Connections

Today went much more smoothly as all the Anglican women gathered in the chapel at the Episcopal Church Center, 815 Second Avenue, near our hotel. There were almost a hundred delegates from around the world, plus a few women who came from other NGO's. With the tension in the air about what happened at the Primates meeting in Tanzania, many women had questions about that and if there was going to be any frank discussion. I'm not sure if there will be, but there is a common binding thread of our mission to "eliminate all forms of violence and discrimination against the girl child" that is to be our main focus. If we are not unified, I don't see how we can collectively address it. How quickly we forget that the force of evil has its power when it can divide and conquer.

Fortunately, this morning there was more time spent on a formal orientation for us all. Mary Roodkowsky from UNICEF gave an excellent presentation on why Anglican women are involved at the UN, which many of us first timers were wondering ourselves. Here is a brief overview of what she had to say:
We are here for the Church
a)to build awareness of issues on the international agenda and of strategies being used,
b)to create a truly international perspective,
c) to create solidarity among women from many nations/ethnicities/church experiences, and
d) to help build targeted strategic thinking

Why we (AWE)are good for the UN:
a)builds support for global goals,
b) creates and awareness at UN of issues as seen by the church,
c)increases government appreciation of reach and organization of civil society,
d) enriches dialogue by bringing new perpectives, and
e)encourages delegations' accountabilities

The Anglican Women's Empowerment(AWE)group is an accredited NGO and therefore we can:
a)observe the meetings at UN,
b)present written/oral statements,
c)meet official government delegations,
d)lobby delegations in the context of negotiations of agreed conclusion and resolutions, and
e)organize parallel events during the session

She mentioned that protesting at the UN is pointless. The UN delegates are not decision makers, they must call their governments for instructions regarding every vote and decision. The place we are most effective is in our own communities and supporting women in other communities.

We were then partnered through the AWE-net with someone from another country. My partner had not yet arrived, but I met her briefly at tonight's ceremony at Trinity Wall Street. I hear she is an amazing woman. Her name is Dr. Jenny Te Paa from New Zealand.

Since Dr. Te Paa hadn't arrived yet, I was invited to join Joanne from California, formerly with the World Health Organization, and Jesusa Zena T. Caytap from the Philippines. We had lunch together, and heard from Zena about her role as a youthworker in her church. Apparently, the Filipino Episcopal Church was a part of the Episcopal Church USA until the 90s. Her grandfather had been a priest, as well as her father, and now she is considering pursuing the priesthood, too. Here is a picture of Zena.

TRINITY WALL STREET

The highlight of the day was the ceremony at Trinity Wall Street, "Girls Claiming the Future: Hopes and Challenges." it was a celebration of the Anglican Delegates to the 2007 United Nations Commission on the Status of Women and Global Issues of The Girl Child. You can watch the telecast of this ceremony at www.trinitywallstreet.org for the next four weeks. Here are some highlights from the ceremony:

The opening procession was Girl Choristers from New York Episcopal Parishes, which showed the ethnic diversity of the city. The Anglican Girl Delegates to the UNCSW also processed and were part of a panel that questioned some of the leaders in global women's work. Here is a photo of the Girl Delegates (at the Episcopal Church Center):


Missing are a couple of girls, most notably Kaimana Mauai from Standing Rock Reservation who has been to one of our Legacy camps!

A girl speaker's emotions overcame her at the end and her question to The Presiding Bishop, Katherine Jefferts Schori was, "How will the church help girls who are abused and what are they going to do?" This is where I became very impressed with The Presiding Bishop. She saw a girl's pain and stood up to answer her question, taking hold of her hand, looking only at her, and as if the entire rest of the cathedral vanished and she spoke, really spoke, directly to her with such compassion and love, that many of us started crying. I watched throughout the remainder of the service and Katherine Jefferts Schori kept hold of her hand, and was speaking closely with her afterwards. I wonder what transpired, but when I saw her in the lobby of the hotel tonight, I saw a different girl. When I first met her yesterday, she would not look at anyone, was shy, couldn't talk much, and kept herself apart. Tonight she boldly walked up to us and said hello as she was leaving to go see Times Square with the other teens. Her story was the story of many girls around teh world, including the United States, and her words are now spoken out there and will carry far. I will await to see what becomes of her, because by the grace of God she has lived to tell her story, and she is on her way to making a change for other girls just like her.

There is so much more I want to share, but it is midnight and I really need some rest. I am hoping the photos I took will remind me later of the rest of the story...