Re-membering the Body: Trauma and Testimony among Rwandan Christian Women in the Context of Women Foundation Ministries

Within the framework of trauma-informed theology and ministry practices, the act of sharing testimony can be a part of the trauma-healing process. In the context of the Kigali-based ministry, Women Foundation Ministries (WFM), Christian women in contemporary Rwanda are using the liturgical act of giving testimony to re-member the past, forge new identities, articulate their understandings of God, and imagine new futures. Working with Constructivist Grounded Theory methodology and narrative biographical interviews conducted in Rwanda in 2019, this study centers on the lived religion of lay women. Through a case study of WFM, this paper observes that such a grassroots, women-led religious space — even in the wake of layers of individual and collective trauma — employs testimony as a valuable spiritual tool to help women navigate the “Holy Saturday” of unresolved grief, while also working in community toward new futures.