Elizabeth Hinson-Hasty, an elected member of Advocacy for Women’s Concerns, and Associate Professor of Theology at Bellarmine University in Louisville, Kentucky, takes a fresh look at the theological idea of sin, as it has generally been viewed in a distinctively male perspective, as a misuse of power.  But from the experience of women, the problem is the lack of power, and the cure for sin, then, is empowerment.

Her essay is published in the Winter 2010 issue of Network News (pp. 31-32), and is now posted here in html format as well.

This comes to us from the International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers' Associations (IUF).  Thanks to Gene TeSelle.

Domestic workers around the world are organizing to challenge the harsh, abusive, often slave-like conditions in which they work. They are organizing unions and support networks, and they are mobilizing in support of an international Convention that will finally recognize them as workers and establish their rights in international law.

Domestic work is one of the oldest and most important occupations for many women in many countries. It is linked to the global history of slavery, colonialism and other forms of servitude. In its contemporary manifestations, domestic work is a global phenomenon that perpetuates hierarchies based on race, ethnicity, indigenous status, caste and nationality. In the past two decades demand for care work has been on the rise everywhere. The massive incorporation of women in the labour force, the ageing of societies, the intensification of work and the frequent lack or inadequacy of policy measures to facilitate the reconciliation of family life and work underpin this trend. Today, domestic workers make up a large portion of the workforce, especially in developing countries, and their number has been increasing – even in the industrialized world. Domestic work, nonetheless, is undervalued and poorly regulated, and many domestic workers remain overworked, underpaid and unprotected. Accounts of maltreatment and abuse, especially of live-in and migrant domestic workers, are regularly denounced in the media. In many countries, domestic work is very largely performed by child labourers.

A new report from the ILO - Decent work for domestic workers - concludes that domestic workers need a Convention (the strongest form of ILO instrument which once ratified is a legally binding treaty) supplemented by a Recommendation to protect their rights. The IUF welcomes this conclusion, and on International Women's Day urges affiliates to take action in the runup to the 2010 International Labour Conference, where negotiations will begin in June to develop new international labour standards for the protection of domestic workers.

More, including action suggestions >>

Or: Misogyny Lives
[8-8-09]

Witherspoon board member Sylvia Carlson recommends this article by Bob Herbert, published in yesterday’s New York Times. It begins:

“I actually look good. I dress good, am clean-shaven, bathe, touch of cologne — yet 30 million women rejected me,” wrote George Sodini in a blog that he kept while preparing for this week’s shooting in a Pennsylvania gym in which he killed three women, wounded nine others and then killed himself.

We’ve seen this tragic ritual so often that it has the feel of a formula. A guy is filled with a seething rage toward women and has easy access to guns. The result: mass slaughter.

The concluding paragraph:

We would become much more sane, much healthier, as a society if we could bring ourselves to acknowledge that misogyny is a serious and pervasive problem, and that the twisted way so many men feel about women, combined with the absurdly easy availability of guns, is a toxic mix of the most tragic proportions.

Why is the Presbyterian Church not supporting the Ryan-DeLauro Bill?
[7-30-09]

This query comes to us from Witherspoon member John Tindal.

The bill, bearing the weighty title, the 'Preventing Unintended Pregnancies, Reducing the Need for Abortion and Supporting Parents Act,' has received support from such groups as the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice (RCRC), the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, Catholics for Choice, the United Methodist Church - General Board of Church and Society, the United Church of Christ, and the Religious Action Center for Reform Judaism.

A representative of the Episcopal Church has joined some 50 other religious leaders and groups in supporting the House of Representatives' Ryan-DeLauro Bill, which, if passed, would aim to reduce the need for abortion by preventing unintended pregnancies and supporting pregnant women and families.

Maureen Shea, director of the Episcopal Church's Office of Government Relations, in a statement released on July 24, wrote: 

On behalf of the Episcopal Church, I am pleased to endorse the 'Preventing Unintended Pregnancies, Reducing the Need for Abortion and Supporting Parents Act' sponsored by Representatives Tim Ryan [Ohio] and Rosa DeLauro [Connecticut]. 

We believe 'that the beginning of new human life, because it is a gift of the power of God's love for his people, and thereby sacred, should not and must not be undertaken unadvisedly or lightly but in full accordance of the understanding for which this power to conceive and give birth is bestowed by God. [This language is from a resolution first passed by the 1967 General Convention and reaffirmed in modified form at several subsequent meetings.] 

