Women on the Frontlines
Supporting women around the Anglican Communion
Women on the Frontline (WFL) is a unique ministry within the Anglican Communion. The ministry, established by Caroline Welby and Sarah Snyder in 2017, supports women in provinces and dioceses across the Communion and sometimes women leaders from other denominations.
Women on the Frontline recognises the essential ministry of Bishops’ and clergy spouses across the Anglican Communion. It seeks to gather spouses within a shared province or diocese, to:
- encourage and nurture Bishops’ and clergy spouses and women leaders across the Anglican Communion[1] through gatherings which combine retreats and training to enable them to discover their individual identity in Christ and vocation as peacebuilders;
- equip women to become ambassadors of reconciliation in their own context;
- facilitate these women in cascading their learning to others in their context.
The ministry encourages personal relationship with and reconciliation to God through Christ and facilitates training to equip these women to carry out their role in their own contexts. WFL enables sharing of experiences with others, breaking down the sense of loneliness and providing a supportive environment for spiritual growth and healing.
WFL recognizes that in any violent conflict, women are often the first to notice the beginning of any tension, whether it is with self, family, church, community or the wider community and naturally defuse the tension, make peace and bring about reconciliation. WFL values the importance of equipping and training women as key actors in reconciliation and any other peace process.
Each residential programme lasts 3 to 5 days and is facilitated by a Women on the Frontline team including current and former Bishops' spouses.
The ministry is guided by five basic principles; Presence, parity, particularity, potential and prayer.
Presence
– a ‘being with’ one another, learning to see, notice, listen and respect one another which demonstrates the value of each person.
Parity
– a conscious laying down of anything which sets us apart from one another - status, roles, age, language so that all are equal in God’s - and one another’s – sight.
Particularity
– responding to the particular needs of the spouses to create training sessions suited to them; expecting personal encounter with the God who knows each person by name.
Potential
– a recognition that when we know who we are in Christ we can more clearly become the people he calls us to be; that women can unlock potential in one another; that multiplication of potential can be seen in collaborative and prayerful teamwork; that each participant has the potential to spread what they have received to those in their care.
Prayer
– implicit and explicit, running through each principle and in each encounter. Every activity and group and gathering is underpinned by prayer before, during and after.
Read Women on the Frontline newsletters:
Contact Jane Namurye on jane.namurye@rosecastle.foundation for further details on WFL.