Prayer and Politics: A Letter from a Female Reverand

My mother forwarded me the below letter and prayers from her Reverand Gayle Marsh of All Saints Church in Northfield, MN. It is so timely for me on many levels I wanted to share it with you. Enjoy!

Dear friends in Christ,

If the past 24 hours in your home and workplace have been anything like my home and workplace, I suspect many of you have been engaged in watching C- Span, the early morning presidential announcements to the nation, and endless commentaries about the financial rescue/debt package. It is a time of great anxiety for many people and the decisions that are being made have long-range implications for all of us and for our communities. In times of national crises faith communities like churches, synagogues, mosques and temples hold an important and stabilizing ministry for individuals and the nation. 
 
I trust that you will rededicate yourselves to the disciplines of prayer, alms giving and attendance at worship. These are the moments when hurting individuals typically find their way into praying communities like ours. We offer a place of solace, hospitality and missional awareness beyond our doors. We need one another. We need each others voices in support. We need the strength that comes from singing together and laughing together, and crying together.

As Anglicans/Episcopalians, we within our spiritual roots is the practical necessity to pray for our leaders and government. In times of polarization, one of the greatest gifts we offer is the effort to foster dialogue and unity. Even in the midst of diversity we offer a place with courtesy, even with those with whom we may disagree.

The following are some prayers that you may find personally helpful. They may be useful to others who ask you how you’re doing in the midst of this stress. Please feel free to share them.

The Rev. Gayle Marsh,
Episcopal Diocese of Minnesota

A Prayer for your Community and Government

Lord, bless this Realm and Commonwealth,
that religion and virtue may season all;
that there may be peace within its gates
and prosperity in all its borders.
In peace, so preserve it that it corrupt not;
in trouble, so defend it that it’s suffer not;
and so order it, whether in plenty or in want,
that it may patiently and peaceably seek you,
the only full supply and sure foundation both of people and states,
that so it may continue a place and people to do you service to the end of time; through Jesus Christ our only Savior and Redeemer. (Archbishop William Laud, 1573 – 1645)

A Prayer for Renewing one’s Faith

O God, when it is dark and nothing seems real anymore, when our faith has been enfeebled by distress, help us to remember those times when we were sure of your presence, so that the light of our experience will reveal you once again, and we might see you are, always with us, always waiting, always loving, in and through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Frank Topping, 1994)

A Prayer for Wellbeing

 

Loving Lord
I am not brave enough to make great sacrifices,
or even bold gestures,
teach me to be faithful in little things,
small but frequent kindnesses that your love might increase within me,
might grow with such compound interest
that brave or not, my fund of love might spill out
and be shared with my brothers and sisters who live next door,
in the next street, or on the other side of the world, for your love’s sake. (Frank Topping, 1991)

 
A Prayer for one’s Journey

O Lord God, who has called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending; by paths as yet untrodden, through peril’s unknown; give us faith to go out with a good courage, not knowing where we go, but trusting that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us; to the glory of your Name. (Daily Prayer, the Church of England, 1941).

The UN Millennium Development Goals…and Why You Should Care!

Today, September 25, 2008, world leaders are meeting at the United Nations (UN) in New York to report on the progress we, the world, have made on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The MDGs are eight goals that were agreed to by UN members in 2000 and are focused on erradicating extreme poverty in the world, the 1.2 billion people that live on less than $1 U.S. Dollar per day.

For more on the MDGs compiled by Episcopal Relief and Development, go to http://www.e4gr.org/mdgs/fast_facts.html

The UN has set targets for each goal to be accomplished by 2015. I will outline these targets below. Right now, in 2008 we are very far behind on our targets.

The United Nations MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS

(For more detailed information on each goal, please click on the link which will take you to the UN website on that goal).

GOAL 1:
ERADICATE EXTREME POVERTY & HUNGER

• Target 1:
  Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people whose income is less than $1 a day
• Target 2:
  Achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all, including women and young people
• Target 3:
  Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people who suffer from hunger

GOAL 2:
ACHIEVE UNIVERSAL PRIMARY EDUCATION

• Target 1:
  Ensure that, by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling

GOAL 3:
PROMOTE GENDER EQUALITY AND EMPOWER WOMEN

• Target 1:
  Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education, preferably by 2005, and in all levels of education no later than 2015

GOAL 4:
REDUCE CHILD MORTALITY

• Target 1:
  Reduce by two thirds, between 1990 and 2015, the under-five mortality rate

