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Monday, September 17, 2007

Aglow International Adds Iraq and Madagascar to Its Global Outreach
Seattle Based Women’s Organization Has Affiliate Groups in 168 Countries, Many Traditionally Closed to Christianity

By Jeremy Reynalds
Correspondent for ASSIST News Service

SEATTLE (ANS) -- Aglow International, one of the world's largest Christian organizations, is expanding into Iraq and Madagascar. The women’s group will now operate in 168 countries.

On May 2, Aglow launched an affiliate group in Douhuk, Iraq, after Abby Abildness, an Aglow member from Hershey, Pennsylvania, traveled there with a medical mission team. While on the field, Abildness shared the vision of Aglow International with some Kurdish women who were eager to form a cell group in their home country. “They appreciate the good works that Christians do to help and rebuild their community,” she said in a news release obtained by ANS.

According to Aglow International President Jane Hansen, this story is very similar to how the Seattle based Christian women's organization has started in nations around the world.

“In just 40 years, Aglow is operating in more than 4,000 cities and towns in 168 nations,” Hansen said in a news release. “We are especially encouraged that women from Iraq have invited Aglow to establish a presence there. Iraqi women hold a special place our hearts because of the decades of suffering they have endured,” she added.

Iraq, a country of about 27.5 million, is 97 percent Muslim. Although freedom of religion is protected under the constitution, Christian and Muslim women alike risk their lives just walking the streets without a veil.

Aglow began a group in Madagascar, the world's fourth largest island, on Aug. 2.

Madagascar has 19.5 million inhabitants, 45 percent of which are Christian. The new president and vice-president of the fellowship in Madagascar will attend Aglow's Worldwide Conference in Seattle, the organization's founding city, on Sept. 20 – 23, as the international group celebrates 40 years of ministry.

According to the news release, about 6,000 women from 100 nations are expected to attend the celebrations.

What began in 1967 as four women desiring to meet together as Christians across denominational boundaries has grown into a worldwide network of women who pray, teach and reach out to their communities – serving an estimated 17 million people each year. Today, 200,000 women participate in more than 4,300 indigenous Aglow groups in 168 countries. Aglow can be found in every U.S. state and Canadian province.

More information may be found by going to www.aglow.org.


Jeremy Reynalds is a freelance writer and the founder and director of Joy Junction, New Mexico's largest emergency homeless shelter, http://www.joyjunction.org or http://www.christianity.com/joyjunction. He has a master's degree in communication from the University of New Mexico, and a Ph.D. in intercultural education from Biola University in Los Angeles. His newest book is "Homeless in the City: A Call to Service." Additional details about "Homeless" are available at http://www.HomelessBook.com He lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico. For more information contact: Jeremy Reynalds at jeremyreynalds@comcast.net. Tel: (505) 877-6967 or (505) 400-7145. Note: A higher resolution JPEG picture of Jeremy Reynalds is available on request from Dan Wooding at danjuma1@aol.com.
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