The Synod of Lakes and Prairies has had a Native American Book Discussion Group for several years. It has been very successful under the leadership of Marilyn Stone, from Milwaukee Presbytery. Presbyterian Women in this synod has developed a strong relationship with the Presbyterian Women in the Dakota Presbytery — the non-geographic Native American presbytery. Through this group, women strive to understand how to best walk alongside our Native siblings.
Imagine at age 17 being able to say that you’ve developed a device to detect lead-contaminated water, conceptualized a service to thwart cyber bullying and appeared on the cover of Time magazine.
Those are just a few of the accomplishments of Gitanjali Rao, one of the inspirational women and girls applauded at the United Nations observance of International Women’s Day on Wednesday.
In remarks on Monday to the Commission on the Status of Women, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres warned that gender equality is centuries away and called for worldwide efforts to empower women.
Batting leadoff during Monday’s ecumenical worship at the 67th Commission on the Status of Women, prominent Presbyterians preached a message of hope and inclusion to those gathered in person at the Church Center for the United Nations and to those participating in worship online.
During a panel discussion on Saturday, engineer Anna Hand of Towson Presbyterian Church in Maryland helped to bring home the spirit-crushing realities that girls and young women sometimes face when they show interest in science, math, engineering and technology (STEM).
The 2023 Celebrate the Gifts of Women worship service took place on Wednesday and was streamed on the main PC(USA) Facebook page. A joint effort by Presbyterian Women and Racial Equity & Women’s Intercultural Ministries, the service can be viewed here.
Thousands of people from around the globe, including a contingent from the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), are headed to New York City for the 67th Commission on the Status of Women, a gender equality gathering that will be celebrated by the Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the PC(USA), both Co-Moderators of the 225th General Assembly, and the president and executive director of the Presbyterian Mission Agency.
While serving as the synod representative on the Board of Directors for Presbyterian Women, I suggested that the synod begin a Justice & Peace Book Discussion Group that would not interfere with the Native American Book Discussion Group already in process. Thus, the first year of the Justice & Peace National Book Discussion Group was born.
The three recipients of this year’s Women of Faith Awards were honored Thursday in a virtual ceremony hosted by Racial Equity and Women’s Intercultural Ministries and Presbyterian Women. Watch the 44-minute ceremony here.
World Community Day began in 1943 as a day for church women to study peace. After World War II, church leaders felt that they should set aside a day for prayer and ecumenical study. The leaders thought that while believers were performing peace and justice work by themselves, a day when they could study across denominations would be beneficial to all. The theme for this year’s World Community Day is “A Call to Prayer.”
