All members were present except for one. We were graciously cared for by the Diocese of Alabama and enjoyed not only their camp facilities but also a trip to the Diocesan offices and to Montgomery to the Rosa Parks Museum. The latter was an especially moving part of our time since it occurred only a few weeks after her death and a few weeks before the 50th anniversary of her refusal to give up her seat on the bus.
We discussed the EYE held last summer and heard some concerns that the issues around expansive language, sexism and advocacy for empowerment of young women were not addressed. We express our hope that the design team for the next EYE would be aware of these concerns and of the commitment of the church to address them.
We worked on many items related to our Blue Book Report, especially concerning resources that were unable to be included in the report itself but will be available elsewhere for the benefit of the church. There has been some fine work done by members of this committee that needs to have the benefit of wide distribution, including reports on women’s reproductive health and on women and HIV/AIDS and circle resources for use with young adults and with women of all ages.
We reviewed the resources that will go to all parishes in March as a fulfillment of the mandate of A-026 on trafficking. These are outstanding visual, audio-visual, and printed resources that will help all of our churches and people become more aware of this terrible tragedy affecting millions of women and girls and boys.
We also discussed the Women’s Wall Time Line that will be on display at Trinity Church in Columbus during General Convention and the invitation that will go to all people to add names of women from the past and present to the wall.
We watched “The Story of O” as part of our anti-racism training. This is an excellent resource about how groups deal with difference and we commend this to the larger church.
We heard Margaret Rose’s report and learned about the UN Committee on the Status of Women that will start on February 24 and how we might participate in this event. Our commitment to work toward the Millennium Development Goals is underscored by our support of this effort. We are delighted that the World Mission Sunday coincides with the meeting of the UNCSW and that the theme is Anglican Women: Relevant, Radical and Responsive.
The Kanuga Conference with Jean Houston is set for October 1-6 and will deal with issues of empowerment of women in the church and the implementation of coaching as a way of helping to break the glass ceiling.
