Today in the Mission Yearbook - Synod of the Covenant webinar explores a provocative question: Can our faith make us well?

It can and it does, according to the organization Science for the Church

April 26, 2023

The Rev. Drew Rick-Miller

When Jesus assures the woman who’d suffered 12 years from a flow of blood that “your faith has made you well,” he was stating a truth that applies to people of faith today as well, according to the Rev. Drew Rick-Miller.

Rick-Miller, project co-director for Science for the Church, led a webinar last week for the Synod of the Covenant on how faith and faith practices contribute to people’s well-being. Rick-Miller’s hourlong talk can be viewed here.

Rick-Miller, a pastor who studied physics as an undergraduate, made the case for clergy and other faith leaders to keep in mind that the nation’s mental health crisis is big and growing. Nine in 10 Americans, one poll found, are aware of the crisis. “Not all [struggles] are solely mental health issues,” Rick-Miller said, “but it’s certainly a contributing factor.” One in five U.S. residents has a diagnosed mental health illness, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “This is a severe crisis,” Rick-Miller said, “and in the church we feel it.”

For Rick-Miller, many questions have been studied and some warrant further study: Does what we do in the church help us? Can the things we do every day in church enhance our health? Is there benefit to the things church leaders do to nurture Christian disciples? Can scientists measure it? Does our faith make us well?

“Our bodies are remarkably good at healing on their own,” Rick-Miller said, “but there are instances when we need help, from science and directly from God.” Much of the healing we experience “comes from God working through our bodies and through medical professionals and the treatments they’ve created,” he said. “It’s a both/and perspective.”

No less an authority than the Mayo Clinic concluded that “most studies have shown that religious involvement and spirituality are associated with better health outcomes, including greater longevity, coping skills and health-related quality of life, even during long-term illness, and less anxiety, depression and suicide,” Rick-Miller noted. “Several studies have shown that addressing the spiritual health needs of the patient may enhance recovery from illness.”

A Harvard study focusing on teenagers indicated that participating in church lowered depression by 12% and going to church made them 87% more forgiving and 38% more likely to volunteer.

“All this research has medical researchers asking a fascinating question,” Rick-Miller said. “Should doctors prescribe church?”

Here’s an answer from Harvard medical researcher Dr. Tyler VanderWeele, writing in USA Today in 2016:

“If one could conceive of a single elixir to improve the physical and mental health of millions of Americans at no personal cost, what value would our society place on it?

Photo by Patty Brito via Unsplash

“Going a step further, if research quite conclusively showed that when consumed just once a week, this concoction would reduce mortality by 20-30% over a 15-year period, how urgently would we want to make it publicly available?

“The good news is that this miracle drug — religion, and more specifically regular church attendance — is already in reach of most Americans. In fact, there’s a good chance it’s just a short drive away.”

What is it about the things we do in church that helps religious people live longer and have reduced stress, anxiety and depression?

“The most common answer is community support,” Rick-Miller said. “In a healthy church, it’s hard for people to be lonely. Human beings are created to be in relationship.”

Religious patients are more likely to follow up on treatment. They typically drink less alcohol and use drugs less frequently. They smoke less and are more likely to wear their seatbelts. “Caring for our bodies that are fearfully and wonderfully made is a factor that contributes to why we have these benefits,” Rick-Miller said.

Rick-Miller asked those participating in the webinar not to hear him saying that everyone in faith communities “receives the benefits” enumerated above. “People in church get cancer and experience depression. People of faith are not immune from illness and suffering of all sorts,” he said. “But there do seem to be some benefits pretty generally and pretty widely to what we do in church.”

Mike Ferguson, Editor, Presbyterian News Service

Let us join in prayer for:

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Teresa Bidart, Bilingual Mission Specialist, Self-Development of People, Compassion, Peace & Justice, Presbyterian Mission Agency
Ricky Blade, Customer Service Consultant, Communications Ministry, Presbyterian Mission Agency

Let us pray

Almighty and Everlasting God, strengthen the church so it may witness to your faithfulness, build communities passionately committed to the Lord Jesus Christ. Inspire individuals with the fire of your Holy Spirit and bless this work to your glory. Amen.

