Virtual Commission on the Status of Women Side Event

Weren't able to be in New York City for the Commission on the Status of Women at the United Nations? You can still see our side event, organized with the ecumenical group Ecumenical Women at the UN! The panel of speakers from around the world featured Milcah Lalam, whose ministry, RECONCILE, in Southern Sudan, has been supported by Presbyterian Women and the Presbyterian Church (USA) in a variety of ways.

Here is the list of participants:

Maxine Nodel is the founder and principal of the Millennium Art Academy high school in the Bronx, a school that won the 2009 Lincoln Center Institute first-place award for most imaginative curriculum in New York City. She is also an adjunct lecturer of education at Lehman College, C.U.N.Y. and a 2006 Columbia Teachers College Cahn Fellow Distinguished Principal. In addition to devoting the past 25 years to urban education reform, Ms. Nodel is also a visual artist and writer. She received her B.F.A. in fine art from the Cooper Union for the Advancement and Art and her M.F.A. in creative writing from Brooklyn College.

The Rev. Dr. Surekha Nelavala is an ordained Lutheran minister from India, rostered in ELCA. She carries diverse and wider experience from advocacy, ordained ministry, administrative and teaching positions in which she served. She is committed to the cause of bringing scholarship and people together in developing praxis-oriented liberating hermeneutics of the Bible.

Cecilia Castillo is Continental Coordinator of the Women and Gender Justice Pastoral (PMJG) of the Latin American Council of Churches (CLAI), with presence in 20 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. Since 2008 she has been Technical Coordinator of the Regional Shelter House of the Grande ABC, São Paulo, Brazil, which shelters women victims of domestic and inter-family violence, threatened with death by their husbands or partners.

Milcah Lalam is a peace building development specialist with special expertise in trauma healing, drama as therapy and story-telling. She works closely with women, children, youth, victims of rape and abuse, displaced persons, development and human rights workers in post-war contexts. She currently works with RECONCILE in South Sudan. She has facilitated peace building interventions with women and children and led reconciliation and trauma recovery processes initiated by women for women between communities experiencing inter-ethnic violence. As a psychosocial rehabilitation coordinator for RECONCILE, she developed the trauma recovery manuals and pioneered the use of drama for trauma awareness and healing. The work of RECONCILE is supported in part by The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and Presbyterian Women.

The Rev. Heidi Neumark has worked in urban ministry for 30 years, mostly in the South Bronx and in Manhattan. She has worked with many women, children and young people impacted by poverty, violence, including domestic violence, and HIV/AIDS. She was a founding member of South Bronx Churches which gave rise to women leaders engaged in organizing work to improve their lives and community. Her present congregation also has a group called Mujeres en Progreso, a Latina support group that seeks to be a transformative community for women and their children.

Watch video of the side event (in 4 parts) here:

CSW 55 Round-up

As the flags in front of the UN continue to flap in the breeze, Presbyterian participants in this year's Commission on the Status of Women have returned home, agreed conclusions have been accepted, and the theme for next year (the empowerment of rural women and their role in poverty and hunger eradication, development, and current challenges) has been set. What difference did it all make?

Check out the agreed conclusions online here. Working together with a coalition of organizations and denominations known as "Ecumenical Women at the UN," Presbyterians helped shape talking points and lobby delegates. Our talking point "End the disproportionate effects of violence against women and girls: Quality Education and equitable employment require healthy and safe learning and working environments" was incorporated into two changes in the final outcome document.

• Firstly, on page 3 paragraph 17, the word bullying was approved and remains in the document, along with discrimination, violence and sexual harassment. This language came from our pointed language suggestions and positive dialogue with several Member State representatives.

• Secondly, on page 7 paragraph (r), language was agreed upon regarding school environment, infrastructure and transportation, which was an element and recommendation that was discussed in detail in a meeting Ecumenical Women held with Representatives from the Chilean Mission.

Many Presbyterians who attended CSW plan to share what they learned with their communities--and a few other tools to share the work of CSW resulted from this gathering. Two advocacy resources are available to help you and your community make a statement on the violence in Libya and Côte d'Ivoire. Download them and take action!

Presbyterian Women who attended CSW also felt strongly about encouraging the US ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). Find out more about CEDAW at www.CEDAW2011.org!

Image by Martin Swart (UN Flags Uploaded by Smooth_O) [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Nothing Is Lost on the Breath of God

Pam Tankersley of thePresbyterian Church of Aotearoa/New Zealandspoke at the Ecumenical Women's worship service this morning. She reflected on the earthquake that struck her country - of the loss of human life - the injuries - the pain in the hearts of the people - the devastation. Pam also shared stories of hope and courage and faith and efforts to clean up and plans for rebuilding. And in a powerful moment of affirmation, she shared a song by New Zealand's Colin Gibson - Nothing is Lost on the Breath of God.

