Women from The Episcopal Church, the Anglican Church of Canada and nearly two dozen Provinces across the Anglican Communion along with Ecumenical women and a youth delegation will gather for the 54th Session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW) in New York City March 1 – 12.

This year, the theme of UNCSW is “Bejing + 15: Review and Appraisal of Progress Achieved Fifteen Years After Implementation of the 1995 Beijing Platform for Action on Women (BPFA).”

“Since 2004, under the auspices of Anglican Women”s Empowerment (AWE) and enabled by the Anglican Observer”s Office, several hundred Anglican sisters have participated in the annual UNCSW meeting,” noted Marge Christie, a representative of The Episcopal Church. “March 2010 will provide the opportunity to evaluate the whole under the banner of Beijing+15.”

The Episcopal/Anglican representation is coordinated through the Office of the United Nations Observer for the Anglican Communion. With the location of the Episcopal Church Center only two blocks from the United Nations building, the Church Center at 815 Second Ave. is being utilized for hospitality, meeting, gathering and training space.

For more information check the website of the Anglican Observer at the UN: http://www.aco.org/ministry/un/

Information on the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women is here: http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/csw/index.html

“Inspiring women to urge their governments toward meeting the principles of the Beijing Platform is an imperative this year,” Christie said. “While the occasion is the celebration of Beijing+15, the reality is that not nearly enough has been accomplished in the years since that historic gathering. “

Schedule

Training sessions, meetings, presentations, worship services, delegation time and social activities fill the two-week calendar.

The complete schedule will be available: http://www.aco.org/ministry/un/

The list of Parallel Events registered through the NGO/CSW is here: http://www.ngocsw.org/en/events/csw54/parallel-events/list

Among the events sponsored or hosted by The Episcopal Church are:

– March 2 presentation by the Rev. Margaret Fell from the Episcopal Diocese of Minnesota on “Creating Beijing Circles for Study, Reflection and Action.”

– March 2 presentation “Join The Circle, a Learning Opportunity Grounded in

God”s Call to Local and Global Action.”

– March 3 discussion about Global Anglican Networking For Mission focusing on networking opportunities and exploring how women of faith around the world can connect effectively on common mission objectives.

– March 3 presentation by The Episcopal Church Global Partnerships and Mission Representatives on their program goals and guidelines.

– March 5 meeting with Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori

– On Sunday, March 7, members of the international delegation will be worshipping at Episcopal churches in the New York area.

– March 9 presentation by program officers from Episcopal Relief & Development, Trinity Wall Street and the United Thank Offering (UTO) on guidelines and funding possibilities for international church based programs.

– March 10 discussion “Human Trafficking: The Way Forward” Presentations and discussions on engaging Faith Based Organizations and possibilities for regional partnering with the Anglican Communion on: The MDGs, Issues of Reproductive Health, Issues of Sexual Violence, Youth-focused Programs.

Young Adult participation

Ten Episcopal young adult delegates, between 18 and 30 years old from throughout the United States, will participate in the sessions and blog their experiences.

Young Adult representatives schedule and blogs here: http://episcopalcommons.org/csw/

The Episcopal Church welcomes all who worship Jesus Christ in 109 dioceses and three regional areas in 16 nations. The Episcopal Church is a member province of the worldwide Anglican Communion.

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