Today in the Mission Yearbook - Unique group from around the world travels to the Philippines and Hong Kong for a PC(USA) Peacemaking study seminar on forced migration

The group included leaders and participants from the United States, Africa and Asia

April 25, 2023

A campfire following a community dinner at the United Church of Christ of the Phlippines in Beda, where a recent Travel Study Seminar group experienced homestays with families in the community. (Photo by Carl Horton)

For 12 days in February, 10 travelers came together in the Philippines and Hong Kong to learn about the root causes and current challenges of forced migration and labor trafficking. Both the group’s itinerary and the combination of participants made for a unique and uniquely powerful experience.

The travel study seminary (TSS) was organized as a joint effort between the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program and Presbyterian World Mission. The group spent the first week in the Philippines, which is the fourth largest country for remittances, as well as leading global supplier of nurses and seafarers. This portion of the seminar focused on why forced migration and labor trafficking came to be. The second half of the seminar took place in Hong Kong, exploring the reality of migrant workers there and some of the challenges they face.

The Rev. Carl Horton, who coordinates the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program and was one of the seminar’s co-leaders, emphasized that these events are called “seminars” rather than “trips” for a reason. “Participants commit to study before the trip and they commit to advocacy after it’s over,” Horton explained.

Over the course of the two weeks, the seminar group met with migrant worker individuals as well as faith communities and organizations both run by and made for migrant workers, hearing countless stories. Though the original intention of the trip was to explore both forced migration and labor trafficking, the stories they heard largely focused on the former and the ways that migrants working overseas are uniquely vulnerable.

Worship with the UCCP Hong Kong Fellowship, a worshiping migrant community of Overseas Filipino Workers. (Photo by Carl Horton)

The Rev. Cathy Chang, the seminar’s main leader and a mission co-worker to the Philippines, said one of the objectives of the TSS was to explore how faith communities could care for and walk alongside migrants and their families. Significantly, both portions of the seminar began with a time of worship. On the first day of the seminar, the group worshiped with a United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP) Cubao community and then shared traditional Filipino food. The second leg of the seminar began with worship alongside a UCCP community made up of Overseas Filipino Workers in Hong Kong.

In both cases, the time of worship was followed by a time of engaging in small group conversation and listening to stories of fear, discrimination, trauma and abuse workers had faced.

“While listening to these stories, it didn’t seem enough only for me to listen,” Chang wrote in reflection, going on to say that she felt called “to hold each life and story, as in prayer before God, and recognize the holy space that we were sharing with one another.”

The seminar group included six participants and four leaders from around the world.

A walking tour and orientation to family mining in the Loacan region of the Philippines with Pastor Virgilio Aniceto and Rev. Joseph Agno, Administrative Pastor with the UCCP in Beda. (Photo by Carl Horton)

The seminar had an “intentionally invitational format,” said Chang. She said planning for the seminar began almost five years ago, in 2018, but encountered multiple delays. Both lack of interest from U.S. Presbyterians and unrest in Hong Kong made it difficult for the seminar to gain traction. Then, Covid brought everything to a grinding halt.

Rather than give up on the idea entirely, the TSS organizers waited until the time was right.

The group ended up with only two participants who are U.S. Presbyterians: John Wallace, a retired chemist and ruling elder from California, and Sheryl Hnizda, and a communications director and former director of children’s ministry from Michigan. Joining them were two mission co-workers — Christi Boyd based in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Doug Tilton based in South Africa — and two global partners, Lee Choo Phang from Malaysia and Helivao Poget from Madagascar. Poget ministers to labor trafficking survivors in Madagascar.

Alongside Chang and Horton, the seminar was co-led by the Rev. Joram Calimutan, a UCCP serving a congregation of migrant workers in Hong Kong and ecumenical worker with Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants, and Pastor Roceni Bakian, also a UCCP pastor based in North Luzon, Philippines.

