Day 3: Riverside Church and the National Council of Churches

We worshipped at Riverside Church today and to be honest (I think by this point it's clear I'm not a politically correct blogger), the service fell short of my expectations.  I had always heard it was a dynamic congregation but the energy in that place was anything but dynamic.  Maybe it was the lenten season but the choir was classical and almost muted in volume and the sermon was about finding ways to get "nailed" in the city like Jesus and then moved into political action stuff (which was pretty cool).  I really got the Baptist and UCCC interplay.  The church is so big that all of the announcements felt like they were coming from across a football field.  The building was incredible though, just incredibly beautiful.  I had no idea how beautiful it was inside.  It reminded me of Notre Dame.

It made me think though--how is a place like this even sustainable?  The overhead must be huge, the place was not packed by any means, and I just couldn't see how it would attract a large constituency.  I know it has a vibrant past and history but there was a real lack of energy.

After that, we went to the National Council of Churches building and met with all of the other young adult delegates from different organizations such as the NCC, the World Christian Student Federation, and the Presbyterian Church.  I met Monika from Lebanon, Joe from Wales, Monica from Bangladesh, Facia from Liberia, and Ilea from a Native American sovereign nation in Nebraska (drats, can't remember her tribe name).  We're gathered under the organizing body of the Ecumenical Women,  and we spent the afternoon planning a dynamic worship service for tomorrow morning's chapel.  I participated in the artistic expression group and helped create a symbolic visual presentation of women in bondage overcoming barriers with audience interaction.

Interesting fact:  The Episcopalian Delegation is the biggest religious delegation at the UN.
Fact #2:  The Episcopalian Young Adult delegation is the biggest young adult delegation from any religious group.

Again, we were in that room all day long.  Dear Lord.  Everyone was a bit stir crazy, and we leapt out of there.

And from there?  Back to our hotel for another meeting over pizza, and then another meeting about scheduling, and then another meeting for worship and compline. Ending at 10pm.  Can you see how this is making me feel a bit crazy?  Literally, there is not a single moment for individual time unless you miss something.  I'm learning to skip out.  I ate dinner on my own down the street and it restored my sanity.

The thing I love about my delegation group is that they are hysterical, warm, strong, passionate, and walking in their gifts.  It feels like such a gift to be with women and men who are talented, articulate, and led by their Episcopalian spirituality in a freeing and affirming way.

We're doing a group blog here.  Check it out and get to know some of the other delegates.  They're amazing.

xoxo.  peace.

Holy Cow: Day 2

Saturday started with an 8:30am worship service at the  chapel and offices for the Ecumenical Women at the UN and as soon as I walked in, I was a bit speechless.  The whole thing was like one big campy ecumenical feminist affair.  It was SO campy.  There were women dancing, other women clapping and letting off high pitched shrieks, other women singing and drumming, another woman telling everyone to get up, dance, break down barriers and gather our energy.  We were asked to wave our arms around and symbolically move the walls.  I was so tired (It was 5:30am L.A. time) and I'm not a morning person.  There was even a Korean woman dancing in modest Confucian style in her white sheer hanbok.  Huh?

It was so un-Episcopalian and even though I've been a part of my share of loud and raucous services, this one was really interesting.  It was liberal, progressive, international, and it was about feminine empowerment.  It translated into something that felt primal and well, campy.

BUT, as time wore on, I was touched.  I got into the swing of things, and I realized that I was part of something pretty special and counter-cultural.  There was a modern dance about being freed from bondage and reinterpreting Proverbs 31 (about the perfect wife/woman) and I think we all watched with awe and tears.

The rest of the day was a doozy.  We went upstairs to a room with views of the UN (across the street) until 5pm getting a crash course on the EW's talking points on violence against women and how to do advocacy at the UN.  I heard some amazing female leaders speak (like the world president of the YWCA and an African theologian) and really started to get a feel for the bureaucratic machine.

