communities, and more especially for women of colour and communities of colour. COVID-19 amplified the fault lines already present for vulnerable communities. The items highlighted in the article are cause for concern as they further erode the opportunities for women and girls as the pandemic continues.
Education and economic progress are at stake for girls and women. Loss of income and the inability to access education have grave implications for the future of girls and impact the health, mortality and poverty of women and children. Equity has to remain a focus for women and girls beyond COVID-19 because as Giovetti notes, emergencies will continue to deepen the inequalities that exist between the genders. Loss of income affects food access and is at the root of the increasing number of women experiencing poverty. As service industries have lost jobs due to the pandemic, women have lost jobs and income, although many were already in low wage jobs.
The implications for women’s mental and physical health will require long term attention as well. The stress of pandemic living and the adaptations to the loss of income, inability to procure food and necessary resources are wearing away at the health of women. In addition, the increase in gender-based violence is an additional stress as social isolation and sheltering in place required individuals to be in their homes more. All homes are not safe places for women and girls.
Intimate partner violence was a problem prior to COVID-19 and has worsened in the past two years. The UN reported that one in three women worldwide has experienced physical or sexual violence by an intimate partner. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, emerging data and reports from those on the front lines, have shown that all types of violence against women and girls, particularly domestic violence, has intensified.
The experiences of women and girls during these two years of pandemic has mirrored the experiences of the past and they have worsened. More women are losing jobs. More women are in poverty. More women are going hungry. More women are experiencing physical and sexual abuse. These are women who are a part of the church. These are women who live in the communities we live in and the communities we serve. Women cannot advocate alone for the changes needed to guarantee safety and human rights for women and girls.
The church has a role to play to ensure that all of God’s children are able to live as recipients of justice. This moment is inviting us to name the truths of the realities in which women of colour are living. I believe in doing so the church will be responsive and attending to these matters of justice. We have to start with the places where we live, calling the churches to accountability for our complicity in the marginalisation of women in our communities.
Where injustices are present, the church must lend voice, advocacy and collective action to dismantling systems of patriarchy and privilege and ensure equity and access are available to all. Where silence persists
in the presence of injustice, we render ourselves complicit in perpetuating behaviours which are harmful to the greater good of all and render the least of these that much more vulnerable.
The church must account for the ways in which discrimination and harm are being inflicted upon women and in doing so, must be prepared to act to bring awareness, healing, change and reconciliation to the world. If one among is not well we are not well. Or as Paul wrote to the church in Corinth, “If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honoured, all rejoice together with it” (1 Corinthians 12:26).
We hope for an end to the pandemic and as we wait, we must address these issues to bring justice and relief for women who are suffering. Women are suffering and more so, women of colour are bearing the brunt of the injustices facing women globally. This is a call for the church to provide leadership in ministry and mission to see a better world for all.
Rev Dr Karen Georgia A. Thompson is Associate General Minister for Wider Church Ministries and Operations in the United Church of Christ (UCC).
together
Written by Karen Georgia A. Thompson
we walk side by side people of faith boldly building new communities connected by Spirit’s fire balancing bounty and need we flourish committed to the body of Christ together
we are the gift the presence of God revealed reflected in the beauty of all we are at one across the miles of our differences we embrace unity in our diversity the church as one impacting the world around us together
we like trees firmly planted blossom and bloom courageously changing lives we nurture each others’ spirits needing each other learning from each other we are the Holy Spirit poured out together we breathe love visioning the possibilities: new churches revitalised worship communities developing new leaders providing for our neighbours in crisis we are evidence of the church in action together
we are miracles insightful and creative Spirit-inspired, generosity-filled children of love and life giving from the abundance of who we are giving to build the whole church giving to strengthen the Church together
we emanate the spirit of Pentecost extending extravagant welcome with arms outstretched we heal touching each others’ lives with grace tearing down walls and building bridges erasing borders and boundaries we are the church growing stronger together
26 January 2022 19:47 KGAT Olmsted Township, OH
© 2022 by Karen Georgia A. Thompson. Used with permission. All rights reserved.
An Africo-Missio-Ecological Reflection
By Samuel K.B. Nkrumah-Pobi
The vulnerability of the earth in recent times is alarming. The damage to the earth has escalated over the years even though scholars, various governments and other non-governmental institutions have tried educating the public on the dangers of such damage. According to the Cambridge English dictionary, to be vulnerable means to be in a position of being attacked, being easily hurt physically, or mentally. In 2020 as I visited Ghana as part of my PhD research, two things triggered my call for a rapid response in addressing the ecological crises that we find ourselves. First, the change in the climate and second the destruction of the water bodies in my hometown through illegal mining. Thus, from a missio-ecological perspective, I would attempt to propose how the Church in Africa and the world at large could help deal with this problem. My reflection would be limited to the African continent since most of these problems cut across the entire continent.
The ecological system has been under serious attack in recent times in most parts of Africa. Some of this destruction of the ecological system is founded on the capitalistic nature of the world. The bible is indeed right to opine that the love for money is the root of all evil (1 Timothy 6:10). In Africa, one could identify various forms of destruction of the ecological system, from the pollution of the air and various water bodies, the degradation of the land, and the destruction of the various forest reserves, with the continuous biodiversity loss. These factors have led to two main problems in Africa. First, climate change and second, as pointed out by the United Nations Environment Programme, serious health issues like diarrheal disease, and respiratory illness due to the destruction of the ecosystem.
One cannot also rule out the underlying factor in Africa leading to the destruction of the ecological system, which previously was alien to the continent. I would expatiate on my assertion that the destruction of the ecological system was alien to the African continent as I proceed in this reflective paper. One main factor leading to such destruction is socio-economic issues. In 2017, I joined a team of missionaries made up of the Apostolic Students and Associate of the University of Ghana to a mission field in the Akyem Abuakwa kingdom in Ghana. The kingdom has experienced the destruction of its water bodies and forest reserves through illegal mining popularly known as “galamsey” in Ghana. The interesting thing was that the head of the local council of Churches in that community took us round demarcated certain boundaries and cautioned us to be careful, informing us that these were holes dug by illegal miners and some of these holes have taken the lives of the indigenes. In the process of sharing the gospel, I met a few people with whom I thought it wise to share the dangers of illegal mining with them. What surprised me was that they knew the dangers of what they were doing but claimed that that was their only source of livelihood. One of them went on to state that if he had a better job opportunity, he would have stopped this illegal mining, which destroys the ecological system. In this regard, one cannot separate poverty, lack of employment and economic factors from the destruction of the ecological system in Africa. This makes the whole situation in Africa complex and unique from the world. Thus, it can be proposed that the Church in Africa can do something to resolve the problem; however, their plans to salvage the entire situation might not work without the collective effort of all including the government.
In this regard, poverty becomes one of the main reason why most people in Africa destroy the environment because such destruction has become their source of livelihood. Earlier on, I pointed out that the destruction of the ecological system was alien to the people of Africa. My assertion is based on the fact that various African worldview demonstrates the harmony that exists between nature and humans. I would limit my assessment of such worldviews to two. The first is the Ubuntu philosophy and the second is the title of King of the Akyem Abuakwa people of Ghana. The Ubuntu philosophy that states, “I am because we are,” has often been translated or interpreted from the anthropocentric perspective. What I mean by this point is this idea is normally limited to the relationship between humans. This is due to the self-centeredness of humans. Given the understanding of the African worldview, which is holistic in nature, this philosophy cannot be limited to just the relationship, which exists between humans. It further extends to the relationship that exists between humans and nature as well as the sacred world. In this regard, the survival between humans, nature, and the sacred is intertwined and not