“Never in my wildest dreams would I imagine hosting colleagues from different parts of Africa and Malaysia. Only the Holy Spirit could bring about such an opportunity,” Chang wrote in a World Mission quarterly newsletter article about the seminar.

Layton Williams Berkes, Communications Strategist, Presbyterian Mission Agency

Let us join in prayer for:

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Deborah Bernard, Executive Assistant to the President, Board of Pensions
Barbara Betts, Manager of Presbyterian Distribution Services, Administrative Services Group (A Corp)

Let us pray

Creator God, the church you created has spread throughout the globe. We give thanks for what we can learn from one another’s experience and for those who work to share such insights among the members of your family. Amen.

Minute for Mission: Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day

Jinishian Memorial Program helps Armenians facing poverty and the aftermath of war

April 24, 2023

As part of JMP’s Community Development Program, students debate current political and social issues, as part of the Youth Engaged in Society project. The project aims at fostering democracy and developing civically responsible citizens through the establishment of debate clubs in Armenia. The project began in 2005 and is active in more than 100 schools throughout the regions. (provided)

The men were taken first, and then the women and children were brutalized. Witnesses saw the Euphrates run with blood, and women plunged into the river to escape the terrors of the desert march.

Throughout the Ottoman territories of 1915, Armenian villages were emptied out in a systematic campaign to demean and destroy innocent victims. Although authorities in modern-day Turkey deny this genocide, historians have gathered indisputable evidence of at least 1.5 million Armenians killed and a million more dispersed from their ancient homeland, the world’s first Christian nation.

Today’s Armenia is the size of Maryland, locked among Turkey, Iran, Azerbaijan and Georgia. The fledgling republic fell under communist rule for most of the 20th century, followed by harsh and hungry years of early independence in the 1990s.

For a people who have endured genocide and communism, their faith and their future might seem tenuous. Indeed, many of today’s young adults have been demoralized, unemployed and ready to flee. Yet voices of hope and change began to rise. In April 2018, peaceful protests dismantled the corrupt dictatorship and led to fair elections of new leadership.

In 2020, however, Armenia was faced with yet another humanitarian crisis. Azerbaijan launched surprise missile attacks on Armenia’s enclave — the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) — forcing their defense army into war to protect its people and homeland. During the 45 days of war, Azerbaijan, backed by Turkey, conducted horrible war crimes. Consequently, over 2,500 men perished fighting for their homeland, and thousands of civilians, including the elderly and children, were either wounded or killed. Armenia was thus forced to sign a painful ceasefire agreement with Azerbaijan and Russia, giving up a big part of its sacred land with vital Christian heritage (more than 5,000 ancient churches and Christian monuments) to stop the massacre of its people — shaking once again, their spirit of hope. The war brought more than 100,000 displaced people from Artsakh, mainly women and children, who were forced to find refuge throughout Armenia. In the fall of 2022, fighting flared again when Azerbaijan attacked military and civilian targets along the boarders of the Republic of Armenia itself,  as a result of which 204 Armenian servicemen were killed or went missing. A cease-fire put a temporary end to the bloodshed; however, since Azerbaijan still occupies Armenian territory, the constant threat of another attack ways heavy on the shoulders of a nation of people whose perseverance is constantly tested.

The Jinishian Memorial Foundation in Armenia, under Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) administration, developed a nationwide strategy to empower young leaders. Hundreds of young entrepreneurs in rural areas are using affordable loans to start their businesses and are provided with a coach and technical support. Since 2005, thousands of university students have learned about human rights, the economy, and the environment and have used small grants to tackle local problems. For example, Jinishian support helped one young man channel his expertise in radio electronics into a STEM program for dozens of youths, including many from a local orphanage.

Jinishian’s indigenous, ecumenical teams empower Armenians living in poverty throughout the Caucasus and Middle East. In Armenia, 90% of the projects are designed to promote long-term, sustainable change so people can earn a decent living, grow healthy families and help their communities thrive. The program offers dignity and hope through relief, development and spiritual uplift.

