The Center for Anglican Communion Studies (CACS) at Virginia Theological Seminary (VTS) was excited to host a groundbreaking Women Mentoring Women conference this week.
The four-day event, which took place at VTS, was designed to empower Anglican women leaders by connecting them, enabling them to build friendships, learn from one another, and explore issues facing women in leadership, such as poverty, conflict, gender injustice and violence.
More than 40 women from 20 countries across Africa, Asia, Oceania, the Middle East, Latin America and the Caribbean, Europe and North America took part in the event, with participants including bishops and former archbishops, rectors, and women working in NGOs and church organizations, as well as students from VTS. Participation was by invitation to ensure the conference provided a protected space for women to share openly and in safety.
The conference was structured to provide opportunities for women to encourage and support one another, exchange resources, worship together and rest in each other’s wisdom. It included panel presentations, small group discussions and opportunities for mentoring. Sessions covered topics ranging from safety, health and well-being to women and poverty, to women and leadership in the Church, to visions for the future of women’s leadership. There was also a screening of The Philadelphia 11, about the first women to be ordained as priests in The Episcopal Church. The event ended with a conference report to the VTS community.
The Rev. Katherine Grieb, Ph.D., director of the Center for Anglican Communion Studies, said: “The conference empowered Anglican women to lead with nuanced understandings of self, history, and context, and provided a space for Holy Spirit-led visioning and dreaming. It was exciting to hear powerful testimonies from so many leading women from around the Communion.”
The conference was supported by a leadership grant from Trinity Church Wall Street which also enabled VTS leadership training for young people in Kenya, Mexico, the Middle East, Southern Africa, and the Philippines. In addition, the grant will enable the Center for Anglican Communion Studies to produce a range of culturally appropriate, practical resources for immediate and future use by women in church and secular leadership roles.
