The Episcopal Church issued a bulletin insert for March 6th, the fourth Sunday in Lent, to commemorate International Women’s Day, linking it to the liturgy of 2 Corinthians 5, from the current liturgical year. The liturgy is a reminder that we are part of a ‘new creation’ in Christ, an idea they link to some of the official campaigns around IWD 2016.
From now on, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way. If anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation…2 Corinthians 5:16-19
International Women’s Day, celebrated on March 8th, has no official organization or group, but the United Nations has recognized and sponsored campaigns around it since 1977. The official campaign this year is titled “Planet 50-50 by 2030: Step It Up for Gender Equality”, and is centered around achieving full gender equality by the year 2030. In the corporate world, Ernst & Young, one of the ‘Big Four’ auditing firms, is sponsoring their own campaign, which they call “#PledgeForParity”. As part of the campaign, they ask world leaders across disciplines to pledge for parity and work towards full equality of women.
Visitors to the site are asked to make their own pledge; you can view visitor contributions from social media collected on one page. Learn more or make your own pledge on the Take Action page.
The UN Commission on the Status of Women will be meeting in New York from March 14th to the 24th; over 80 Anglican and Episcopalians will meet at the Episcopal Church Center and attend events at the UN to participate in talks on women and their lives. Parallel talks, hosted by TEC, will also be meeting.
As part of the bulletin, TEC shares information on the events in NYC, and asks us to give thanks for women and think about how we can be part of improving the lives and equality of all women.
What will you do for International Women’s Day this year? Did your church use the bulletin above?
Historical image from a poster for the German celebration of International Women’s Day in 1914