Piecing hope: The Ecumenical Decade of Churches in Solidarity with Women and justice for women in Canada

This thesis presents a Canadian case study of the structures, programmatic themes and actions engendered by the World Council of Churches' Ecumenical Decade of Churches in Solidarity with Women, 1988--1998 in order to retrieve and to assess it critically in terms of a contextual theological method and adequacy to struggles for justice for women in church and society. To do so, I develop multi-vocal and multi-layered accounts from the data-base constructed from participant interviews, written narratives and Decade documentation; I analyze the work of the Canadian Decade on the four focal issues---economic justice, violence, racism and women's ecclesial participation---using feminist ethical claims about norms of justice and solidarity, in particular, Janet Jakobsen's analysis of agency and alliance across boundaries of difference. In identifying and critically examining experiences of empowerment, connection and solidarity, as well as gaps, contradictions and conflicts, I trace the ongoing challenge to transform relations of domination and subordination within churches and ecumenical and women's networks, as well as in social contexts. I focus on practices of story-telling; collective analysis; accountability and responsibility; and critical theological reflection as key to a praxis of embodied solidarity. I uphold normative diversity and complexity as ethical criteria towards the flourishing of all people and the earth. In this thesis ecumenical networks and churches in Canada are challenged to develop public witness and to build communities based on mutuality and interactive engagement for multiple alliances for justice.