United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW)
Episcopalians have participated in annual sessions of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW), along with their wider Anglican Communion family, since at least the United Nations’ Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, China in 1995. Read a brief overview about the history of Episcopal/Anglican engagement with UNCSW and how you can get involved on the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) sheet below.
- Preparing for UNCSW 67 – March 6th – 17th, 2023
- How can I participate? Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
- Presiding Bishop’s Delegation
- UNCSW 67 Presiding Bishop’s written statement
- UNCSW 67 Fact Sheet
- Episcopal Church events and joint Anglican/Episcopal events
- Generation Equality Forum – #GenerationEquality
- Join us via social media
- Share Your Story
- Beijing Noonday Prayer
- Contact:Ms. Lynnaia Main
- Contact:The Rev. David Copley
- Contact:The Rev. Cn. Dr. Chuck Robertson
- Contact:Ms. Lynnaia Main
Preparing for UNCSW 67 – March 6th – 17th, 2023
The United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW)’s 67th session will be a hybrid session for both the official UN meetings and NGO CSW parallel events. Read more about UN Women’s plans for UNCSW 67 here.
Looking to get involved? Want to know what is happening with our Episcopal and Anglican presence at UNCSW 67? Joining us for virtual events? Following remotely? Details below – please check frequently for updates:
How can I participate? Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Looking to get involved more generally? Read the UNCSW 67 FAQs below for answers to your frequently asked questions.
Presiding Bishop’s Delegation
Congratulations to the following Presiding Bishop’s delegates to CSW67 nominated by Presiding Bishop Curry. As announced in the Public Affairs press release, they are:
- Ms. Delores Alleyne, Episcopal Church in Connecticut, Prov I
- Ms. Mary Ellen Arthurs, Diocese of Virginia, Province III
- The Rev. Lilo Carr Rivera, Diocese of Long Island, Province II
- Ms. Ailysh Cooper, Diocese of Chicago, Province V
- The Rev. Elizabeth Garnsey, Episcopal Church in Connecticut, Province I
- The Rev. Luz Maria Lambis Garces, Diocese of Colombia, Prov IX
- Ms. Ellen Lindeen, Diocese of Chicago, Province V
- Ms. Yvonne Lodico, Diocese of Vermont, Province I
- Ms. Ruth McLain, Diocese of West Tennessee, Province IV
Read their biographies here:
UNCSW 67 Presiding Bishop’s written statement
In October 2022, the Presiding Bishop submitted the CSW67 written statement to UN Women in preparation for the conference. Based on General Convention resolutions, existing churchwide priorities related to the UN’s work and a churchwide data survey in conjunction with the Ecumenical Women coalition, it outlines three advocacy priorities:
- Extend accessibility to all and prioritize marginalized women and girls
- Ensure human rights protections, safety and security
- Accelerate gender equality education for all
UNCSW 67 Fact Sheet
An up-to-date description of the Anglican and Episcopal presence that will participate in CSW67 alongside our faith-based and civil society partners.
Episcopal Church events and joint Anglican/Episcopal events
You are warmly invited to join these Episcopal Church-hosted events, with the participation of our wider Anglican family and the UN faith-based community. If you or your church are planning to host an event at CSW67, please share your event listing to the Episcopal News Service Events page. View flyer here.
Thursday, January 19th, 1 – 2 pm Eastern: CSW67 Information Call for all Episcopalians. Information Call (bilingual English/Spanish) for all Episcopalians about the upcoming UN Commission on the Status of Women 67th session (CSW67). First-timers, returning participants, individuals and groups. If you missed the January session, please consult the FAQs above for more information.
Monday, February 27th, 4 – 5:30 pm Eastern (virtual): Welcome to CSW67: Meet the Presiding Bishop’s Delegation. Meet the Presiding Bishop’s delegation and learn about the advocacy priorities they will be raising at CSW67. Contribute to the conversation and meet other participants. View here: Recording.
Monday, March 6th, 12:10 – 1 pm Eastern (hybrid): UNCSW 67 Opening Eucharist for all CSW67 participants, hosted by the Presiding Bishop’s delegation.
Friday, March 17th, 12:10 – 1 pm Eastern (hybrid): UNCSW 67 Closing Eucharist for all CSW67 participants, hosted by the Presiding Bishop’s delegation.