In order to ensure that the gift of life not be 'undertaken unadvisedly or lightly,' this legislation seeks to prevent unintended pregnancies particularly for teens; it restores and expands family planning programs for low-income women; it gives childbirth support to women and new parents, as well as students so that they can continue their studies; and it provides important information and financial support for those wishing to adopt.

The rest of us seem to be missing some good things.
[7-13-09]

Some of the reports:

Choosing Life

In keeping with Sunday evening's theme - "Wonder of Creation" - at the Churchwide Gathering of Presbyterian Women, Barbara Rossing spoke of the enchantment of waking to the song of a bird, gazing at a waterfall or watching a child discover a new creature.

But is all well with the world we cherish? As Rossing described the failing health of the earth, she reminded the audience, "The cruelest injustice of climate change is that it hurts the poor - those who have done the least to cause the problem - the hardest ... As Christians, we should be concerned about that."

The full report from Presbyterian News Service >>

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Calling for a ministry of meddlin'

"The good news of the gospel is that it calls us to a ministry of meddlin,'" said Margaret Aymer as she began her sermon during Presbyterian Women's Churchwide Gathering July 12.

During the plenary session themed "Wonder of Community," Aymer, a faculty member of Johson C. Smith Theological Seminary, reinterpreted the Southern expression, "Preacher, you've left off preachin' and taken to meddlin'" in the context of Mark 2:1-12.

She explored the call of the Christian community, specifically of Presbyterian Women and the Presbyterian clergy women gathered, to re-envision themselves as meddlers. She asserted that faithful Christians break barriers, like the story of the four friends in Mark who carried a paralyzed man to Jesus, breaking through the roof of a home to lower the man through a ceiling so he could have access to Jesus.

"If we are honest, at the heart of many of our conflicts is the question of access," she said. "Access to water resources, to food and shelter and adequate medical care, to energy, to human rights, to appropriate education or to a place to call home.”

The report from Presbyterian News Service >>

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For more reports, see the Gathering’s own website >>

Among other things, the Presbyterian Women’s business meeting on Sunday ratified the amended and restated certificate of incorporation that establishes Presbyterian Women as a publicly supported integrated auxiliary of the PC(USA). Voting representatives also approved the bylaws of Presbyterian Women in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Inc.

According to Catrelia Hunter, 2006–2009 moderator of Presbyterian Women, incorporation will allow PW to establish clear and separate accounting practices, and ensure good stewardship of PW funds in the current economic environment.

Since being formed in 1988, Presbyterian Women has held a covenantal relationship with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), and has been the single largest contributor of undesignated funds to support the mission of the church worldwide. That covenantal relationship remains in place.

This invitation comes from the National Network of Presbyterian College Women ...

The Coordinating Committee (CoCo) of NNPCW is now accepting applications for three-year term

The killing of Dr. George Tiller has led to the closing of his clinic in Kansas, according to an announcement by his family.

But wait ... Anti-abortion leader Troy Newman, the president of Operation Rescue, said today Wednesday that his group is considering trying to buy the building, and perhaps turning into a memorial museum, “a tribute to the babies.”

The conclusion? What else? “Terrorism works.”

More >>

Presbyterians Affirming Reproductive Options (PARO) has issued a statement on the murder of Dr. Tiller:

Statement on the death of Dr. George Tiller

To the Tiller family and community of supporters,

The Leadership Team of Presbyterians Affirming Reproductive Options (PARO), a ministry of the Presbyterian Health, Education & Welfare Association (PHEWA) offers our condolences and prayers of support in the wake of the tragic murder of Dr. George Tiller.

For almost two decades, Dr. Tiller and those individuals who helped provide care to his patients have lived under intense harassment tinged with persistent threats of violence. Even under these adverse circumstances, Dr. Tiller never wavered in his commitment to providing abortion services and other reproductive health care to women and their families, often in the most difficult and heartbreaking circumstances.

We cannot pretend to understand the circumstances facing women and their families, but believe that God has expressed love and grace in Jesus Christ. Therefore, we are to express that love and grace to one another, especially when facing a difficult and complex situation. Dr. Tiller, being a man of deep faith, reflected in his life such grace with his patients. He cared deeply for and about women, and had a very real grasp of and compassion for the realities of women's lives and the struggles they faced.

Many of us knew that a sign at Dr Tiller's clinic read: "Abortion is not a cerebral or a reproductive issue. Abortion is an issue of the heart. Until one understands the heart of a woman, nothing else about abortion makes any sense at all." With thanksgiving, we celebrate the life of Dr. Tiller and his commitment to the heart of a woman.

