QUEZON City, March 9, 2015—In celebration of International Women’s Day, the National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP) paid tribute on March 8, Sunday, to many inspiring female figures, including women in the Bible.
the National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP) paid tribute on March 8, Sunday, to many inspiring female figures, including women in the Bible. (Photo: PCPR)
During the NCCP’s Ecumenical Women’s Forum, the group remembered the women in Scripture who challenged the normalcy of patriarchy, noting that their love, heroism, wisdom and solidarity, which favored the poor and those discriminated against, stand as a powerful testimony of liberation and redemption.
Rachel
“We praise their courageous acts, may we be guided by their spirit today,” it shares.
“We have power to weep, like Rachel of the old who wept because her children had gone,” it adds.
Jeremiah 31:15 reads: “This is what the LORD says: ‘A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.’”
Defying oppression
The event also praised “our foremothers”, poor female workers, migrants, social activists, and believers of truth and justice, who, despite the odds they battled against, inspire the group to continue the work it has started.
“In memory of them, we raise a collective voice. The challenges we face today as women only increase our purpose, energy, and will to carry forward the power and commitment passed on to us by our foremothers,” it declared.
According to the group, these women pioneers “defied the law of oppression and disobeyed the rule of exploitation.”
“They were all too familiar with the feeling of fear as they risked the change they wanted to see, and still they dared to subvert the mandates of injustice. We praise their courageous acts, may we be guided by their spirit today,” it says. (Raymond A. Sebastián/CBCP News)