Hold the people of New Zealand in prayer.

Learn more about the earthquake and its aftermath.

Ratify CEDAW

On behalf of Presbyterian participants in the 55th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women, Louise Davidson of Presbyterian Women invites the ecumenical community to join in an advocacy effort to secure Senate ratification of the Convention to Eliminate All Forms of Discrimination against Women. Participants in the Commission see ways this convention can benefit women in the United States and around the world.

Video courtesy of Mark Koenig, Director of the Presbyterian Ministry at the UN. Read more here.

From the Midwest to the UN: One Woman's Story

By Cindy Eschliman

It is not often that I am put in a position of being in the minority. I am a young, white woman, who grew up in Hutchinson, KS – the center of the Midwest and I now attend college in Hastings, NE – an even smaller Midwestern town. The Midwest is typically considered to be sparse and without diversity (I can say from experience that although this is not necessarily true, in comparison to larger cities, there is much less integration and understanding). So, when I arrived at LaGuardia Airport on Friday, February 18^th, I was shocked to hear the loud buzzing city, to see the packed, busy, dirty streets and taste the difference in the air.

As it turned out, I was rooming with a young, Hispanic woman, who would describe her first language as Spanish. The other young Presbyterian women I was gathering with also spoke Spanish – I was the only one who didn’t. Respectfully, they spoke English with me and around me because they wanted me to be invited into their conversation. This consideration was a shock to me. English was the only language I knew, let alone was used to hearing. Throughout the week I was surrounded by women (and a few men), who were from all different communities, countries, cultures and spoke different languages. And just as one young woman spoke of her enlightenment to the realization that God is the God of everyone, not just people like her (or those who speak her language), I too was exposed to this broader understanding of God. Although, I had always know in my heart that God is the God of all, this week I have been able to see it in practice.

I am entirely thankful to have been given the opportunity to attend the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. The experience has opened my eyes to the wonder of diversity and how to advocate, specifically on behalf of women all over the world. Too often, I feel inadequate and uneducated as to how to even interact with people of different cultures, languages and race because I have not been exposed to such diversity. This week provided me with a safe space to ask questions and open up about how I am so afraid of accidentally offending someone different than me. The women listened to my confession and welcomed me with open hearts; I cannot thank them enough for their support.

The United Nations Commission on the Status of Women was focused on providing women and the girl child with equal access to science and technology. Theologically, the theme of access was interesting to point out. During one of the Ecumenical Women orientations we took a closer look at Romans 5:1-5,

“Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.”

Throughout the passage are words such as “boast,” “sufferings,” “endurance,” “character,” and “hope.” To society, about half of these words look negative and half positive, but in the context of this passage, they are all positive, leading to better things along the way. And so, when I take this and apply it to women and women’s rights across the world, I see that women have taken a stand, a strong fighting stance, against violence, unequal pay, unfair conditions and anything that might oppress the woman/ girl child. So, although, women have suffered, we are enduring, and producing character – one that includes equal access and this gives us hope that one day, the world will reflect God's love for all people.

Since I returned from the eye-opening trip, I have already begun to express my newfound appreciation for women all over the world. I have started to understand that I am a part of a great network of women all across the nations. And I have started promoting the increased awareness of women’s rights for all peoples.

So, I will forever be working for women’s equal access to science and technology (and in every aspect of life) here, because a vote for women here, is a vote for women everywhere.

Pictures taken by Christine Mangale. Cindy Eschliman is a member of the National Network of Presbyterian College Women.

A world where all live, all thrive

Carolyn Groseclose Sprinkle, a member of Presbyterian Women from Sparta, North Carolina, reflects on her experience at the 55th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women. She considers God's vision of a world where all live and all thrive - and how we can work to bring that world into being. Carolyn and the other Presbyterians engaged in the Commission throughEcumenical Women.

Video courtesy of Mark Koenig, Director of the Presbyterian Ministry at the UN. Read more here.

Going home to make a difference

Pam Snyder, a member of Presbyterian Women from Staunton, Virginia, reflects on her experience at the55th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women. She considers what she has learned and what she will do when she returns home. Pam and the other Presbyterians engaged in the Commission throughEcumenical Women.

Video courtesy of Mark Koenig, Director of the Presbyterian Ministry at the UN. Read more here.