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has worked for years to address the diverse opinions concerning individuals and families who face problem pregnancies and the question of abortion. Regardless of the diversity of opinions, the denomination is united in our “rejection of the use of violence and/or abusive language either in protest of or in support of abortion, whether this occurs in places where abortions are performed, at the homes of physicians who perform abortions, or in other public demonstrations.” (1992 “Problem Pregnancies and Abortion” p. 11). That Dr. Tiller was murdered during Sunday services in his church, a sanctuary of worship and prayer, is an affront to people of faith everywhere. This act of extreme violence in a religious space is extremely troubling and reminds us of the potential for religion to be used as a basis for acts of hatred and violence.

And so we pray. We pray for the family, loved ones and friends of Dr. Tiller whose lives have been devastated by this loss. We pray for those who continue to use violent actions and rhetoric. From the pulpit or in print they do not mirror the love and grace that God intends for creation. And we pray for the health care providers who bravely continue the care and compassion modeled by the life and work of Dr. George Tiller and for women and their families facing decisions that are, first and foremost, matters of the heart.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ACWC issues statement on Tiller murder

The Advocacy Committee for Women’s Concerns of the Presbyterian Church (USA) has issued a statement in response to the killing of Dr. George Tiller.  

Response to the tragic death of Dr. George Tiller

The members of the Advocacy Committee for Women’s Concerns wish to express their deep sadness over the recent murder of Dr. George Tiller. As a provider committed to offering safe reproductive health care services to women, including tremendously difficult yet sometimes necessary late-term pregnancy terminations, Dr. Tiller provided care essential to the health and well-being of countless women.

Along with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the Advocacy Committee for Women’s Concerns condemns gun violence, and certainly gun violence directed at reproductive health clinics and clinicians. ACWC affirms the value of life and healthy living, including the provision of safe and legal reproductive health services for all women.

The Advocacy Committee for Women’s Concerns wishes to express sympathy to the family and friends of Dr. Tiller, and all those directly affected by this tragedy. In the face of this violence, we raise our voices of protest in solidarity with all people of faith, ever hoping for a world that better reflects the redemption we have in Christ.

This is also posted on the ACWC web page >>

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

PCUSA officials issue statement

The top officials of the denomination have also issued a statement, saying “There is no place in debate for a murder such as Dr. Tiller’s”

This is also posted on the GAC web page >>

Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) officials issued a statement on June 4, 2009, in the wake of the shooting death of Dr. George Tiller in Wichita, Kan., on May 31, 2009.

The statement was signed by Gradye Parsons, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly, Bruce Reyes-Chow, Moderator of the 218th General Assembly (2008) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), and Linda Valentine, Executive Director of the General Assembly Council.

The full text of the statement:

The murder of Dr. George Tiller on May 31st as he stood in the foyer of Reformation Lutheran Church in Wichita, Kansas, to greet those who were entering to worship God is nothing less than abhorrent.

On behalf of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), we offer our deepest sympathy to the family of Dr. Tiller and to our faith partners in the congregation of the Reformation Lutheran Church.

The whole of our society is damaged when any one person engages in rhetoric or acts of violence. The entire Christian Church is hurt whenever hatred pushes its way into the sanctuaries of worship.

On the issue of abortion, the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has consistently called for every effort to be made to reduce unwanted pregnancies and to work toward a day when abortions would not be deemed necessary. It is also a matter of policy that in the case of late-term abortions, where the baby appears to be viable, every effort should be made to preserve the life of the child.

The PC(USA) has steadfastly sought to protect pregnant women, in community with fathers, pastors, congregations, and physicians, as the moral agents to face the profound decisions of pregnancy within the legal parameters of their state.

On the larger issue of resorting to violence, the General Assembly has called upon all people to engage in levels of discourse on issues such as this in a way that allows people to relate to each other in respect. There is no place in debate for a murder such as Dr. Tiller’s. Our churches, our streets, our homes, and our businesses should all be sanctuaries of peace.

We urge law enforcement agencies charged with providing for the safety of our citizens to renew their vigilance against such acts of terror, especially in cases where individuals have previous records of violent activity against women’s health clinics. We grieve with all of those who have been torn by Dr. Tiller’s death and for those affected by the violence.

We have received more comments on this matter than any one item I can recall over the past few years.  Here is a good example, from Elizabeth Sarfaty, of Malone, New York

Thanks for this summary and clear expression. I often wonder just how to say to a dear friend who joins the Pro-Life (pro whose life, I wonder?) demonstrators, that my basic fear is less about their (male and celibate) attitudes, and more about some of the hate-filled and distorted folk who are apt to 'act out' later as it appears this gunman did.

