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ENDORSERS OF ENYA
The ENYA network and programmes are supported by our Endorsers, a very dedicated and committed group of individuals who are prominently respected in the ecumenical movement and civil society. Each, in their own way, have been a visionary bridge builder. They have been involved in many important and crucial developments of the ecumenical movement, the lives of the Churches and the development of civil society.
They have supported us:
- with finding effective ways of dealing with the many difficult realities in Eastern and Central Europe and the global south,
- in designing better accounting / financial management practises and planning, monitoring and evaluation processes,
- by giving us hope in conflict situations and discovering new paths to peace and reconciliation,
- by bringing depth and meaning into our seminars as speakers, facilitators and resource persons,
- by dedicating resources, books, computers and other new technologies to local / national members and partners as well as to the Secretariat,
- by leading our spiritual retreats and teaching us new interactive bible study methodologies,
- by hosting young tired pilgrims in their homes and nourishing them for the next part of their journey.
Reverend Dr. Konrad Raiser is a distinguished Lutheran theologian, and his contribution and influence as theologian and an ecumenist has been far-reaching. He was the General Secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC) 1993 - 2003. He has been a visionary ecumenical leader for many years. "Reconciliation has become a central term in today's public discourse…a symbol for the hopes to re-establish a viable order of peace in human community." During this period, he bravely led the WCC, its member Churches and the ecumenical movement towards a radical redefinition of the ecumenical 'Common Understanding and Vision', and helped facilitate a fundamental review of the participation of Orthodox member churches with very positive results. His deep contributions and commitment to the ecumenical movement has encouraged and catalysed not only Churches but social movements, youth organisations, peace/justice/ reconciliation groups and environmental organisations, including ours. We were especially grateful when he joined us at the ENYA Ecumenical Youth Assembly in 2004.
Carol Abel, an Anglican from Wales trained in law and qualified as Chartered Accountant. She has worked primarily in the financial business world and has been on the finance management teams of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and is currently working at the Belfast Waterfront Hall, in Northern Ireland. She worked with the World Council of Churches WCC, as WCC Europe Regional Secretary from 1993 - 1996 and then in the Office for Income Coordination and Development / Finances and Computer IT Departments within the General Secretariat. She has extensive experience in the ecumenical world having served as a member of WCC Central Committee from 1983-1991, and as Treasurer of the Ecumenical Forum of European Christian Women (EFECW). On several occasions, Carol has assisting us in developing ENYA's financial management practices and policies over the years as the network has grown and matured.
Midge Beguin-Austin is an entrepreneur, researcher and sociologist. She is a Professor of Business and Management Studies and Academic Advisor at Webster University, Geneva, Switzerland, both in the campus classroom and on-line. She is Executive Director of Jaysquare Associates S.A.R.L. (a provider of international management / marketing services and executive training) and Board Chair of the Ecumenical Leadership Foundation. She has a M.B.A. from Webster University, a B.A. in Sociology and Political Science, Summa cum laude, 1971 at City University of New York. Her doctoral research is in knowledge conversion in the entrepreneurial context, and she serves as a mentor for The Hub, Center for Entrepreneurial Creativity in Geneva. Midge has facilitated ENYA women's management and finances trainings and has promoted and enabled the Secretariat to acquire and keep abreast of new technologies. She is Chair of the Board of the Ecumenical Leadership Foundation, whose support was crucial and enabled us to acquire equipment to avail of these technologies.
Metropolitan Krystof, is Primate of the Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia. He was born in Prague and ordained a priest in 1974. He studied church history and patristics in Presov and Moscow before being assigned to parish work in Litomerice. He took monastic orders after receiving his doctorate in theology from Athens University in 1987 and was appointed Bishop of Olomouc-Brno a year later. Archbishop Krystof was elected and enthroned in March, 2000 as the Orthodox Archbishop of Prague. In 2006, he elected as Metropolitan of the Orthodox Church in the Czech Lands and Slovakia He is committed to improving his church's pastoral network and to extend ecumenical ties with other churches.
He was elected at the WCC Eight Assembly in Harare, Zimbabwe, as a member of their Central Committee, along Jana Krajcirikova, from the Czechoslovak Hussite Church.
He has assisted us greatly, with his deep insights and spirituality, and his understanding of the sensitivities and concerns within the ecumenical dialogues has guided us towards deeper partnerships between the Churches.
Reverend Dr. Johnston McMaster, is currently working as a professor with the Irish School of Ecumenics, based in Belfast. He is an ordained minister of the Methodist Church in Ireland. He has resourced seminars for ENYA over the past 6 years in Malta, Czech Republic and Hungary (where he had his first experience of staying in a tent on the lake Balaton! - though he is a veteran of sleeping on Church hall floors). He has initiated, with others, many creative new approaches to interactive bible studies, the rediscovery of "Celtic Spirituality" and through his "training of the trainers" seminars has offered a rich variety of dynamic and holistic methodological approaches for the Churches and related organisations. He has written several books including "Theological Resources for Change", which is concerned with the changing context in N. Ireland, especially in relation to political change and the peace process.