Thursday, March 23rd, 4 – 5:30 pm Eastern (virtual): Taking It Back Home: Report Back from the CSW67 Presiding Bishop’s Delegation, a question-and-answer session for Episcopalians and all who are interested. Register here.
Generation Equality Forum – #GenerationEquality
In 2021, UN Women launched a new campaign, Generation Equality Forum, to accelerate progress towards gender equality and justice over five years. The Forum launched officially in Mexico City in March followed by follow-up pledges committed at a second event in Paris in June/July. The Forum’s 5-year action journey plans to realize irreversible progress towards gender equality, founded on a series of concrete, ambitious and transformative actions, including $40 Billion in financial commitments. Read more about GEF’s outcomes here.
The Episcopal Church’s #CSW65 Presiding Bishop’s delegates Tatiana Hoecker (Dio West Texas, Prov VII), Maria Gonzalez (Dio Olympia, Prov VIII) and The Reverend Annalise Castro Pasalo (Dio Hawaii, Prov VIII) attended virtually the Mexico launch and hosted “Generation Equality: Lifting Up Young Women’s Voices”, a follow-up webinar to share their experiences representing the Church at GEF in Mexico and the importance of mentoring and identifying opportunities for developing young women’s leadership. They were joined during the webinar by a representative of the Social, Economic, Human Rights and Humanitarian Section of the Permanent Mission of Mexico to the UN.
Join us via social media
Follow the action and contribute your own experiences/stories/thoughts via hashtags #CSW67 (official UN hashtag), #GenerationEquality, #EpiscopalUN (all things Episcopal Church and the UN) and #EpiscopalCSW (our Episcopal Church involvement at CSW, continuous reporting from year to year). More information about social media channels will be available in the FAQs and Fact Sheet.
Share Your Story
What is your connection to UNCSW, Generation Equality and the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action? Episcopalians have been involved with Beijing since before the Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995, adapting the Platform for use in their churchwide, diocesan and local ministries. They also have been involved in attending UNCSW for decades. If you are one of them, or know of one, you are invited to share your story as part of documenting our collective Episcopal and Anglican achievements and reflecting on the state of women’s and girls’ empowerment 25 years after Beijing. Share your story, photos, videos and other materials here.
Beijing Noonday Prayer
Join in praying the Beijing Noonday Prayer. By praying this prayer at noon in each of our time zones, we pray not only for those who will be gathering, we also join in a tradition born during the Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995:
Beijing Noonday Prayer [updated for Beijing +25]
Dear God, Creator of the heavens and the earth, we pray for all who gathered in Beijing and for all those attending and supporting the sixty-fourth session of the Commission on the Status of Women Meeting. Bless them.
Help us to see one another through eyes enlightened by understanding and compassion.
Release us from prejudice so we can receive the stories of our sisters and brothers with respect and attention.
Open our ears to the cries of a suffering world and the healing melodies of peace.
Empower us to be instruments in bringing about Your justice, peace and equality everywhere.
Questions? Feel free to contact us at EpiscopalUN@episcopalchurch.org.
Please join us in celebrating and praying with all those who have been involved with Beijing and UNCSW, for our delegations who will represent and advocate on our behalf, and most especially for women and girls, in all their diversity, worldwide.
- Episcopal Church announces delegates, invites churchwide participation in 67th UN Commission on the Status of WomenReturning in person for the first time since the pandemic began in 2020, The Episcopal Church and Anglican partners will advocate for global issues that impact women and girls in all their diversity at the 67th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW) in New York City, March 6-17.
- Presiding bishop invites applicants for 2023 UN Commission on the Status of Women delegationPresiding Bishop Michael Curry invites applications for Episcopal delegates age 19 and up to represent The Episcopal Church in person and virtually at the 67th Session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW67) in New York City, March 6-17. It will be the first time the church sends in-person delegates since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
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- Episcopal Church announces delegates, invites churchwide participation in UN Commission on the Status of WomenMaintaining a tradition more than 25 years old, The Episcopal Church and Anglican partners will advocate for global issues that impact women through its participation in the annual United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW) on March 14-25. A presiding bishop’s delegation of eight women and men will represent the church virtually, and all Episcopalians and Anglicans are invited to participate.
- Presiding Bishop invites applicants for 2022 UN Commission on the Status of Women virtual delegationPresiding Bishop Michael Curry invites applications for Episcopal delegates—including youth—to represent The Episcopal Church virtually at the 66th Session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW66), March 14–25.