Peace,

Elizabeth Sarfaty

Ms. Sarfaty also suggests a short essay by the Wiccan teacher and theologian, Starhawk, posted on the Newsweek/Washington Post Religion blog, On Faith. She puts very well what is going on in acts of violence like the killing of Dr. Tiller:

The murder of Dr. Tiller was an act of terror. Although its immediate victim was a man, it was aimed at women's hearts and minds, designed to shatter our oneness and assert control. And it is part of a larger campaign of terror--if we must throw that word around then let us use it where it truly applies. When the murderer squeezes the trigger, when Bill O'Reilly thunders on Fox News or Randall Terry pontificates, they are sending the same message to women, "Your bodies, your fertility, your sexuality must remain under our control, or you will die, along with anyone who helps you."

On the day Dr. Tiller was murdered, Governer Schwarzenneger cut funding for the Healthy Families Act, a decision which will likely cost more children's lives than all the abortions Dr. Tiller ever performed. Yet no one is calling him a murderer.

On the day Dr. Tiller was murdered, millions of refugees in Pakistan huddled in fear of American drone bombers. The graves of children in Iraq are still fresh: mothers in Gaza continue to weep over the hundreds of children murdered in the Israeli assault. Yet the 'right-to-life' movement is not agonizing over the blood that covers all our hands.

On the day Dr. Tiller was murdered, uncounted children died from hunger, from lack of access to medical care, from contaminated water. Young boys were dragooned into service as child soldiers; young girls sold into sexual slavery. We could use a true right-to-life movement, one that would champion these children, one that would stand against the greed, the violence, the callousness, the cowardice that murders at a safe distance and kills by hoarding the means of life.

Starhawk also suggests some positive, practical actions you can take:

Witherspooner Janet Arbesman recommends “a powerful presentation from Frank Schaeffer,” pointing to the heavy responsibility that must be borne by those who have for so long used rhetoric that in the name of “respect for life,” has offered justification and inspiration for violence against those who dare to differ from them. Schaeffer’s father, Francis Schaeffer, was one of the early and very articulate pioneers in the rise of the modern religious right. His son eventually turned away from that path, and is now a sharp and informed critic of the Right.

Schaeffer’s presentation is on Youtube >>

Bill Berkowitz, a freelance writer and longtime observer of the conservative movement, has written for ReligionDispatches, describing Frank Schaeffer’s comments in more detail, and elaborates on the theme that opponents of abortion have trafficked in “hate talk” for years, and must accept responsibility for the monster they have created and continue to inspire and sustain.

His article >>

For a good, positive background statement on “Abortion as a Moral Decision” ...

The Religious Institute on Sexual Morality, Justice, and Healing  issued in 2005 “An Open Letter to Religious Leaders” which offers a good ethical perspective on the whole question of abortion. It includes brief sections on points such as “affirming women’s moral agency,” “respect for life,” scripture, “moral imperative for access,” and religious pluralism.

The full statement, in PDF format >>

The Institute has also issued a brief statement in response to the killing of Dr. Tillman.

Within a few hours of our posting a Witherspoon Society/Voices of Sophia statement lamenting the killing of Dr. George Tiller, we received these messages of support and appreciation:

~~~~~~~~~

I am glad to see PC USA being clear and public about this action.

Jenny Stanton, Cincinnati, Ohio.

~~~~~~~~~

Doug, I am a CEO of a Planned parenthood affiliate as well as an ordained Presbyterian minister.

Thank you and others for your support.

This came to us from the Rev. Mark R. Pawlowski, CEO of Planned Parenthood of South Central Michigan, and is posted with his permission.

~~~~~~~~~

The Rev. Eric Mount, emeritus professor of religion at Presbyterian-related Centre College in Kentucky, sent this note:

My thanks to the board for taking action, Doug.

Eric M.

~~~~~~~~~

Witherspoon board member Molly Casteel recommended a good article posted on the Religion Dispatches web site, by Frances Kissling, who is a visiting scholar at the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania and former president of Catholics for a Free Choice. She traces the long trail of violence that has been a part of the anti-abortion movement for years, and notes how much of the rhetoric of the movement seems to incite such actions.

She concludes:

Let us hope that no one compares his murder to abortion. In fact, if there is one thing those in the religious community must do to prevent a return to the days when such comparisons were discussable in polite company, it is to make clear that the world's religions do not consider abortion murder.

Dr. Tiller saved women's lives; this is not a debatable point.

