The fancy amid the fury By Janice Shaw Crouse The Association for Church Renewal Tuesday, December 8, 1998 HARARE, Zimbabwe - They arrived from every continent of the world, dressed in vividly colorful nationalized garb. Over a thousand women and about 30 men met in Harare, Zimbabwe, last week to celebrate the end of the Ecumenical Decade: Churches in Solidarity with Women. Called a Festival, the four-day event took place on the campus of Belvedere Technical Teachers College, an institution built as a gift to Zimbabwe from the United States during the Reagan era. The Great Hall was filled with round tables covered in white cloths topped by colorful squares and huge bouquets of fresh-cut flowers. The "Out of Africa" ambiance did not, however, mask the decidedly leftist political agenda that permeated the celebration. The ceremonies, liturgies, and worship services were very predictable and formulaic. There was nothing new - even under the bright African sun. Ceremony elements Water: As they have done at previous Ecumenical Decade events, participants brought vials of water from their regions to pour into a central pot. The water symbolized, depending upon the program's context, "justice rolling down like water," "the vital, yet often unacknowledged, work of women," and women's tears, because "through our tears we look at each other." There was no mention of Jesus offering living water where we will thirst no more. Weaving: Decade participants unfurled long swaths of fabric as they rhythmically moved through the tables - symbolizing the weaving of ribbons joining women in networks and supposedly linking regions of the world in common concerns and caring camaraderie. The eight colors symbolized different characteristics of people's lives. For example, red was described as the "color of wild berries and our bleeding." Each participant was asked to carry home a scrap of fabric (provided on the tables) "to symbolize the active role that each of us must play in making our networks inclusive." While colorful and dramatic, this ceremony was a poor substitute for the reality that unity comes from a mutual focus on Jesus, who alone makes us one. Wailing: As reported during the session, "Listener's Report," participants complained that the Festival's dominant theme was "a downer." They said, "There's too much sorrow and not enough joy." From the descants in the music to the vivid accounts of abuse and violence, the Festival was four days of ceremonial wailing about women's agonies. While most concerns were legitimate, using such a heavy-handed approach produced overload in the participants. Further, such a broad-stroke coverage of the problems trivialized issues that need to be addressed seriously and deliberately. Worship liturgies Like the ceremonies, the worship liturgies followed the usual patterns --music from many different countries, a skit illustrating an obvious problem caused by a man, a symbolic action, and a classic hymn of the Church. This Festival, at least, left the words intact in the traditional hymns and included two Fannie Crosby hymns. The worship liturgies, like the ceremonies, focused on women's pain and struggles. The liberal agenda was imbedded in the symbols and words. For example, the final prayer of one service invoked the "blessing of the Holy Spirit, who guides us into new ways of acceptance and living." One song, "All Across the Nation," called for women to be "no longer in the shadow forced to stay behind, but . . . everywhere in equality, development and peace." Altar of inclusion A major problem with the worship liturgies was that they sacrificed impact, insight, and inspiration on the altar of inclusion. The mishmash of cultures and concerns created services that touched all issues, but failed to touch our hearts. A second problem was that the worship liturgies often substituted a leftist agenda for God's Truth. The examples ranged from minor to significant. One example occurred in a traditional Malawi song. The poetic beauty of the song was distorted by substituting "God, Creator" instead of "God, the Father" and "God" instead of "Father." In fact, I could not find the word "father" in the whole liturgy booklet. Indeed, as reported by some participants in the Listener's Reports, the Festival seemed to substitute a matriarchal structure for the despised and, admittedly flawed, patriarchal system. These substitutions were handwritten into the prepared text! A further example of casting things in the worst possible light occurred in a passage where there was a litany of reasons for women's tears. "We weep for those who have been damaged by mission done in your name, but without the sensitivity of your Spirit." Obviously, there have been insensitive ministers and missionaries, but such blanket statements present an imbalanced picture. Another of the passages in the litany declared that "We weep when people have been marginalized or abused because of their gender, faith, class, disability, or sexual orientation." A third problem is that not even worship was a "safe space" from political propagandizing. One example will illustrate: "our world systems often leave many people on the outside." Conclusion There are significant problems associated with having ceremonies and worship services permeated by a political agenda. By blaming the International Monetary Fund, capitalism, The World Bank, colonialism or men in general for all women's suffering - instead of identifying sin as the root cause - the focus of worship shifts away from our relationship with God and the transformation that Jesus can bring to human beings. The problem, then, takes shape in areas outside our control - such as in "structural adjustment," rather than in "sin" that requires personal acknowledgement, repentance and restitution.

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