GOAL 5:
IMPROVE MATERNAL HEALTH

• Target 1:
  Reduce by three quarters the maternal mortality ratio
• Target 2:
  Achieve universal access to reproductive health

GOAL 6:
COMBAT HIV/AIDS, MALARIA AND OTHER DISEASES

• Target 1:
  Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS
• Target 2:
  Achieve, by 2010, universal access to treatment for HIV/AIDS for all those who need it
• Target 3:
  Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the incidence of malaria and other major diseases

GOAL 7:
ENSURE ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY

• Target 1:
  Integrate the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programmes and reverse the loss of environmental resources
• Target 2:
  Reduce biodiversity loss, achieving, by 2010, a significant reduction in the rate of loss
• Target 3:
  Halve, by 2015, the proportion of the population without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation
• Target 4:
  By 2020, to have achieved a significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers

GOAL 8:
DEVELOP A GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP FOR DEVELOPMENT

• Target 1:
  Address the special needs of least developed countries, landlocked countries and small island developing states
• Target 2:
  Develop further an open, rule-based, predictable, non-discriminatory trading and financial system
• Target 3:
  Deal comprehensively with developing countries’ debt
• Target 4:
  In cooperation with pharmaceutical companies, provide access to affordable essential drugs in developing countries
• Target 5:
  In cooperation with the private sector, make available benefits of new technologies, especially information and communications

WHY YOU SHOULD CARE

There are many reasons to care. First and foremost, because we are all humans.  For more in depth facts and progress reports, please visit each goal and click on the links for the MDG Monitor of progress and the Fact Sheet found on each goal page. For more on the MDGs compiled by Episcopal Relief and Development and what you can do, go to http://www.e4gr.org/mdgs/fast_facts.html

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Christ`s Care for Women in Recife, Brazil

I am spending one month in Brazil as part of USPG`s (United Society of the Propagation of the Gospel) ´Expanding Horizons Programme`. I am staying in the Anglican diocese of Recife with time in Recife and a town 2ookm away, Caruaru. The aim is to experience the Anglican Church in a different context

During my first week here I spent time with over 100 women at a Christian Course  (cursilho). The course took place in a beautiful area with exotic plants and trees in a large  self-catering hotel. The course lasted 3 nigths and four days and was aimed at continuing women`s discipleship and also bringing people to faith. The course was organised by the Cathedral in Recife. I was really impressed with the whole event, even though my Portuguese is very bad, the women were hugely welcoming and loving!

A team of women run the event from all the catering, the workshops, prayer, music, entertainment. There was an overwhelming attitude of Christ`s love and care, as well as a lot of tears and a lot of laughter. The fact that volunteers organised the event and showed their discipleship through service to the women on the course was an excellent witness to their faith. At each meal time a Bible verse was left on each person`s plate and as the days progressed people sent each other encouraging notes of love and small gifts. 

The lives of the women in Brazil are often hard and in particular maintaining relationships is a struggle.  Many of the women are separated or divorced bringing up children on their own or with support from their mothers. Domestic violence is also a widespread problem. The women also told me about the political situation in Brazil which added to their  difficulties. They pay high taxes but most of their money is wasted through corruption.  In this context of struggle in their lives the message of Christ`s love and care for all people takes on a particular poignancy.

The Anglican Diocese in Recife has met significant difficulties owing to a renegade Conservative Bishop who has severed the historic link with Canterbury taking many priests and churches with him. Those priests that are left, committed to staying in the Anglican Communion, have a huge task of rebuilding the churches at the base level, not least finding the money to build new churches. Most are working without pay and supporting themselves through other work. Brazil also has a highly competitive religious environment. On my street there are five different churches. It is difficult for the Anglican Church therefore to witness here, but important that this message of love and transformation is communicated. In this context therefore the excellence of this women`s Christian Course is all the more to be celebrated. I hope that some of the women may join this Blog and add their voices to `Young Anglican Women from Around the World´.

