WOMEN Announces

Published by WOMEN, November 15, 2005

WOMEN Announces 2006 Events in England and Minnesota

Women's Orthodox Ministries and Education Network (WOMEN), a network of Orthodox Christian women dedicated to supporting women’s service to Christ and His Church in parishes and in local communities, announces two upcoming events in 2006, one in England and one in the United States.

On the weekend of July 28-30, 2006 WOMEN will join with the Orthodox Fellowship of St. John the Baptist to cosponsor the Fellowship’s annual summer conference, titled “Women and Men in the Church” at The Friars Retreat Center, Aylesford Priory, Kent, England, approximately one hour by train from London. Keynote speaker Bishop Kallistos Ware will speak open the conference with a talk on “The priesthood of all the Baptised.”

Other speakers will address the diaconal vocation, male and female; laypersons as teachers of the faith; and contemporary women saints as role models. The closing plenary session will feature a presentation by WOMEN Chair Dr. Demetra Velisarios Jaquet, of Denver, Colorado, on the vision and history of the WOMEN network in America, and a discussion led by Ms. Antonia Himmel-Agisburg, of Vienna, Austria, on developing a women’s network in Great Britain and Europe.

The sessions will be followed by a range of working groups, each opened by a mini-lecture. Orthodox Christians are encouraged to register if they are interested in the Orthodox Fellowship of St. John the Baptist and the Orthodox Church in England; support sisterhood among Orthodox women from different countries; accept leadership responsibility in their own church as a layperson; are looking for (new) ways to teach or serve the Church or parish; ponder about ways of reestablishing women deacons; or seek to share information for growth in faith and spiritual life with Orthodox persons from different backgrounds in Europe.

For registration information for the England conference please contact Antonia Himmel-Agisburg at Antonia.Himmel-Agisburg@chello.at . The website for The Friars retreat center can be viewed at www.thefriars.org.uk

The second event, in the United States, will be a leadership retreat held October 13-15, 2006 at beautiful Christ the King Retreat Center approximately one hour from Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is titled "Through the Prayers of our Holy Foremothers, How Should We Then Serve? A Leadership Retreat for Orthodox Christian Women, Uniting the Wisdom of the Past with the Challenges of Ministry Today."

This retreat will explore various aspects of Christian leadership within an Orthodox historical context by delving into the lives and examples of holy foremothers such as Mary Magdalene, St. Macrina, St. Kassiane, Mother Maria of Paris, and the three unmercenary women, St. Zenaida, St. Philonella and St. Hermione.

The retreat hopes to offer a worshipful setting for prayer, fellowship and exploration in which to consider such questions as, What does it mean to be a Christian leader? What are the characteristics of a “servant leader”? Can anyone be a leader? How have Orthodox women in the past modeled leadership?

These themes will be explored through presentations followed by small group discussions around three general areas: liturgical arts and life; pastoral care; and parish life. Orthodox women are encouraged to register for this retreat who are seeking to grow in spiritual understanding, in active responsibility for their unique gifts in Christ, and in service and ministry to the Church and their communities. For registration information please contact retreat chair Ms. Renae Zitzloff at RZitzloff@aol.com or telephone 952-474-6946. Christ the King Retreat Center can be viewed at their website http://www.kinghouse.com/.

WOMEN is a non-profit corporation founded in 1994 to contribute to the cultivation of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit in Orthodox Christian women, for nurturing the entire body of Christ, building up the Church, and increasing Christian love for one another, through spiritual growth in Christ and service in communities. WOMEN professes firm faith in Christ and in the teachings of the Orthodox Church, and affirms that each person is created in the Image of God and called to grow into His Likeness. WOMEN believes that all persons are endowed with Gifts of the Holy Spirit in ways that uniquely express the fullness of their humanity, and that it is each one’s responsibility to develop their God-given talents for service to God and to the community.

WOMEN actively encourages the vitality and growth of the diverse parish, social, community and ecumenical ministries of women and men in the Church, which are blessed by the Church as Gifts of the Holy Spirit. WOMEN reaches a hand and heart of sisterhood across all boundaries, offering resources for education and ministry in the service of spiritual life, to connect women of faith in action for Christ in their communities and ecumenical settings.

WOMEN’s four main efforts include: the WOMEN webpage and list-serve, providing a clearinghouse of information for news of the various ways that women are serving in the Church, and a virtual grass-roots community for such women; occasional conferences and retreats, offering education and resources about women’s spiritual growth, church leadership, and the current discussion of the restoration of the female diaconate; the St. Nina Quarterly journal, published in print and online at www.stnina.org ; and cataloguing and/or publicizing inter-jurisdictional and international educational resources available from the various departments of parish life, religious education, and lay ministry among Orthodox churches.

To view the WOMEN website or to sign onto the WOMEN list-serve to receive email news updates on Orthodox women serving the Church, and further announcements regarding these two events, go to www.OrthodoxWomensNetwork.org or email WOMENUSA@aol.com



Volume 7 Number 45 - Tuesday, November 15, 2005	A Publication of the ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN LAITY