To read the article >>

~~~~~~~~~

Dean Lewis

Lamenting the murder of Dr. George Tiller ...

And reaffirming our Church’s stance on choice

The merged board of the Witherspoon Society and Voices of Sophia expresses our deep sadness over the slaying of Dr. George Tiller in Wichita, Kansas, on May 31. We condemn the act of violence that took Dr. Tiller's life as he was worshiping with his family at Reformation Lutheran Church, and we repudiate violent solutions to disagreements over the practice and legality of abortion. We affirm the positions of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) which support the right of women to make decisions about the termination of a pregnancy and stand against violence and threats of violence at all women's health clinics. We call on the church to reaffirm its commitment to reproductive rights and to remain diligent in prayers for Dr. Tiller's family and staff, and all who endure similar threats of violence.

This wording is taken directly from the 1992 policy and a 1995 statement on abortion violence, adopted by the Presbyterian Church (USA).

We also encourage you to read “The Murder of Dr. Tiller, a Foreshadowing,” an article posted on The Huffington Post, which offers stark warnings about the resurgent threats of violence against abortion providers, and more general attacks on those who stand for reproductive rights.

Celebrating women during this year of Calvin’s Jubilee
[2-19-09]

Celebrate the Gifts of Women Sunday honors women who contribute their gifts to the church and community and lifts up issues of women’s rights. March 8, 2009, is Celebrate the Gifts of Women Sunday and International Women’s Day.

The 2009 celebration also coincides with the 500th birthday of John Calvin, foreparent of the Presbyterian Church. Your congregation or women’s group may, however, use this resource on any date that you choose to celebrate women.

The Celebrate the Gifts of Women resource, written by Dale Lindsday Morgan, includes

•          a worship service with a call to worship, prayer of confession, assurance of pardon, suggested hymns, scripture and program suggestions

•          a dramatic approach applying Calvin’s thoughts to women’s leadership in the church today

•          recommended resources for further study

Help spread the word — download a flier (in PDF formt) about the resource.

Download the 2009 Celebrate the Gifts of Women resource.

Order the resource from Presbyterian Marketplace.
     Free
     PDS#2750109001

Download the 2008 Celebrate the Gifts of Women resource which celebrates the young woman within.
    in English >>
    in Spanish >>

Help leverage U.S. influence for peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo:

Tell Secretary Clinton to Stop the War on Women in the DRC    [2-19-09]

 This call for action has come to us from Larry Cox, Executive Director of Amnesty International USA

The ten-year tangle of alliances, invasions and proxy warfare centered in the Democratic Republic of Congo has made the region the world's deadliest killing ground since WWII.

Rape is systematically used as a weapon of war and children are forced to fight for armed groups. Peace in the DRC means putting an end to the institutionalized violence against women and children. Click here to watch a video of Congolese children speaking about their experiences as child soldiers.

The recent dramatic reversal of alliances between the DRC and its conflict-entangled neighbors, Uganda and Rwanda, combined with the withdrawal of Hutu rebels has opened a small window for peace in the region.

Your action today can help us make real progress on ending violence against women and children across the region.

The U.S. has considerable economic and political influence over both the DRC and Rwanda—no other country combines such influence. Sign our letter to Secretary Clinton asking her to leverage our voice to strengthen support for the UN peacekeeping mission and protect women and children in the DRC.

Rape is used in the conflict as a calculated strategy to destabilize opposition groups as well as promote fear and submission. It is not unusual for mothers and daughters to be raped in front of their families and villages. Human rights activists working to end violence against women often face grave threats of violence themselves.

Justine Masika Bihamba is one such activist. Because of her work to end violence against women, she and her family have been targeted.

Justine described the current situation in Congo as a war against women. "When two sides fight, the one punishes the other by raping women," she said.

Putting an end to the rampant sexual violence and the use of child soldiers is essential to ensuring peace in the region.

Secretary Clinton has said that women's rights are one of her top priorities. Make sure her promises become reality.

Add your name to our letter to Secretary Clinton urging her to take concrete steps to protect women in the DRC.

Sincerely,

The Religious Institute on Sexual Morality, Justice, and Healing has sent this message urging people of faith to share information and nurture concern in their congregations for the hundreds of thousands of women in the Democratic Republic of Congo who have been victims of brutal sexual violence during their nation’s conflicts over the past few years.

For more information >>

The L. A. Times, in a brief editorial, takes note of the reality that while women may be playing expanding roles in their churches, including ordained ministry (well, for many Protestant churches, at least), there is growing resistance to this development, in Protestant as well and Catholic churches.

