A couple of weeks ago, the General Assembly Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Relations (GACEIR) met via Zoom for our winter meeting. In addition to working to review our work on actions referred to us from GA225, we spent time in worship and devotion. On Thursday, we remembered the church’s commitment to stand in solidarity with our siblings who are experiencing violence by wearing black. We invite you to join us each Thursday to stand with and pray for the end of violence in all areas of our lives.
Providing smartphones and other support to survivors of domestic and gender-based violence was the focus of an online event held this week during the 67th Commission on the Status of Women (#CSW67).
The Waterfall Tapestry of Solidarity and Resistance has been assembled and is on display at the World Council of Churches’ 11th Assembly running through Sept. 8 in Karlsruhe, Germany.
Every Thursday, I try to wear black to stand in solidarity with my siblings who are experiencing violence. Some days I forget, but working from home gives me the opportunity to correct it. But those who experience violence can’t forget, because they live with the trauma of it every day. What if we, in our daily lives, loved others like God in Christ loves them? Would we turn a blind eye to the violence and injustice we know is happening around us? What if we lived in a world that did not tolerate violence? What if the church stood as a voice against violence?
According to UN Women, the United Nations entity dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women, it’s estimated that 35% of women worldwide have experienced either physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence or sexual violence by a non-partner (not including sexual harassment) at some point in their lives. Some national studies show that up to 70% of women have experienced physical and/or sexual violence from an intimate partner in their lifetime.
