Weather played havoc with air travel for some participants, but almost 30 of the Presbyterians coming to New York for the 59 Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women gathered with support staff from Racial Ethnic & Women’s Ministries and the Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations at the Church of the Covenant on Friday, March 6 to prepare for the experience.
We remembered that exactly fifty years earlier, our sisters and brothers gathered at the Brown Chapel A.M.E. Church in Selma, Alabama to plan for the voting rights march to Montgomery.
We noted that this year marks the 20th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women and adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action – the focus for the Commission this year.
We heard from group members who had been in Beijing.
We discussed how we will work with our partners in Ecumenical Women during the Commission.
We learned about opportunities to advocate and learn.
We renewed and initiated friendships.
We heard from the Rev. Larissa Kwong Abazia, Vice-Moderator of the 221st General Assembly (2014).
We ate together.
We worshiped together.
And, together, we went forth to participate in the Commission.