Their amazement at the Secretary-General of the United Nations’ openness to questions from the crowd was second only to their amazement that they got in.
Nana Boateng and Joy Durrant stepped into the massive foyer of the United Nations building Monday morning and were a little lost.
The destination was Conference Room 11, but how to get there? What did they need to get in? A helpful security officer told them where the room was, and that they might need special passes for the conference they wanted to attend in the opening hours of the 63rd Annual Commission on the Status of Women (CSW).
The annual United Nations Commission on the Status of Women is an all-hands-on-deck and then some event for the Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations.
JyungIn “Jenny” Lee was a bit incredulous.She had come to an office event with Japchae, a popular Korean stir-fry dish of glass noodles, vegetables and mushrooms, sometimes including meat. Because of the arduous process of cooking Japchae, Lee explained that it was often the last dish people signed up for at potlucks.
The Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations welcomed the church’s 2019 delegation to the UN Commission on the Status of Women by celebrating the Presbyterian Women’s new status as a non-governmental organization accredited by the UN.
Now that they’re both about three years into their work leading, respectively, the Office of Public Witness in Washington, D.C., and the Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations in New York City, the Rev. Jimmie Hawkins and Ryan Smith say they’ve found ways to work around a White House that often doesn’t welcome their input.
Presbyterian churches now have a new tool to energize and educate congregations around global issues such as poverty alleviation and climate change. The Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations (PMUN) has produced a new Educational Resource Guide that highlights what the PC(USA) and its global church partners are doing to address the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
The Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations has taken a lead in an ecumenical effort to use World AIDS Day Saturday to destigmatize the disease and curb its resurgence.
The 63rd Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) is scheduled for March 11–22, 2019, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. The event is expected to draw representatives from member states, U.N. entities and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from around the world. Applications are now being accepted and can be accessed on the Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations (PMUN) web page.
Faith is not just personal; it’s political. Our leaders pass laws about how we treat one another, laws about money and more. The Bible addresses these issues as well in Scriptures like the Ten Commandments, the parable of the sheep and the goats, Sabbath rules and Jesus’ advice to the rich young ruler to sell his possessions and give to the poor. To say the Bible and Jesus are not political is to deny their influence and relevance to our lives in the 21st century.
