The mission and city church festivities attracted several hundred guests to its venue, the city church. Culinary delights from various countries were served under mostly clear early summer skies and people enjoyed conversations with Mission 21 delegates and guests from Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The Kenyan singer Claudia Masika entertained the crowd with popular Afro sounds and Tobias Brandner, based in Hong Kong on behalf of Mission 21, gave an informative talk on the current status of Christian churches in China.
At its annual meeting on Friday and Saturday, the Mission Synod elected theologian Dr. Claudia Hoffmann as the seventh member to its supervisory board. She is an assistant professor at Basel University’s department of theology and a researcher in the field of Christianity outside the European context. After the resignation of Rev. Albrecht Hieber in 2017, the board has now once again strengthened its theological competence.
Declaration for greater gender justice
The Mission Synod received the declaration for greater gender justice submitted by the women’s conference on Saturday. The document addresses two pressing issues: First, the discrimination of women and girls in education and remuneration, and second, the violence against women worldwide. The women’s conference is asking the international network of Mission 21 to carry on the fight for greater gender justice through education and advocacy. The ongoing campaign under the heading of “I walk with…” serves as a purveyor of the solidarity message to the public at large.
We are pleased with the successful completion of the Mission Synod week and would like to extend our special thanks to the Cantonal Church of Aargau and the City Church of Aarau for their generous support.
Text: Christoph Rácz
Translation: Friedrich Weibel