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Vapostori converge for empowerment

25 Sep, 2016 - 00:09 0 Views

The Sunday Mail

Religion Writer
FEMALE members of apostolic churches affiliated to the Apostolic Christian Council of Zimbabwe will set aside their sectarian differences as they converge for an inaugural Women and Youth Conference starting on Friday. About 2 500 women and youths are expected to gather for the three-day conference to be held at Masuka Christian High School in Harare.

The conference will be running under the theme “The role of the church in shifting the paradigm on youth and women engagement in peace building and development”. About 1000 apostolic sects are affiliated to the ACCZ.

Women who are set to attend the conference said it is time to set any differences aside and pursue empowerment. Bishop Nadia Takesure Chitewere of United Africa Apostolic Church said the conference will also present an opportunity for the selection of a national executive to oversee the affairs of women and youths.

“We will have different teachings tailor-made to empower women and youths. In all this we are pushing the message of preserving peace because it begins with us mothers.

“In addition, women encounter gender based violence and marital issues, hence the need to counsel each other,” she said. According to ACCZ, women make up 35 percent of the total seven million people who subscribe to the apostolic faith while 40 percent are youths. Men make up the remaining 25 percent. Founder Bishop of Body of Christ Apostolic Church in Waterfalls, Mrs Gladys Tukunyuku said the conference will provide a platform to motivate women to take up leadership roles in the church.

“Women are responsible for community and nation building, a woman can play that role well, even in church. I witnessed cases of child marriages in most apostolic sects because men were lusting over young girls.

“So as a woman with a vision and empowered by the Holy Spirit, I want to help women realise that they can also lead. I intend to empower children, women and men through the knowledge I have so that they won’t be abused,” she said.

With economic challenges bedevilling the nation, Priscilla Toro, a member of St Peters Faith Apostolic Church, said the conference will afford women and youths an opportunity to share ideas on projects to embark on.

“Women and youths need to be advised. There are women who only sit on their laurels and complain. Over the three days, we will teach each other how to use our own hands,” she said.

ACCZ is responsible for governing the affairs of Apostolic and Zionist churches. It established a gender and child care unit to curb practices of abuse against women and children.

Head of the unit, Dr Busani Sibanda, said the conference is meant to inculcate in people values that tally with Christian life.

“We want to teach each other that you are your brother’s keeper. We want to teach each other that we are called Christians and Christ is the prince of peace, that a nation without a vision will perish. We also want to remind each other that the Bible says a foolish woman destroys her home with her own hands.

“The gender and child care unit is mandated with the task of creating an enabling environment that champions the development of women, children and youths.

“The unit strives to scout for solutions to empower, protect and champion the well being of women who constitute the majority of the vulnerable people. ‘‘They are vulnerable to abuse and marginalisation in churches.

“The conference will be fully packed with activities that enhance interaction, the artistry side of churches, sport as well as dance and music competitions,” Dr Sibanda said.

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