The closing paragraph sums it up:

In the Roman Catholic Church, tradition is cited as the grounds for not ordaining women. In Protestant churches, resistance to female pastors is likelier to be grounded in biblical passages such as 1 Timothy 2:12: "And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence." In either case, the arguments that keep women from full participation are attributed to a higher authority. So why do they sound so much like the complaints about assertive women that long have issued from the mouths of men?

35 Presbyterian collegiate women gather in nation's capital   [9-6-07]

Presbyterian News Service reports that the National Network of Presbyterian College Women (NNPCW) held its annual leadership event July 25-29 at American University in Washington D.C. This year's theme, "Speaking Truth to Power," drew 35 young women from private and public universities nationwide.

Many issues pertinent to the upcoming 2008 election influenced the conference. To teach about the connection between faith and politics, the leadership event planning team organized a different plenary speaker each night and a visit to the PC(USA)'s Washington, D.C. office.

One of the speakers was Mara Vanderslice, the founder of Common Good Strategies. Her focus is on helping elected officials and candidates with tools to connect with religiously diverse communities. One student, Rachel Lewis, a senior at the University of Washington, commented "I really liked the talk by Vanderslice because she is actually working in the political field to help Democrats understand how faith and politics is for everyone, not just Republicans."

This note was sent by Cecile Richards of Planned Parenthood to supporters of the group.

I want you to be among the first to know about a major victory Planned Parenthood just won. It's a giant step forward in protecting women's access to emergency contraception (EC).

In recent weeks, Planned Parenthood activists fanned out across the nation checking, community by community, on access to EC at local pharmacies.

Armed with evidence gathered by these Pill Patrol members, Planned Parenthood approached Wal-Mart asking it to clarify its policies on this crucial issue.

We've just received word that Wal-Mart has now committed in writing to a nationwide corporate policy on emergency contraception. Under that policy, Wal-Mart will stock EC and dispense it without discrimination and without delay. Of course, we have to remain vigilant to make sure Wal-Mart puts this policy into practice.

But our hard work has really paid off. And now, we've got to act quickly to build on this remarkable victory.

There are major pharmacy chains that continue to threaten women's health when it comes to access to EC. And today, fresh from our Wal-Mart victory, we're zeroing in on the biggest holdout.

It's time to target Target.

The first step is to gather more evidence -- the same fact-based approach that worked so well in convincing Wal-Mart to act. And we need your help.

Sign up now to be part of the Planned Parenthood Pill Patrol campaign. Visit Target stores in your community to check on the availability of emergency contraception. http://www.ppaction.org/ct/MdLuW4p1ZEgV/

Make no mistake about it. We just won a huge victory for women's health and for Planned Parenthood's campaign for accessible birth control. Now Wal-Mart joins other women-friendly pharmacy chains like CVS, Eckerd's, Walgreens, Rite Aid, and Kmart, all of which have agreed to do the right thing on access to EC.

But our work won't be done until Target and other pharmacy chains adopt policies that protect women's health. Thank you so much for the effort and commitment that produced a Wal-Mart victory that will affect thousands of women's lives. And thanks even more for your continued commitment to our efforts to protect women's health.

Please join the Pill Patrol today. Sign up now. http://www.ppaction.org/ct/MdLuW4p1ZEgV/

Sincerely,

They say:

This is a unique opportunity for young women in college to dialogue with and learn from women of faith on Capitol Hill and from other women of faith in college. We will celebrate those women who work for justice and fairness and will equip you with the skills and motivation to get involved and make a difference in your own communities and on your campuses.     More >>  

Voices of Sophia, a national advocacy group working for the full inclusion and equality of women in the Presbyterian Church, met recently in Ghost Ranch, Santa Fe from October 26-29, 2006, for worship, reflection and re-connection.

100 years of milestones in the PC(USA)'s efforts to achieve full equality in ministry  [10-24-06]

The New York Times reports that clergywomen find it difficult to move into larger congregations as heads of staff
[8-28-06]

The story >>

On Wednesday evening, June 21, the General Assembly approved an overture from the Health Issues committee dealing with late-term pregnancies that, in the words of Presbyterian News Service, "affirms the lives of viable unborn babies."

You can read the report on JustPresbys >>           or on the PC(USA) website >>

Ann Hayman, a member of the PARO Leadership Team, offers this comment on the GA action:

Well, folks -- this has only served to convince me that Presbyterians should not be allowed to practice medicine in groups larger than two. The debates concerning our abortion policies in both the Health Committee and on the floor of GA were confused and confusing. We had several commissioners who fought a brave battle. It is too soon to assess how much damage was done to our Late-Term, Post-Viability Abortion Policy . I assume that the Stated Clerk’s office will have to cull through this and make some kind of a determination. I fear that we've lost the edge and it will become difficult to do much with this in the realm of amicus briefs.