In response to the war in the fall of 2020, Jinishian swiftly expanded its programs to include medication and rehabilitation for wounded soldiers and humanitarian relief for displaced families.

To promote understanding of Armenian culture and history, the Jinishian Memorial Program is hosting a “Discover Armenia Mission Trip” from Oct. 5–14,  2024. The tour focuses on culture, outreach and faith. Join us to connect with Armenia’s people and see faith in action. Details will be forthcoming as we move closer to the date.

Cara Taylor and Gina Guida, Jinishian Memorial Program

Let us join in prayer for:

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Serrita Bell, Director of Communications & Marketing, Presbyterian Foundation
Sharon Bell, 1001 apprentice, 1001 New Worshiping Communities, Presbyterian Mission Agency

Let us pray

On the day I called, you answered me; you made me bold with strength in my soul (Psalm 138:3). In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Today in the Mission Yearbook - Presbyterian Commission on the Status of Women delegates meet with Cuban delegation

The Cuban delegation reports that women’s rights there have resulted in economic, scientific and educational advancements

April 23, 2023

On Wednesday, March 8 — International Women’s Day — members of the PC(USA) delegation to the 67th Commission on the Status of Women were hosted by Yuri A. Gala López, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Deputy Permanent Representative of Cuba to the United Nations, at the offices of Permanent Mission of Cuba to the United Nations.

The gathering was coordinated by Sue Rheem, Representative to the United Nations and Director of the Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations, to provide space to hear the voices and stories from the Cuban delegation around women’s equality in Cuba.

“The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has a long and rich relationship with Cuba. Our witness began in 1890,” Rheem said at the opening of the gathering.

The Rev. Shavon Starling-Louis, Co-Moderator of the 225th General Assembly (2022), is pictured with Ambassador Yuri A. Gala López, the Deputy Permanent Representative of Cuba to the United Nations. (Photo by Rich Copley/Presbyterian Mission Agency)

Gala López welcomed the group and then invited members of the Cuban delegation to share stories on the history of women in Cuba, their contributions to the economic and development of the country, as well as the equality and representation of women in leadership in Cuba. The delegation reported the following impressive statistics:

• Sixty-six percent of professionals in Cuba are women.
• The number of Cuban women who hold government office is growing. Currently, 313 of the 605 members in parliament are women.
• The new process of Cuban elections has resulted in increased female candidates — currently 55% of candidates are women.
• Women have a large presence in education, health and science. They currently represent 55% of scientists in Cuba.
• Fifty-five percent of lawyers and 66% of the Supreme Court are women.
• Wages are equal between men and women.

Despite these statistics, the delegation reports that Cuba has not peaked when it comes to gender equality. “It was born in the revolution and continues,” one delegate said.

Not surprisingly, in Cuba there is access to universal and free education for all. Even though there are efforts to make others believe there is no freedom of religion in Cuba, the delegates assured the group, “this is a lie.”

During the fight against Covid, Cubans worked to develop their own vaccines, foreseeing the challenge of getting vaccines from outside the country because of the trade embargo. Five vaccine candidates were developed in Cuba and three were approved. The protagonists of these vaccines were women; most Cuban citizens were able to be immunized. Scientists have produced other vaccines against hepatitis and cancer, and they are also women.

Ironically, treating their citizens was challenged by the lack of access to medical supplies during the pandemic.

Members of the delegations paused a moment for a group photograph. (Photo by Rich Copley/Presbyterian Mission Agency)

“As we have gathered our efforts in the development in biotechnology, the blockade hinders us from producing them,” one delegate shared. “When we were in the middle of the pandemic and Cuba needed oxygen in the very worst moments, Cuba asked the global community — including the United States — for oxygen to treat their patients. No one answered the call. The obstacle to technology — scientific and economic — is the blockade.”

