Introducing Emily Evans

Emily Evans has just recently begun working with the NCCA as a Project Officer. Her role will see her based in Melbourne providing administrative, research and implementation support to the Commissions, Networks and the overall work of the Council.

In addition to this she will be working with the Justice Network developing a Justice Vision Statement and planning and preparing for the Triennial Member’s Forum next year.

As Emily is a member of the Central Committee and Executive Committee of the World Council of Churches (WCC) she will also be trialling WCC campaigns and initiatives with member churches. These will include ‘Thursdays in Black’ and ‘Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace.’

Thursdays in Black – Global campaign ‘toward a world without rape and violence’. The campaign is simple: Wear black on Thursdays (or campaign pin) to declare that you are a part of the global movement resisting attitudes and practices that permit rape and violence.

Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace (PJP) - is an initiative of the WCC member churches “to work together in a common quest, renewing the true vocation of the church through collaborative engagement with the most important issues of justice and peace, healing a world filled with conflict, injustice and pain.” Emily’s role is to consider how to get Australian member churches actively engaged, including the NCCA.

Emily came to the NCCA through her role with the WCC on both committees and also ECHOS Commission (Youth in the Ecumenical Movement) and Gender Advisory Working Group. She is keen to become involved with the Australian ecumenical movement and desires to develop a stronger connection between what is happening on a global level with the national.

Emily has a background in International Community Development. She has lived and worked in Indonesia, Timor-Leste and Tanzania and has a passion for gender equality programming and program quality. This is demonstrated in her role on the WCC’s Gender Advisory Working Group, where she has been working towards gender justice. She would like to bring this interest to her role at the NCCA, particularly with promoting the Thursdays in Black campaign.

Emily is a member of the Uniting Church in Australia (UCA) and has also had engagement in social just campaigning for the UCA.

In her role with the NCCA Emily will ensure that more people are engaged with the work of the NCCA. It is often the same people that have been involved in the ecumenical movement, some for decades. Emily notes that “While it is important to have their knowledge and experience, it is also important to empower and form a new generation of people who are actively engaged in the movement and value those contributions.”

When not campaigning for gender equality Emily can be found catching up with friends for movies, dinners, fine wine and cheese. She enjoys travelling and does her best to add a little trip on and explore somewhere knew or catch up with friends around the world when she attends her WCC meetings. In her down time she can be found binge watching The West Wing.

We are privileged to have Emily share her passions and gifts with us.