By Manya Kagan, Women’s Project Manager at the Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development
Fourteen Muslim, Christian, and Jewish women participated in a Women’s Faith Ecology Seminar in Jerusalem, along with panelists of the three faiths. The participants were quite diverse within each religion, and geographically– Bedouin women, women from East Jerusalem and Arab villages near Jerusalem, Protestants and Catholics, and Orthodox, liberal, and secular Jews. The women came from various professional backgrounds- some working as religious clergy, others in ecologically oriented organizations and many more who work mostly in the non-profit sector and in education. It was very exciting to see all these women gathering together and interacting- finding that they have so much in common and so much to learn one from another. The seminar took place on December 3rd, 2015.
The meeting started with an activity in which women chose from cutout magazine pictures of: women, nature, ocean, cosmos, culture, religion, and homes. Through these pictures they told the others about themselves and what they expect and wish to take from the seminar. This activity raised key issues on the interrelation of faith and ecology and raised new levels of understanding on the importance of combining these two issues. We then convened a panel of three female speakers of the three faiths– Reverend Carrie Smith, Rabbi Meesh Hammer, and Yasmin Barhum. The panelists spoke of their work and challenges they faced in implementing projects. This generated deep and meaningful conversation on the challenges that the world and Jerusalem faces in terms of environmental challenges and what our role can be in changing it- as women who are an integral part of their community and as religious people and leaders. We discussed what these experiences can teach us and what we can take from their experiences in to our work.
Afterwards we had a short textual study based on texts from the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament and the Koran which focused on ours and God’s responsibility towards the earth. We spoke of our own and the environment’s vulnerability and our dependence on our surroundings. We also discussed women’s role in this as mother, teacher, daughter, wife and activist.
The discussions were very interesting and ranged from consumerism to feminism, from globalisation to our everyday life and responsibilities such as cooking and doing the laundry. During the three and a half hour seminar, the conversations were very deep and intimate and a strong bond was created among the participants. Participants wrote to thank me for the wonderful evening and phone numbers were exchanged so that friendships and collaborations could begin. In the next meeting more than 20 participants already RSVP’ed their participation and I am really looking forward to it!
Photos: Massat