“The main obstacle for women’s rights in Cuba is the United States [embargo],” said one delegate. “It is a greater form of violence against women.” Despite all these advancements in women’s rights, medical equipment shortages can hamper treatment in Cuban hospitals, where it is a matter of life and death.

Since 1969, the church has addressed U.S.-Cuba relations with a focus on human rights, immigration and regional tensions sprouting from the Cold War. At the 223rd General Assembly in St. Louis (2018), the PC(USA) reaffirmed its partnership with the Presbyterian-Reformed Church in Cuba. In 2016, the 222nd General Assembly approved a policy focusing on the “Nuevo Momento” in the country. This included support for the reclamation of private property lost during the revolution, normalization of diplomatic relations and immigration policies, an end to U.S. attempts to encourage regime change or isolate Cuba, and the return of Guantanamo Bay. Recent polices have also encouraged the U.S. to remove Cuba from the list of state sponsors of terrorism and lift all travel restrictions for U.S. citizens visiting Cuba.

Melody K. Smith, Associate Director for Digital and Marketing Communications, Presbyterian Mission Agency

Let us join in prayer for:

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Jon Baxter, Maintenance Specialist, Administrative Services Group (A Corp)
Glen Bell, Senior Vice President of Development, Presbyterian Foundation

Let us pray

Loving Christ, you have loved and welcomed many people to be your disciples, and you have called us to welcome one another and even strangers. On this day, help us to welcome those you love in your everlasting love. Amen.

Minute for Mission: Earth Day

April 22, 2023

An Earth Day Sunday celebration at Crescent Hill Presbyterian Church in Louisville. Photo credit: Rebecca Barnes.

In the first quarter of this year, we have experienced some severe weather occurrences in most parts of our country — fire, flooding, drought, wind and snow. Globally, the same is true. It is no longer far from most of our minds how we are connected to, and dependent on, the earth.

From power outages to destruction of homes to loss of life, we feel much more regular impacts these days of the “global weirding” that has been used as a nickname for climate change. Young people’s climate anxiety is in the news. Ongoing disaster recovery continues even as a new hurricane season approaches.

We pray: God, in your mercy.

We also recognize in Scripture that God has put us in a special relationship to the earth and has instructed us to care for it. Thus, we also must call on ourselves and one another: have mercy.

How much will we continue to ask vulnerable populations, future generations and the earth itself to withstand — just so that we can continue to live the way we want? Our prayers to our Creator implicate us, particularly those of us with privilege. For us to have mercy, to promote healing, and to bring forth justice means deep changes in the ways we think, live, consume, and relate to others and the earth itself. How can we prayerfully embody our commitment to enact God’s love for the cosmos?

We can reject the notion that success is unfettered economic growth at the cost of social and ecological injustice. We can reject the ease and convenience of disposable goods. We can step aside from the pursuit of luxury pleasures that negatively impact others. We can restore native habitats, grow our own food and support local farmers, plant trees, build new and respectful relationships with those most impacted by environmental ills, and invest positively in sustainable, equitable and renewable development.

For ideas to engage in climate education and action and/or to contribute to the Tree Fund, go to pcusa.org/climate.

 Rebecca Barnes, Presbyterian Hunger Program, Presbyterian Mission Agency

Let us join in prayer for:

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Dwayne Batcho, Production Clerk II, Presbyterian Distribution Center, Administrative Services Group (A Corp)
Doug Batezel, Vice President, Information Technology, Board of Pensions

Let us pray

Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer of the cosmos, may we draw ever closer to your vision for this world and our proper role in it. Help us to value, enjoy, rest and delight in your Creation even as we confess and work to repair the harm caused. In Christ who showed us the way. Amen.

Today in the Mission Yearbook - Smartphones and domestic violence: Free phones and safety planning give hope to survivors

Safe Connections program has helped 36,000 women and children receive free devices

April 21, 2023

Photo by Patrick Tomasso via Unsplash

Providing smartphones and other support to survivors of domestic and gender-based violence was the focus of an online event held during the 67th Commission on the Status of Women (#CSW67).