The new policy certainly does not speak to much of any kind of reality I've ever encountered. Post-viability abortions only involve compromised fetuses -- the unborn that have been medically determined to be incompatible with life. We Presbyterians have come out squarely for viable fetuses and healthy babies, so I'm not sure what we have. The prevailing myth of the Assembly was that 8-month pregnant woman who wakes up one morning and decides she's tired of being pregnant and on impulse (whim) seeks an abortion. It just doesn't happen. I will continue to be dismayed at the abominable and undeserved lack of trust we manifest for both women and physicians, most of whom put their life on the line to do this work.

Upward and onward to San Jose in 2008.

Ann

What are women's public values?
What do they mean for policy and practice?

Help us answer these questions on May 15 or 18.

You're invited to participate in a unique and exciting event!

Using new and emerging technology, the Institute for Women's Policy Research (IWPR) is holding an unprecedented online convening of women, where we will write a statement on women's vision for public life--and how we might live it out in policymaking and practice.

The event is sponsored by IWPR's project on Politics, Religion, and Women's Public Vision, which is raising the visibility of women's values for public life and building networks among women in religious movements for social justice and women's movement organizing. By participating, you will help us develop a statement and policy agenda that seeks to advance women's values in American public life.

There are two opportunities to participate:

May 15, 2006, 4 pm to 6 pm EST (East Coast time)
May 18, 2006, 4 pm to 6 pm PST (West Coast time)

Please register by Wednesday, May 10th.

Synanim is a unique online process that enables participants to contribute as individuals but to share interactively. Information on the process is available at www.synanim.com.

After the event, you will receive a copy of the statement. It will be used to help us develop a policy agenda based on women's values. We will keep you apprised of future events and publications incorporating the statement. We are also planning to provide additional opportunities for participants to interact.

To participate, please register by clicking here. You will be prompted to indicate which day you will take part. Prior to the writing session you will receive an email from Synanim (help@synanim.com) with a web link and your login and password information.

Questions? For information about IWPR's work on women's public vision, email Erica Williams at williams@iwpr.org.

Peace,

Rita Nakashima Brock is an award-winning author and a respected international lecturer and scholar in religion. She directed a think tank for women at Harvard University for several years and has worked for two decades in the field of religion in higher education.

Along with business and technology strategist Brian Sarrazin, she founded Faith Voices, a non-profit community of diverse member organizations. Faith Voices uses Synanim, a powerful new technology innovation, to bring theological educators into dialogue with policy experts and activists. To advance the common good, American public life needs new language, new ideas, and strong leaders. Member organizations experience the power of engaging with a broad constituency sharing progressive commitments, such as the value of diversity in a democratic society; the respect and dignity of every human being; justice for all, especially the underprivileged and disenfranchised.

Pastors may join Gather Heart, a nationwide online community of preachers committed to speaking prophetically on social justice issues using Synanim, levering speed and strength of the internet with a warm, human approach. Synanim is like a high-voltage brainstorming session.

Featured speaker at GA, Voices of Sophia breakfast

Dr. Brock will be the featured speaker at the Voices of Sophia breakfast at General Assembly June 19^th. She will be sharing the research she did on early Christianity, at a time before crucifixion and resurrection became the core of Christian theology, a time she calls paradise. Tickets are available for $20 online until May 22^nd and upon arrival at GA. Tickets will not be sold at the door.

To register online, go to https://ogasys3.pcusa.org/mrcjava/ga04webreg/m00140gs.mrc

This process will allow you both to register as a visitor (or whatever), and to order tickets for GA special events, including most of those listed here.

Nicholas Kristof reports from a maternity hospital in Niger about the consequences – unintended, perhaps, but no less terrible for all that – of the Bush policy of refusing to support the U.N. Population Fund in the name of its "pro-life" position. For lack of a few dollars for urgently needed medicines and care, women die in labor, or their babies die, when they could be helped.

Kristof also mentions a grass-roots organization started by two American women, which seeks to make up for the Bush cuts with private donations; its website is www.34millionfriends.org.)

If you favor women's right to choose, you may want to contact your Senators and Senator Bill Frist today, to defend the possibility of the choice of Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) as chair of the powerful Senate Judiciary Committee. Specter is the only pro-choice Republican on the committee.

