Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori will host an hour-long exploration into the church’s work in Human Trafficking on Wednesday, March 6.

Human Trafficking: A Churchwide Conversation will originate from the Chapel of Christ the Lord in the Church Center in New York City beginning at 2 pm Eastern, 1 pm Central, noon Mountain, 11 am Pacific, 10 am Alaska, 9 am Hawaii, 8 pm Europe,3 am Thursday Taiwan.

“The focus of this forum is to uncover this ubiquitous issue in our midst and to share the ministries of the church devoted to human trafficking,” Presiding Bishop Jefferts Schori stated.

“Human Trafficking is a worldwide issue and the second largest criminal industry in the world,” explained Lynnaia Main, Episcopal Church Officer for Global Relations. “Often, the faces of human trafficking victims are in plain sight without the public knowing or seeing.”

The 2013 priority theme of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women is the elimination and prevention of violence against women and girls.

The program

Presiding Bishop Jefferts Schori will lead Human Trafficking: A Churchwide Conversation with an address that will focus on “What Is Human Trafficking and How Does It Link With Violence Against Women and Girls.” 

Among the panelists are: Alexander D. Baumgarten, Episcopal Church Director of Office of Government Relations and Sarah Dreier, Legislative Representative for International Policy and Advocacy, addressing advocacy aspects on the federal, state and local levels; the Rev. Brian McVey of the Diocese of Iowa on what ministries are operating around the Episcopal Church in response to human trafficking; the Rev. Terrie Robinson from the Anglican Communion on communion-wide actions and policies; Laura Russell, Esq. from the Diocese of Newark on the church’s policies and implementation based on General Convention resolutions; and Main, on the UN’s response to human trafficking and Episcopal Church involvement.

Viewers are invited to submit questions to the panelists either prior to the forum or during.  To submit a question, email trafficking@episcopalchurch.org

Participation and viewing

Human Trafficking: A Churchwide Conversation will be presented via WebEx.  Participation is limited; advance registration is mandatory. To register contact trafficking@episcopalchurch.org

The forum will be available on-demand following the event.

Either live or on-demand, Human Trafficking: A Churchwide Conversation is ideal for individual or group watching and discussion, or on-demand viewing for discussion groups, community gatherings, classes, and other get-togethers.

Resources

An encompassing list of resources on this topic is being compiled and will be available on The Episcopal Church website.

“We are appealing to the entire church to forward any resources of actions and activities that may be occurring,” Main stressed. “Links, files, photos, downloadable documents, and any other information about trafficking, Episcopal Church ministries, or other agencies involved in this work, along with basic materials on this topic for sharing are greatly appreciated.”

To submit resources, email trafficking@episcopalchurch.org

For more information contact Main at trafficking@episcopalchurch.org

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