Invitation to Write Prayers

http://www.churchpublishing.org

General Information:

Say a Prayer. Change the world. “Lifting Women’s Voices: Ending Poverty through Prayer and Action” will be a new book of prayers by Anglican women and girls focusing on the Millennium Development Goals. While worldwide attention is focused on discord and division, Anglican women and girls can unite to make our voices heard on issues of poverty and women’s empowerment, express the power and depth of our faith, and reveal our connections across cultural and economic differences, by contributing prayers for this book. To be published under the Morehouse imprint of Church Publishing, Inc., “Lifting Women’s Voices” will reveal how Anglican women and girls world-wide are deeply connected by global issues, even across cultural and economic divides—and affirm that nurturing our inner lives of prayer offers us the courage to care and advocate not just for ourselves, but for our sisters throughout the Anglican Communion. Each chapter of the new book, which will have a multicultural global reach, will focus on one of the Millennium Development Goals. Prayers will show the connections between the global concerns of women and girls and their personal lives. Already “Lifting Women’s Voices” is receiving the endorsement of prominent Anglican women leaders. The Most Rev. Katherine Jefferts Schori, the Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church, is writing the preface. Helping to choose prayers for publication are Mrs. Jane Williams, a theologian and author who is the wife of the Archbishop of Canterbury; Dr. Jenny Te Paa, Ahorangi, or Dean, of Te Rau Kahikatea, the College of St. John the Evangelist in Auckland, New Zealand; Mrs. Phoebe Griswold, a founding member of Anglican Women’s Empowerment; and the Rev. Margaret R. Rose, Director of The Episcopal Church’s Center for Mission Leadership. All royalties from the sale of “Lifting Women’s Voices” will benefit the International Anglican Women’s Network and Episcopal Relief and Development. Speak your truth, claim your voice, send in your prayer. Invite other Anglican women and girls to send in their prayers, too. To learn about the Millennium Development Goals and the new book, including how to submit a prayer, see the Frequently Asked Questions page on Church Publishing’s website: www.churchpublishing.org. Then, email your prayer to prayers@cpg.org by September 15, 2008.

Invitation

Invitation to participate in an online discussion on “Women and men: equal
sharing of responsibilities”
You are invited to participate in the online discussion on “Women and men:
equal sharing of responsibilities” organized by the Division for the
Advancement of Women, United Nations, which will run from 7 July to 1 August
2008.
To register, please click on the following link to fill out an online
form: http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/forum/forum-register-daw-equalsharing.asp You
are encouraged to register before 3 July 2008. You will receive an email with
your username and password before the start of the online discussion.
The online discussion will contribute to a comprehensive understanding of the
issue of equal sharing of responsibilities between women and men, including
caregiving in the context of HIV/AIDS, and to identify good practices and
strategies required to accelerate gender equality in this regard. The
discussion is part of the preparatory process for the 53rd session of the
Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) in 2009. It will provide background
information for an Expert Group Meeting organized by the Division for the
Advancement of Women on this theme.
For more information on the online discussion, please
visit: http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/forum/forum-daw-equalsharing.htm
If you have any questions about the registration process, please contact us at:
daw-e-discussions@un.org
Please feel free to circulate this invitation widely. Apologies for
crossposting. We look forward to your participation in the online discussion.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 2

Ok Brain, let’s get sharp and think about the second article of the UN Declaration of Human Rights.

Article 2.

Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.

Oh do we all, worldwide, have work to do on this article. This article calls for no discrimination of any form for any reason whatsoever. The first example of work that can be done is an experience an acquaintance of mine had. My friend’s first name is Mohammad. Mohammad was born and raised in the Middle East. He recently graduated with a Master’s in Business specializing in Project Management. He applied for many jobs for which he was very qualified (he also had solid work experience in related areas) but never got called in for interviews. This occurred in Boston, MA in 2008, in my backyard! I personally feel that because his first name is Mohammad that readers of his resume were immediately struck with a stigma towards him and were blinded to his qualifications.

Maybe I am wrong and there were other significantly more qualified people applying for the same jobs, however to me it seems he wasn’t even considered as a candidate from the moment they read his name at the top of the resume. This may not have been a conscious judgement call by the reader. In fact to me it seems our culture in the United States of America has subconscious reactions to the name Mohammad, similar reactions that we have to the date 9-11 or the phrase terrorist. This is largely in part due to the current socio-political state of the world and our country’s role in that. I do want to share that after several months of searching for a job Mohammad left the Boston area and found a position in California.

I could have shared with you my views on the caste system in India and how they are quite contrary to this article on the basic human rights as agreed by all UN Member States. Or I could have talked about any number of instances of ethnic cleansing occurring all over the world. But, I chose to share an experience that someone had in my backyard as often we forget that there are problems there too.

Drum roll, and now for the solutions…in this particular instance I almost feel we should not list our names on the top of our Resume. This would help eliminate discrimination of gender and of ethnicity. While that may be a small solution to isolated problems, we need to think about the bigger problem which is the subconscious reaction. This is difficult because this reaction comes from our society as a whole, our government and their efforts to get a message across the media to support their political actions, our media trying to spin articles to add sensation and keep our interest, and our neighbors who are fed the same information and have similar subconscious reactions which affect us all.