The parallel event highlighted the Australia-based Safe Connections program, which provides free cellphones to survivors who might not otherwise be able to afford a phone, or can’t use their original one for some reason, such as it being compromised by a perpetrator.

New phones are given because “the reliability of that phone is absolutely paramount,” said Karen Bentley, chief executive officer of the Women’s Services Network (WESNET) in Australia, who co-led the presentation. “It may literally be the difference between whether or not she reaches help and can call for help.”

The 4G phones are donated by Telstra, Australia’s leading telecommunication and technology company, and distributed throughout Australia through various agencies, Bentley said. Staff from those agencies receive training that helps them get up to speed about smartphone-related tech abuse by perpetrators and how to thwart it.

The two main objectives of Smart Connections are to provide survivors with the means to connect with personal and professional sources of support to reduce “isolation and to empower her to disrupt and interrupt abusive patterns of power and control by giving her the knowledge, information and support to use technology in ways that support her safety,” Bentley said.

The subject aligns with the priority theme of #CSW67: “Innovation and technological change, and education in the digital age for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls.” Within that umbrella, women’s safety in the digital world has been a common subject during #CSW67, and prevention of domestic and gender-based violence has been lifted up by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) over the years through participation in campaigns such as Thursdays in Black.

A screenshot taken during the event explained what technology-based abuse can look like.

Bentley and fellow co-presenter Joanna Colautti, a technology safety specialist for WESNET, provided an overview of Smart Connections and talked about some of the ways perpetrators have been known to use cellphones in general to commit abuse. Examples of that abuse include destroying and limiting access to phones; changing a person’s passwords or login details; sending unwanted or threatening calls, texts and audio messages; and using “stalkerware” to track the person’s location.

“This is why we wanted a program model that had women being given a phone in an environment where there’s also safety planning around the abuse as well, because it’s the safety planning in the Safe Connections program that actually makes the phone safe, not the device itself,” Colautti said. “So, this is really the purpose of the Safe Connections program: to provide that training, education and safety planning … in conjunction with giving out the actual device, which is the phone.”

So far, the program has provided about “36,000 women and children with a brand-new phone, so that’s between 400 and 600 phones going out to women every month,” Bentley said. “I think one of the key components that we’ve seen through the program is that it’s supporting women from marginalized groups,” including Aboriginal women and women who are immigrants, non-English speaking or who have a disability.

The phones, which come with a free SIM card with credit and data, allow survivors “to connect with personal and professional sources of support, reducing their isolation and keeping them connected,” Bentley said. The devices also help survivors to “disrupt and interrupt some of the abusive patterns of power and control that she might be experiencing.”

Telstra has a safe team that’s trained to answer calls and understand some of the dynamics of domestic and family violence. “They can ensure that when survivors’ details are updated that any device or account that they’re registering isn’t inadvertently or automatically linked to any previous account controlled by the perpetrator,” Colautti said.

Find additional information about tech safety on the website of the National Network to End Domestic Violence: nnedv.org/content/technology-safety. The U.S. National Domestic Violence Hotline can be reached at 800-799-7233.

 Darla Carter, Communications Strategist, Presbyterian Mission Agency

Let us join in prayer for:

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Jennifer Barr, Reference & Outreach Archivist, Presbyterian Historical Society
Andrew Kang Bartlett, Associate, National Hunger Concerns, Presbyterian Hunger Program, Presbyterian Mission Agency

Let us pray

We pray, Lord Jesus, for all of the children of the world. May they find shelter in loving arms, warm blankets and the gospel of Jesus Christ. May we not forget those who go to bed at night cold, lonely and hungry, and may we seek new ways to minister and embrace those to whom the kingdom of God belongs, making your love visible and evident everywhere. Amen.