A few things I learned:

1.  Each female delegate at the UN represents 1 million women.  Staggering.  There is a mandate on us to advocate for our sisters.

2.  The UN is a very bureaucratic place, concerned with law.  They like to use the word "advocacy," but basically, the whole place is like one big lobbying conference.

3.  Language is uber important.  Every group is trying to push a very specific phrase or wording of their agenda because the language will get incorporated into laws and be interpreted in certain ways.

4.  The Ecumenical Women are pretty darn amazing.

By the end of the day, I had heard so much about violence against women that I needed a seriously stiff drink.  It was hard stuff to take in emotionally and most of the advocacy training was over our heads.  At one point in our mock interview with the ambassador of Pakistan, I just had to ask, what was the point and what the heck were we doing?  Most of the lobbying we were being asked to do seemed like pointless "this is what you need to do" kind of pitches which makes me feel uncomfortable.  Nobody could answer my question.  Many people seemed passionate about being there but other than yelling and voicing their passion, they couldn't explain how this actually translated into constructive change and diplomatic relations.

I got my wish for a stiff drink.  I had read about the $10 martini and manicure bar in a Frugal Traveler article in the NYTimes.  My co-leaders, Jason and Karen, and Andrea joined me at the Beauty Bar and 30 minutes later I was their new favorite person.  We had a blast.

Then it was time for bed.

p.s.-  i'm taking pictures but unfortunately, the wifi here is so slow and taking away from sleep time.  I'll try again later.

Hello Manhattan!

Ladies and gents, I have arrived in the great city of New York.  After a week of packing, moving, unpacking, preparing for the UN trip, I was exhausted, nervous and anxious about facing the cold and the trip.  But as soon as I got here (and got over that first blast of frosty wind), I was in love.  I love it here.

The whole city is one big slush pile on the ground and a giant snow globe by air.  The snowflakes are unbelievably big and best of all, I'm not cold and miserable.  My borrowed coat from the Rev. Martha is actually doing the trick (thank you M.!).

Today, I checked into the Seafarer's Guest House, visited the Episcopal Church Center at 815 2nd Ave., and went to the UN to register as a delegate.
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I stood in a bureaucratic line for a pass and id. 

I met up with my good friend Michelle who is on furlough from Bangkok and passing through NYC. 

We met up for soup dumplings at Joe's Shanghai.

And then I met the rest of my teammates and went through a whirlwind of an orientation about all things UN that left us wide-eyed.  I'll have to fill you in about that more later when I'm more awake.

I'll be tweeting a lot more than I ever have for this next week.   See you on this blog and in tweetland!

Funding Completed!

With less than 2 weeks to go, funding is complete!

Thank you, Jack and Terri Brown.

UN: Funding Update

I've raised $810 of my $830 budgeted outlook for my upcoming Feb. 25-March 6 trip to the UN for the Commission on the Status of Women Meetings.  Having gone through some pretty lame fundraising experiences in the past where I did everything a girl could possibly do (including the kidnapping of her pastor, held for ransom until reluctant church members coughed up more dough), I am proud to announce that this time, I'm only $20 short and it all happened in one week (and let's be honest, without the help of my very generous outreach minded parents who usually swoop in to save the day with the last thousand bucks or so).

I do feel as if a) the stars have aligned for me this trip b) God answered my prayers or c) there's something divine about this whole thing.  Pick your choice of words.

I feel incredibly grateful and honored to have the support of new friends and old, as well as certain organizations--especially in this time of great economic need locally and globally.

I'd like to thank everyone who's encouraged me with their responses to my updates and make a special mention for the following folks for their donations:

Jim Lee & Julie Cho
Episcopal Diocese of L.A.
Rev. Carolyn Estrada
Rev. Martha Korienek
Jan Keyuranggul

Lori Sexton

Anonymous Donor

Now that I look at that list, I see that most of them are clergy or soon to be clergy.  Thank you thank you thank you.  It's ironic and humbling to be supported by my underpaid spiritual leaders!

Next up: Preparing for the UN meetings