Covenant News

International Guests Honored During Triennial XI

PORTLAND, OR (August 16, 2004) - There was an air of excitement and anticipation as 26 international guests were welcomed during a Saturday reception as part of Triennial XI, a ministry of Women Ministries of the ECC (formerly Covenant Women Ministries) that concluded Sunday morning.

Their attendance at this event was made possible in large part by funds raised by conferences of the Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC), as well as private donations in some cases.

The first woman pastor to serve the Covenant Church of Congo (CEUM) - Kikwiti Apiomo Corine – was one of the special guests (center photograph). She serves as senior pastor at Livulu Church in Kinshasha, a congregation of 700 members. The mother of six children, she was recently widowed. Kikwiti brought greetings and thanked the estimated 1,300 women in attendance for all of their support, saying her heart is full of praise. She described the lives of many Congolese women who do many things in addition to caring for their families, such as tending their gardens as a food source. Women also find time to serve in their churches, usually at least one day a week. "Most important, the women spend much time praying," she said.

Another woman from Oaxaca, Mexico – Laura – brought greetings from a group of women in Mexico she represents, telling of her own excitement and being able to attend her first Triennial. She said she plans on encouraging all of her friends back home to attend a future Triennial event. The audience was then treated to several traditional dances by a group of Mexican women in traditional dress. (See top photograph).

Representatives from Covenant churches in Japan, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Colombia, and Russia then shared what is taking place in the women's groups in their respective churches (lower photograph).

• Japan: It was noted that women are faithful to Jesus, though the men are often too busy to participate.
• Czech Republic: Women have yet to discover the joy of meeting together as a group, it was reported, though there are exciting things happening with the younger women in areas of discipleship and mentoring.
• Ecuador: Women do many acts of service, working to overcome the obstacles of men being considered "macho" and women not being highly valued in church and society.
• Colombia: Women in the church serve with excellence, the representative pointed out, suggesting that demonstrating God's love through their actions gives them credibility.
• Russia: In Eastern Russia – Magadan - there are good habits of prayer being practiced by the women, including the mothers. In their society, however, there is much drinking, thus a co-dependent society exists.

In a moving conclusion to the time of celebration, all of the women joined in singing Jesus Loves Me in their respective languages.

(Editor's note: the news stories from Triennial XI are a collaborative effort of Covenant Communications staff member Jan Gray, who is reporting from Portland as well as providing photography, and Don Meyer who is writing the stories from the Chicago office.)

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