Today in the Mission Yearbook - International Women’s Day showcases young inventor and urges women to ‘rise up’ at #CSW67

Speakers decry online harassment and highlight shared responsibility to create a safer digital world

April 20, 2023

Gitanjali Rao is a young inventor featured during
the UN’s 2023 observance of International Women’s Day. (Screenshot)

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.

Rao was motivated to develop a water testing device after learning about contaminated water plaguing the people of Flint, Michigan (The Story Ministry of Presbyterian Disaster Assistance has documented the crisis in its film, “Flint: The Poisoning of an American City.”).

“I’ve always grown up in this environment where I was taught that you can’t just wait for someone else to do something; you have to take that first step,” said Rao, who is from Colorado. “If you don’t like the way the world works, fix it.”

More than 1,800 people, most of them women, looked on as Rao and other panelists chatted during “DigitALL: Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality,” a special program at the 67th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. Nearly 60 delegates from the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and Presbyterian Women attended #CSW67 online and in person.

“Being in person allows our delegates the opportunity to go into the United Nations headquarters, to be in the same room with other leaders from around the world, with the common goal of gender equality,” said Ivy Lopedito of the Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations.

Sade Baderinwa, anchor of WABC Eyewitness News, moderates the observance of International Women’s Day 2023 at “DigitALL: Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality.” (UN Photo/Manuel Elias)

DigitALL included remarks by global leaders, such as U.N. Under-Secretary-General Sima Bahous, and host Sade Baderwina, a New York broadcaster who promoted the idea of buying young girls microscopes instead of dolls to spur their interest in STEM.

“I love this day because as women we get to celebrate who we are,” Baderwina said. “We celebrate our brilliance, our achievements, our power and collective voice,” and in spite of adversity, “we keep soldiering on because we know there is still so much more work to do.”

DigitALL was designed to lift up “the women and girls who are championing the advancement of transformative technology and digital education and curtailing the impact of the digital gender gap,” according to promotional materials. But it also touched on the sinister side of the tech world.

Sports journalist Marion Reimers, an outspoken proponent of LGBTQIA+ rights, talked about the hurt inflicted by online harassment, which she described as feeling like “a death by 1,000 knives.”

“I have been a victim of online harassment for a very long time,” Reimers said. “There are paid campaigns, and I’m not the only woman suffering in Mexico and throughout the world.”

Wednesday’s event also included inspiring musical performances. (UN photo/Manuel Elias)

Marie Bjerre, minister for digitalization, IT technology and gender equality in Denmark, said education, training and global partnerships are key to fighting such abuse. “The digital world is a new world for us,” she said, “and like we learn how to drive a car, we have to learn how to behave online.”

Women in Uganda also experience online abuse, said Irene Mwenda. She leads feminist movement building and advocacy for Pollicy.org, a team of technologists, data scientists, creatives and academics working at the intersection of data, design and technology.

The work of Mwenda’s organization includes putting research into simple language that even youths can understand and making games available to promote online safety and discourage “fake news.” The group also helps to empower women politicians in Africa.

The goal is to help them “understand the power of technology and data in their lives,” so that when they interact with other leaders, “they will be able to debate better,” and communities will receive policies that meet the needs of both women and men, Mwenda said.

Rao stressed the importance of harnessing the ingenuity of youths when trying to solve the world’s problems.

“Now more than ever is the time to maximize innovation and creativity, right?” she said. “We should be taking these opportunities to look at the ways in which we can support girls, especially by digitizing content online, and honestly, supporting them in every way possible, whether that’s through the work that they’re doing or making sure that they’re safe online as well.”

Darla Carter, Communications Strategist, Presbyterian Mission Agency

Let us join in prayer for:

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Susan Barnett, Coordinator, Research Services, Administrative Services Group (A Corp)
David Barnhart, Associate, Story Ministry & Documentary Filmmaker, Compassion, Peace & Justice, Presbyterian Mission Agency

Let us pray

For those who open to us the words of Scripture, we give you thanks, great God. As Scripture is opened, as hearts are transformed, may the church of Jesus Christ thrive and bloom for this and all generations. Amen.