On top of all these skills, he is known to have out run -- and -- out score all the young men and a few of the women!! in the ENYA soccer matches during our seminars. Such are some of the frustrations of the ecumenical inter-generational encounters in the ecumenical movement.........
Reverend Celia Matthews has been serving the Scottish Episcopal Church for the over 30 years, working mainly in the field of Adult Education and ministerial training. Celia is one of the first ordained women in the Scottish Episcopalian Church.
Her main concern has been to lead others to discover their own creative gifts through retreats and painting groups.
In her spare time she has helped lead retreats with Patriarchs, Bishops, ordained and lay people in Eastern and Central Europe. She is an avid painter. She has been a consistent and solid source of pastoral care and strength within our network.
Lord Eames, is the former Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland of the Church of Ireland. He has studied law and theology. He has written several books covered a wide variety of subjects including: A Form of Worship for Teenage Groups, Through Suffering: The Church's response to a suffering community, and Chains to be Broken.
He has been a source of inspiration and hope to all those who are living in conflict situations, as he has sensitively negotiated the many difficult situations in Ireland. He is an ecumenical witness and pioneer, continually discovering new paths to peace and reconciliation. Lord Eames is quoted as saying: "Reconciliation is a process, and without hearts and minds willing to accept its importance, reconciliation will remain an aspiration only. .. Far from being a word of weakness or surrender, true reconciliation among people is a sign of mature strength.....Justice, equality and respect are the key words."
Dr. Reinhild Traitler-Espiritu, a theologian and writer has been a very active and effective leader in several global and European networks / organisations, including the Ecumenical Forum of European Christian Women, the German Kirchentag, and the Interreligious Association of Switzerland to name a few. She is a former staff member of the Justice and Peace Education Sub-Unit of the World Council of Churches (WCC). She was also a former Programme Director of the Protestant Academy Boldern, Switzerland. Reinhild and Elisabeth Raiser-von Weizsäcker are co-founders of the European Women’s College - a women’s project in alternative education. She also founded and is Project Coordinator / member of the academic team of the European Project for Interreligious Learning (EPIL).
Reinhild has been an inspiration for ENYA and has very positively influenced the structuring and programme of ENYA to be more inclusive and democratic. We are always challenged to new ecumenical ventures each time we cross paths with her.
Ruth Clarke was born in Oxford, England. She taught English in secondary schools and was Head Teacher of an Inner London comprehensive school for 12 years. Ruth took early retirement to work as Assistant Director of the Windermere Centre, a lay training centre (lay academy) run by the United Reformed Church. She was elected Moderator of the General Assembly of the United Reformed Church (U.R.C.) 1992-93. She represented the U.R.C. on the Churches' Enquiry into Unemployment and the Future of Work. She has led seminars in Malawi for the Churches of Christ in Malawi on 'Women and Men Together in Mission and Women in Leadership of the Church'. She has been a British National Co-ordinator for the Ecumenical Forum of European Christian Women (EFECW), and also served on the Coordinaating Committee. Ruth is currently serving on the EFECW Finance Committee. She is a member and elder at the U.R.C. in Windermere, Cumbria. Ruth is a nationally accredited lay preacher of the U.R.C.
Ruth is a great encourager of women's work / women's projects and is an expert in fundraising and financing of projects. She has resourced ENYA seminars in these fields and helped new and exisiting women's organisations to develop and become sustainable in Eastern and Central Europe.
Dr. Svetlana Aslanyan was born in Armenia. She has over 20 years research and teaching experience. She received her PhD in linguistics from the Institute of Linguistics of the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia. She currently conducts research on the role of women in establishing a democratic society. Svetlana has conducted several workshops at international and local Conferences. At the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing she presented a workshop on "The Cultural and Psychological Adaptation and Integration of Refugee Women and Children into the New Society". Her current research is: Post Communist Armenia: A Women's Role in Establishing a Democratic Society. It will result in a new book entitled: Women in Post Communist Armenia: Soviet Tradition, Democratic Transition and Future Dreams. She is the founding president of Center for Development of Civil Society (CDCS), and in her capacity as President she has organized several training courses for vulnerable groups of women and youth, including refugees and national minorities. She is also the Coordinator of the Trans-Caucasus Women's Dialog.
Svetlana has assisted ENYA in developing programmes in the field of Young Women Overcoming Violence, Leadership and Empowerment Training programmes and CDCS hosted one of the seminars in this series in Armenia in 2007.
FORMER ENDORSERS: Rev. Josef Spak - on the right - is a priest and former Patriarch (1994 - 2001) of the Czechoslovak Hussite Church. Rev. Rene Hradsky is also a priest and former Bishop of Prague (1989 - 1999) in the Czechoslovak Hussite Church. In 1995, through their encouragement, the young people of the Hussite Church designed and implemented with other youth organisations, their first international seminar - from which ENYA's beginnings were founded. Throughout the years, they have supported the seminars and staff in the Secretariat in Prague, with their deep faith, biblical and liturgical wisdom and spiritual guidance.