My solution, while simple in nature is to get to know people that are different from you. When you get to know Mohammad you recognize him as an intelligent, well educated and highly qualified individual, not just as Mohammad a name that holds a cultural stigma. We are all human and are all built from the same parts. While we may grow up in different cultures, languages, religions, skin colors and costumes, we are still flesh, bone and brain underneath. Maybe we should issue worldwide school uniforms so we all look the same, I joke. One of my personal passions is to learn about people from other cultures, understand why their culture believes and practices what they do. Understand why these differences make sense to them and all the while understand these differences as they relate to basic human rights. Again, I encourage you to reflect on this article and share any reactions or ideas this article inspires in the comments section.

Peace be with you.

Women as Bishops Church of England Lay Petition

http://www.gopetition.co.uk/online/19571.html

This petition is a result of wishing to support a similar petition signed by women clergy to the House of Bishops in the Church of England calling for the legislation for women bishops to be free from discrimination.

The women clergy petition was sent in May 2008 and there has been substantial pressure from lay people to conduct a similar exercise.
Petition:
We, lay members of the Church of England, call upon the House of Bishops wholeheartedly to support legislation for women bishops that is free from discrimination.

We are confident that acceptable non-statutory arrangements can be made for those who remain opposed to women’s ordained ministries.

To view the letter from the senior women clergy click on the link above.

We urge the bishops at General Synod strongly to support having women as bishops without further delay.

United Nations Commission on the Status of Women

I went to NYC as an Episcopal Delegate to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW) on February 22-March 2. I applied to be a delegate, and by the grace of Tunkasila (Great Spirit), was selected. I’m extremely honored to do this because not many people get a chance to be part of an amazing event like this. One of my main focuses of my personal ministry in The Episcopal Church (TEC) is to provide communication, especially for young people! I want all to know about what is happening today and what you can be part of.

The initial focus of this group is at the 52nd session of the UNCSW is “Gender Budget Financing”. Members include the women of Anglican Women’s Empowerment (AWE), related representatives of International Anglican Women’s Network (IAWN), and the participants in the three activities sponsored by AWE: advocacy at the UN sessions by the Episcopal Church (TEC), advocacy at the UN sessions by the international delegates of the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC), and the Beijing Circles conference. We work with our individual talents to do God’s will together.

The group is Anglican women gathered in communion under the auspices of the Anglican Consultative Council to advance the work of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW) in the context of our faith. Our prayer, and our work, is for equality and justice for all women and men, of all faiths and walks of life.

UNCSW 52 Provincial Delegates (women from around the world!) This is just to give an idea of where people are coming from:

AFRICA (8) representing: The Church of the Province of the Indian Ocean, The Church of Nigeria, The Church of the Province of Southern Africa, The Episcopal Church of Sudan, The Anglican Church of Tanzania, The Church of the Province of West Africa, The Church of the Province of the Congo, The Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East

ASIA (7) representing: Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui, Episcopal Church in the Philippines, Nippon Sei Ko Kai, Nippon Sei Ko Kai, The Anglican Church of Korea, The Church of North India, and The Church of Pakistan

US, UK, CANADA (6) representing: The Church of England, The Episcopal Church in the USA, The Church in Wales, The Church of Ireland, The Church of Canada

OCEANIA (4) representing: The Anglican Church in ANZP, The Anglican Church of Australia

LATIN AMERICA & CARIBBEAN (3) representing: La Iglesia Anglicana del Cono Sur de America, La Iglesia Anglicana de Mexico, Episcopal Anglicana do Brasil

Canadian Group (12)

Anglican Observer’s Office (10) representing: South Africa, Malawi, Brazil, Uganda, UK, Uganda, Kenya, Mexico, Uganda, USA

The Episcopal Church (16): Texas, Rhode Island, Missouri, Washington and Panamá, Massachusetts, Virginia, Utah, Wisconsin and Nicaragua, Florida, California, Texas, North Dakota, Venezuela and Colorado.

Location: NYC

Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 1

I’ve decided to start a thinking excercise for myself in which I look at 1 of the 30 articles in the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights at a time and try to understand it, apply it to the conditions I see around me and try to offer solutions to improve the conditions around me. I open the forum to everyone to add their voices and reflections and to develop I dialogue on each article.

To start this excercise I want to share with you the language the UN uses to address the potency of the human rights declarations:

Now, Therefore THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY proclaims THIS UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance, both among the peoples of Member States themselves and among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction.

