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| More than 80 women leaders from over a dozen nations gathered in Romania to learn, debate and encourage one another in ministry |
By Gina Grate Pottenger
Eurasia Region Communications
Reprinted from Where Worlds Meet, December 2014
Eurasia Region Communications
Reprinted from Where Worlds Meet, December 2014
Eighty-two women from more than 15 different countries formed a large circle at the perimeter of the room on the final night of the Called and Capable Conference in Sighisoara, Romania, and passed broken bread and a glass of juice from one pair of hands to another.
The women took turns serving communion to one another, an act of solidarity with women leaders in many parts of the Eurasia Region who are not allowed to serve communion because they are women.
The significance of the moment was not lost on Olga Druzhinina, who is a pastor in Volgograd, Russia. “It seems like we’re all united in Christ; whether we’re women or men we’re all allowed to share our gifts in Christ. Unity was the main feeling. We were united in one Spirit and I was able to feel the Spirit there.”
The Called and Capable Conference was envisioned as a time to gather women in ministry from across the Eurasia Region for training, debate, encouragement and relationship-building. Lay leaders and ordained women were present. It was not limited to Nazarenes, as women were also invited from Free Methodist and Wesleyan Holiness churches and the Salvation Army.
“It was more than a women’s retreat; it was meant to be very much addressing the issues that we work with in our ministries as well as just the issues that directly affect women or people who are working with women,” said Louise Kenyon, a lecturer at Nazarene Theological College, Manchester, UK, who helped to plan the event.
There were eight workshops which ranged in topic from human trafficking to church planting, from spiritual pathways to ethical finance. Each day also included morning devotions and prayers, evening worship services, trips to visit local ministry projects, and small group outings. Dr. Paul Tarrant, of Glasgow, Scotland, was present as a medical consultant to conduct health checks for any women who requested them.
For Rev. Dheerender Bhola, pastor of the Dua ka Ghar Church of the Nazarene in Delhi, India, it was her first time to travel outside India, but the conference was a worthwhile reason.
“The conference meant a great deal to me,” she wrote. “I have learned so many things to improve my ministry through these workshops. I had the amazing privilege to hear so many testimonies and great works of various ministries. I could see the bold and transformative leadership there. It is an unforgettable experience.”
Being together, coming from different nations and cultures, allowed for the women to learn from one another and in turn find encouragement in their own ministries. Druzhinina attended the church planting workshop, led by Annemarie Snijders and Zhana Georgiva, both church planters in the Netherlands and Bulgaria, respectively. Druzhinina said the women presented honestly the challenges and struggles they’ve encountered in planting and leading churches. She realized that challenges she has experienced or observed in Russia are not unique to her culture or even to her own ministry, but are common experiences for any church planting effort, and may be faced by other women in ministry as well.
Kenyon said that listening to the stories of specific ministry challenges in other cultures on the Eurasia Region, she realized that those challenges have parallels in other cultures, even if they are expressed in different ways.
Annemarie Snijders enjoyed being surrounded by other women leaders on the ministry journey with her. “For years I’ve been the only [ordained woman] in the Netherlands District. So it’s very encouraging to meet other people who are ordained and who struggle with some of the same issues,” Snijders said.
The women took turns serving communion to one another, an act of solidarity with women leaders in many parts of the Eurasia Region who are not allowed to serve communion because they are women.
The significance of the moment was not lost on Olga Druzhinina, who is a pastor in Volgograd, Russia. “It seems like we’re all united in Christ; whether we’re women or men we’re all allowed to share our gifts in Christ. Unity was the main feeling. We were united in one Spirit and I was able to feel the Spirit there.”
The Called and Capable Conference was envisioned as a time to gather women in ministry from across the Eurasia Region for training, debate, encouragement and relationship-building. Lay leaders and ordained women were present. It was not limited to Nazarenes, as women were also invited from Free Methodist and Wesleyan Holiness churches and the Salvation Army.
“It was more than a women’s retreat; it was meant to be very much addressing the issues that we work with in our ministries as well as just the issues that directly affect women or people who are working with women,” said Louise Kenyon, a lecturer at Nazarene Theological College, Manchester, UK, who helped to plan the event.
There were eight workshops which ranged in topic from human trafficking to church planting, from spiritual pathways to ethical finance. Each day also included morning devotions and prayers, evening worship services, trips to visit local ministry projects, and small group outings. Dr. Paul Tarrant, of Glasgow, Scotland, was present as a medical consultant to conduct health checks for any women who requested them.
For Rev. Dheerender Bhola, pastor of the Dua ka Ghar Church of the Nazarene in Delhi, India, it was her first time to travel outside India, but the conference was a worthwhile reason.
“The conference meant a great deal to me,” she wrote. “I have learned so many things to improve my ministry through these workshops. I had the amazing privilege to hear so many testimonies and great works of various ministries. I could see the bold and transformative leadership there. It is an unforgettable experience.”
Being together, coming from different nations and cultures, allowed for the women to learn from one another and in turn find encouragement in their own ministries. Druzhinina attended the church planting workshop, led by Annemarie Snijders and Zhana Georgiva, both church planters in the Netherlands and Bulgaria, respectively. Druzhinina said the women presented honestly the challenges and struggles they’ve encountered in planting and leading churches. She realized that challenges she has experienced or observed in Russia are not unique to her culture or even to her own ministry, but are common experiences for any church planting effort, and may be faced by other women in ministry as well.
Kenyon said that listening to the stories of specific ministry challenges in other cultures on the Eurasia Region, she realized that those challenges have parallels in other cultures, even if they are expressed in different ways.
Annemarie Snijders enjoyed being surrounded by other women leaders on the ministry journey with her. “For years I’ve been the only [ordained woman] in the Netherlands District. So it’s very encouraging to meet other people who are ordained and who struggle with some of the same issues,” Snijders said.
Please pray for the women leaders--laity and ordained--across the Eurasia Region, that they would be empowered by the Holy Spirit and find unwavering support for their ministry.
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