Priyanka Gloria Gupta brings the combination of a long commitment to her faith and a passion for social justice to the World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC) as its newest intern.

“Participation from my Sunday school yesteryears till present day have prepared me to become a responsible church worker. I wish to further my knowledge and skillset and become an asset to my church, primarily, and to the world as an Indian representative on a larger scale,” says Priyanka, from the Church of North India. “I trust that God is working in me and through me each passing day.”

Her interest in justice issues includes economic and ecological but focuses on gender.

“I hail from a country where subaltern women are treated unequally and the caste system seems to prevail even today. There are gender, racial, and religious persecutions every day in my country, and I believe that WCRC will help me to interact and uplift the marginalized sections of the society through the ecumenical movement ethics,” she says.

“I want to enhance my knowledge on the intersection of women and politics in the global arena. Though church life has evolved and women have a more active role to play these days, I am still found wanting more female leaders in the everyday work of church life,” she says.

And she believes that her generation needs to be purposefully engaged in the work of the church and justice.

“Engaging with students at the school and college level has made me well versed with the challenges our youth is faced with in the church. Many have lost faith and distanced themselves from church life on account of feeling uninvited,” she says. “I yearn to help them back to Christ and hope to interact with young adults of strong faith and brainstorm innovative methods of helping my friends back at home, encouraging them to participate in church work and dedicate their lives to God.

“I am also interested in understanding the economic and ecological justice of the church. The constant persecution of our churches has left the Christian community devastated and devoid of sufficient economic support,” she says. “I dream to see the youth of our churches taking up this cause and investing their youthful energies and God gifted talents to overturn the economical graph of the church.”

More personally, Priyanka is “looking forward to learning German and initiating friendships which I hope to cherish for a lifetime. I also hope to grow personally, being away from home, out of my comfort zone. As I begin to live independently, I hope to develop my culinary skills as well!”

The WCRC internship programme is sponsored by the Evangelische Mission Weltweit (EMW), as well as donations from member churches.