 I am struck by the idea of nation states striving to educate & “promote respect for these rights and freedoms”. My first reaction is that many of my peers have likely never even seen these 30 basic human rights written out. They may be able to generate their own list off the top of their heads, however they may not realize some of the basic human rights that are not fully being carried out in thier own nation state.

Article 1.

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

I witnessed a gross display of human inequality last night. Now I know you are likely expecting me to describe something graphic and violent. Brace yourselves…I was staying in a hotel this weekend for an ice hockey tournament I played in. As I was leaving my room to go to dinner last night a group of preteen girls was sitting on a couch in the lobby. One girl was leaving for her room as another girl loudly called to her from the couch “if you liked me you’d come over here and [blah blah blah blah] before you went to bed” which was then followed by “you can’t go to bed until you come over here and [blah blah blah blah]“. The speaker was clearly the ring leader, as she had just through these statements identified herself as superior to the girl wanting to go to bed and that girl inferior. I was so appalled by this minipulation of power that I nearly jumped in and made several pointed remarks to the ring leader.

If I had been armed with Article 1, it would have been the ideal remark to make to the ring leader. I was disgusted to witness this all too common adolescent display of power. Maybe I am off point in relating this to Article 1 but to me, the girl trying to go to bed was being manipulated into a role of less dignity and unequal rights.

On my way to work for several months, I would drive past a billboard that was quite weathered. I loved this billboard because it was the place holder the advertising company used when no customers where renting ad space. It read “Always Be Kinder than Necessary”. This is a personal mantra I have adopted and feel helps me to treat others ”in a spirit of brotherhood”.

Now, to offer solutions, this is the hard part. It is so easy for us to identify problems, but to offer practical, appicable solutions is quite a feat. Challenge on Virginia…*gulp*. We as humans, can take it upon our shoulders to lookout for our neighbors. In the sense that, if I witness a 13 year old bully picking on another 13 year old and pushing her down a level to in turn elevate herself, I will not silently walk by, painfully identifying with the underdog, I will instead speak up and take the opportunity to teach the bully and the posse the simple act of equality through human kindness. What would I say? Last night I wanted to say “oh boy you sure are manipulative”, but that would not solve the problem it would only feed my ego and elevate me while pushing down the bully. It may or may not have elevated the girl trying to go to bed. I think a better approach we could adopt would be to say something like “don’t you mean to wish her goodnight and send her on her way so that she may be well rested for tomorrow?” Since it is a question as opposed to a remark it causes the listener to think and chose their own action, though guided, and allows both the bully and the girl being picked on freedom, dignity and equality.

While these thoughts are mere anecdotes from my life and experiences, I hope they may be applicable on a larger scale and in the environments you all find yourselves. Again, I invite you to contribute your own reflection on Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Peace be with you.

 

My Reflections from the UNCSW

Experiencing the 52nd United Nations (UN) Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) was an amazing learning process of non-governmental advocacy, held February 22-March 2 in New York City. The 125 Anglican Women, including myself as a first time Episcopal Church delegate and Province 4 representative, joined other faith-based non governmental organizations (NGOs) to empower women to strengthen world wide communities through equality and justice for all women and men, of all faiths and walks of life.

As a young Lakota woman from South Dakota and proud member of the Episcopal Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast, I have to tell you it was difficult to express the words to describe the UNCSW event. The organizations and topics were wide ranging as well as extremely important. There were three different organizations (the UN, the UN Church Center, and The Episcopal Church Women’s Ministries) holding events simultaneously for 10 days straight. The best advice was from previous women, who said choose events that call to you. So I did carefully, often running from place to place, once eating dinner in the hallway before a popular meeting, as you had to get there early to ensure a seat.

The primary theme was “Financing for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women”. Financing for gender equity calls on us to care for the poor and work for economic justice with the equitable distribution of society’s resources through the analysis of gender budgeting. Gender equality has many dimensions: health and well being, educational attainment, political empowerment, and economic participation. The NGO Anglican Women’s Empowerment states, “By paying attention to all aspects of gender equality, including economic participation, faith communities such as diocese and churches can do God’s work of helping the poor.”

Many issues were addressed including through the emerging theme: “Gender Perspectives on Climate Change”. As well as review themes: “Women’s Equal Participation in Conflict Prevention, Management and Conflict Resolution and in Post-conflict Peacebuilding”, and “Indicators on Violence against Women and Children”. These themes influence agreed conclusions containing priority recommendations for governments, intergovernmental bodies and other institutions, civil society actors and other stakeholders, to be implemented at the international, national, regional, and local level. Additionally, the Commission adopts resolutions on a range of issues during this time.

