The Unheard Voice

This international event was part of a broader ecumenical effort between the Reformed Church in Hungary (RCH), the Reformed Church in Transcarpathia (RCT), the World Communion of Reformed Churches-Europe (WCRC-Europe), and the National Evangelical Synod of Syria and Lebanon (NESSL) to raise awareness of the lived experiences of women in war-affected regions and to foster deeper global connections through storytelling and prayer.

The plan for the conference was born from a previous trip Rev. Najla Kassab, President of the World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC), took to Transcarpathia, where she met with female pastors of the Reformed Church in Transcarpathia. Initially, Rev. Kassab was scheduled to attend a Transcarpathian Reformed women's event in November 2024 to encourage the spiritually weary women of Transcarpathia who were war-weary. However, this event was postponed due to the situation in the Middle East. The situation and well-being of the Reformed community in Transcarpathia is also a priority for WCRC-Europe, President Martina Wasserloos-Strunk. Wasserloos-Strunk has visited Transcarpathia on several occasions, most recently from March 26 to 28, prior to the women’s conference in Lebanon, on a solidarity visit. During annual meetings of the European Regional Council, several reports from the Reformed Church in Transcarpathia were also heard under a special agenda item.

The Hungarian Reformed community was represented by seven women: four women from Transcarpathia, one representing the Serbian Reformed Christian Church, one from the Reformed Women's Association, and one representing the Ecumenical Office of the Synod Office of the Reformed Church in Hungary.

In addition to the Hungarian participants, women from the RCH’s Middle East partners, NESSL and the Armenian Protestant community in the Middle East were represented. Additionally, the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, which maintains an active relationship with NESSL and the Reformed Church in Transcarpathia, was represented by two women at the conference.

The primary aim of the conference was to build a foundation of understanding and solidarity between women living in conflict-affected regions and to establish a forum for sharing experiences. Women from each region shared through devotionals, panels, plenary, and small groups on various subjects such as reconciliation with the self, God, others, forgiveness and hope, struggles and opportunities for progress. The conversations underscored the imperative to peel back superficial distinctions of geography or language and to grasp the threads which tie each individual together. Herein, the reflections revealed a tapestry of vulnerability and pain, but also one of steadfast strength and dedicated faith.

A second element of the conference was to bring the voices of women to the forefront of the October General Council of the churches, and especially to World Communion of Reformed Churches 2025, whose main theme is “Persevere in Your Witness.” Though women are often positioned as the backbone of the family, the community, and the church, their voices and experiences are too quickly forgotten by our world. Particularly in times of war, which this conference made clear, women assume extraordinary responsibilities and burdens within the family and the community. And so, in addition to building a network for sharing their experiences and burdens, the conference encouraged women to also share what it means to them to persevere in their witness, however small or large a step. Reflections and responses in this subject highlighted that despite how deeply personal experiences with this question may be, we are united in this journey through our faith, our commitment to one another, and as witnesses to God’s reconciling work in the world. The outcomes of the conference will be shared at the 2025 General Council, and future plans for a follow-up conference are in the planning stage.

On Sunday, 6 April, the Hungarian and Northern Irish participants attended a service in Rabieh, at a NESSL congregation near Beirut. The congregation was welcomed by Martina Wasserloos-Strunk, WCRC-Europe President, and Júlia Berecz, the Ecumenical Officer of the Synod Office of the RCH, who welcomed the congregation. As Rev. Najla Kassab said to the congregation at the beginning of the service, the presence of the brothers and sisters from Transcarpathia and their ministry was particularly significant because the RCT, in response to the 2023 earthquake in Syria, provided a substantial grant to the Arab and Armenian Protestant churches in Syria, even in the difficulties of war.