Thousands from the Religious Right are calling and e-mailing, and those who favor choice must be heard from too. Also, perhaps let Specter's office know that he has your support.  [11-9-04]

Comments similar to those made by religious right extremists   [4-28-04]

In interviews given to CNN and other news agencies, top Presidential advisor Karen Hughes compared pro-choice Americans to "the terrorist network we fight." According to Hughes, Americans who support Bush's efforts to restrict choice in reproductive health care do so because "after September 11, the American people are valuing life more and we need policies to value the dignity and worth of every life." She then went on to say, "The fundamental issue between us and the terror network we fight is that we value every life."

"It is totally outrageous and irresponsible for one of the President's top advisors to compare pro-choice Americans to terrorists," said Dr. Sylvia Rhue, Director of Equal Partners in Faith. "In relation to the issue of reproductive freedom, the only terrorists we know about are the ones on the far right who bomb clinics and murder doctors."

Click here for the rest of the story.

Rosemary Radford Ruether, Carpenter Professor of Feminist Theology at the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, California, calls for a new sexual ethic that contrasts radically with the neo-Puritan ethic being demanded by President Bush - even in Africa, where it will harm rather than help efforts to combat the rising incidence of AIDS.

What's needed, she says, is not merely sexual freedom, but an end to "sexual illiteracy," which can come only by replacing the still-current "male ethic of sexual exploitation" with a truly egalitarian sexual ethic, which allows learning through experience - but experience in stages of growing maturity and responsibility.

Her essay is published in Conscience, the "newsjournal" published by Catholics for a Free Choice.

We've just received a query from a member of the Lutheran Church of Australia, where the ordination of women is still a closed topic. We invite you to send your comments, ideas, and resources in a note to him, that will also come to your WebWeaver, and may be shared here.

His note:

In an effort to put the women's ordination debate in the Lutheran Church of Australia into an international context I would appreciate any information on Women's Ordination sites that you may know of. Our Women's Ministry Network site is http://www.picknowl.com.au/homepages/wmn/

Leigh Newton

As negotiations begin for a new government in Afghanistan, Afghan feminists are apparently being ignored - still. Fariba Nawa, a reporter based in Islamabad, Pakistan, who writes regularly for Agence France-Presse and Pacific News Service, writes in Mother Jones that even though the 1964 Afghan constitution guaranteed equality for men and women, it has been completely ignored since 1996 when the Taliban seized Kabul. She quotes Zieba Shorish, a Washington-based Afghan exile and veteran women's rights activist, as summing up the problem: "The players in Afghanistan, including the US and United Nations, all talk about women's rights but when it comes to action, there is nothing."

Researcher and writer Fred Clarkson reports on the latest efforts of the anti-abortion "Nuremberg Files" web site to broadcast video shots of abortion providers and patients over the Web, and to wrap its actions in the First Amendment.

Voices of Sophia gathers at the border

[3-19-01]

For reports on some of the main addresses, click on any of the names below: 

The Women's Gathering in Louisville -- 
a progressive perspective

Women's Ministries awaits report, 
and differences remain sharp

6/10/00

Leslie Scanlon of Presbyterian Outlook has surveyed the current state of Women's Ministries as they await a final report (if it really is final this time!) by the small group of GAC members who were assigned to follow up after a few conservatives charged that they had not been sufficiently consulted in the evaluation already conducted.

She notes continuing differences of opinion, and suggests that even the "re-review" may be basically supportive of women's programs, while there may be some pressure on the program area to be more "inclusive" of women of varying persuasions.

Overture 45, coming to this year's General Assembly, would movoe Presbyterian Women from the National Ministries Division, where Women's Ministries is administered, to the Congregational Ministries Division. Scanlon suggests that this effort to weaken the women's program "may be dying" before the Assembly even convenes.

The Rev. Barbara Dua has written a clear and compelling response to the action of the GAC executive committee, calling for the kind of review of the whole Church that is badly needed. Click here for her letter.

The Witherspoon Society and Voices of Sophia, among others, are urging the reconsideration of this violation of the study process, apparently to satisfy one small interest group.

Voices of Sophia
223 Choctaw Road
Louisville, KY 40207

PVJ's Facebook page

Mitch Trigger, PVJ's Secretary/Communicator, has created a Facebook page where Witherspoon members and others can gather to exchange news and views. Mitch and a few others have posted bits of news, both personal and organizational. But there’s room for more!

Voices of Sophia blog

Heather Reichgott, who has created this new blog for Voices of Sophia, introduces it:

John Harris’ Summit to Shore blogspot

John Shuck’s Shuck and Jive

Got more blogs to recommend?

Plan now for our 2010 Ghost Ranch Seminar!

GHOST RANCH SEMINAR

July 26-August 1, 2010

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