Anglican Women join the Ecumenical Women which brings women of faith from around the world to tell their stories and address government delegates. The Ecumenical Women advocate for governments to fully implement the Beijing Platform for Action, agreed upon at the 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women, held in China in 1995. The Beijing Platform for Actions addresses Millennium Development Goal #3-Promoting Gender Equality and Empowering Women. The Ecumenical Women coalition trains religious women on UN procedures and effective advocacy techniques. As well as provide time for fellowship, prayer, and discussion during the Commission. Services were held daily at the United Nations Church Center. Orientations, trainings, and reporting for the delegates (Provincial and US) were held at the Episcopal Church Center every evening.

A highlight of the opening plenary was the launch of United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon multi-year campaign to intensify action to end violence against women and girls. “Violence against women and girls makes its hideous imprint on every continent, country and culture,” said the Secretary-General. “It is time to focus on the concrete actions that all of us can and must take to prevent and eliminate this scourge — Member States, the United Nations family, civil society and individuals — women and men. It is time to break through the walls of silence, and make legal norms a reality in women’s lives.” Another inspiring speaker was Kevin Powell, MTV’s Real World Star turned activist and author of “The Confessions of a Recovering Misogynist”, discussed the Role and Responsibility of Men to Prevent Violence against Women. I was ecstatic to see the unity across cultures and genders to stop violence again women.

The CSW Bureau plays a crucial role in preparing and ensuring the successful outcome of annual sessions of the Commission. CSW’s Future Program of Work — Annual Priority Themes and Review Themes — is based around the outcome of the ten-year review of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the 2005 World Summit and the work of the Commission on the Status of Women since 1996. 2009 Priority Theme and 2011 Review Theme: “Sharing of responsibilities for home and family, including care-giving in the context of HIV/AIDS.” For more information on the current membership of the commission by country and Bureau officers, as well as this year’s agreed conclusions published on March 13, please visit http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/csw/index.html.

A personal highlight was “Envisioning a 5th UN Women’s World Conference” with Gloria Steinem, and Jean Shinoda Bolen, MD. The goal of this conference is about the need for women to participate in peacemaking at every level. A UN sponsored conference would allow women to attend who otherwise would not be able to get visas and support from their countries. Women would share information about what has worked and find role models, mentors, and allies. The book “Urgent Message from Mother: Gather the Women and Save the World” written by Jean Shinoda Bolen, MD, resonated with me. I received an indigenous elder’s meditation a week prior to the event reading: “At an Elders gathering, held in July 1991, we were told the Indian woman would play an instrumental part in leading the healing of Indian nations. The old people said we were to look up to her in a sacred manner. They said the Earth Mother would give the woman special gifts of love. The woman and the Earth Mother are connected in a special way. Women should pay attention to the lessons coming from the earth. Men should treat the women with respect, dignity and honor.” This was a message from the Creator as the meditation was sent on February 16, which would’ve been my deceased great grandmother’s (Emma Brave Hawk) birthday. Old Grandma, as we called her, was the first generation in my family to become involved in the Episcopal Church and was leader in our native community. This connection led to a meeting with Office of Native American Missioner Janine Tinsley-Roe and other Episcopal delegates to plan advocacy events in the next year.

Another network born from the 52nd UNCSW, is Young Anglican Women. A group dedicated to the global network of Young Episcopal and Anglican Women to share information and support one another in our endeavors. We are on Facebook, as well as began a blog site at http://younganglicanwomen.wordpress.com/.

I am incredibly inspired by so many great women making an impact in our world from the grassroots levels, as wells as witnessing our women leaders in action. We also must partner with men to help everyone understand the message. I see true unity can be reality! I’m not saying I’m an expert, just a young Lakota woman with a true passion for advocacy and hoping that others will hear my story get inspired into action.

Overall what I learned is for change to happen, we must begin to step out of our boxes and do it. Yes, you will encounter resistance. Yes, you will encounter politics. Yes, it will be difficult at times. But, we must remember all good things come from struggle. You will find local allies (they’ve been here working all along!). You will find answers if you search. Search for the tools you need to make change! Don’t wait for someone to come to you with an idea, time passes quickly and passion can be forgotten. It can be on any issue that the Creator calls you to do…pray for guidance and open your heart to seeing the signs. But you have to make it reality.

Wakan Tanka Kici Un (May God Bless You).