DOING FAMOUS THINGS

Thank you for being impressed, and for all your congratulations. Let me set the record straight...I did NOT make a speech in front of the General Assembly! But I did get to do something rather cool. The Commission on the Status of Women consists of 45 member states; they invite outsiders with various kinds of expertise to speak on panels before the commission. NO, I was not even a panelist! After the panel, member states and a few NGOs are able to respond and/or ask questions. I had been told to keep my remarks to five minutes, so I very carefully practiced and slashed and condensed and edited until it was right under five minutes. Then when I arrived at the UN, our "shepherd" (who pushes us around and makes sure we get a spot on the agenda and then makes sure we are not in the bathroom when it's time to speak) our shepherd says, casually, "Now, you know you must keep it to two minutes or under since there are so many to speak." I spent the next half hour cutting the little I had left, but--by gum--the chair didn't have to call time on me!

Since the topic of the panel was how to increase the number of women who go into science and technology, my remarks had to do with keeping children interested in science beyond the primary grades by -- duh! -- good science training for middle school and junior high teachers. All the other comments and the UN documents had emphasized training high school teachers. But in my humble (but irreversable) opinion most girls learn to fear science before they get to high school. That's it! two minutes of "duh," but maybe there was one person who had not figured it out. As in the rest of life, we never know what makes a difference...

Perhaps even more impressive is that I got to sing in Carnegie Hall (here all the real musicians in our community do a double take). We went there last weekend--on more free tickets--for a wonderful afternoon of choral and symphonic music. First on the bill was a high school chorus from British Columbia who did a variety of musical styles. Looking over the program before it started, I saw Loch Lomond, and of course had to sing all the verses I could remember, on the spot. It didn't matter since everyone else in the audience was talking--but I poked Jan and said, "Hey, I just sang in Carnegie Hall!" However, nobody rushed up afterwards to sign me on for a future engagement...I was also disappointed that they did not ask me to stand up when they played Missa Azteca in honor of my hometown. Well, we take our two minutes of fame where we can get it, right? Thanks for your prayers!

In our practice of discernment it is vital that we keep in mind the quality of God's dealings with us. The impulse behind discernment is the desire to respond in love and trust to God's love. But God's wisdom somethimes looks like folly, and true discernment means being ready to be led beyond ordinary prudence and common sense into the unexpected, the unconventional, God's foolish wisdom.
-- Listening to the Music of the Spirit by David Lonsdale, S.J.

I am still reading on discernment and the reality that God is leading me is both a comfort and fearful. It seems that God has a way of always being ahead of me, turning my ordinary ideas, intentions and plans upside-down. This is who God is a God of surprises. The story of God in my life, and in all people, is a God of surprises. God invites me to open my mind and heart more to revise my plans and my ideas about how things should be to risk that comforting feeling of being secure and let go. God consistenlty takes me beyond where I feel safe and secure and moves me to something new, different and greater.

Today I pray for the ability to trust your foolish wisdom O God. The unexpected is where you are revealed and delight. Remove my hesitancy and deepen my willingness to risk. Lead me on.

WOMEN INTERNATIONAL!

Well, I have never encountered so many X chromosomes gathered in one spot as we have here these two weeks, for the UN Commission on the Status of Women. Their owners come wearing the costumes of all lands, and speaking many languages. It's especially thrilling to see so many young women, all fired up and idealistic and passionate and ready to change the world.

There are so many people here that we exceed the capacity of the meeting spaces in the UN temporary meeting building, so you can get into the actual UN meetings only with a secondary pass--since each NGO gets only one, we are taking turns going to those. The main theme is Access and participation of women and girls to education, training, science, and technology, including ... women's access to full employment and decent work.: But there are literally hundreds of "side events" sponsored by NGOs...I counted 30 in an average day; running from 8:00 in the morning until 8:00 at night. They are held in nearby buildings, or--not so nearby. Too many choices! I'll tell you about some of those in a later blog.

The thing that most of us "older" types are excited about is the creation of a new UN entity, UN WOMEN. In July 2010, the UN General Assembly created this as its official entity for gender equality and the empowerment of women. I told you that Michele Bachelet of Chile is its first Executive Director, with the rank of Under Secretary General, so she'll have the power she needs to work with all the UN entities on issues involving women. She's charged with helping member states implement UN standards, and working with NGOs to accomplish the goals...and she "is to hold the UN system accountalbe to its own committments on gender equality, including regular monitoring..." Let's keep her in prayer as she faces this enormous job!

PUFF PUFF

Things happen so fast here, I can't keep up! We're in the first day of a two-week meeting of the UN Commission on the Status of Women...but before we get into that, I'll just summarize the event of the past two weeks, the Commission on Social Development (CSocD). As I think I told you, the overarching theme was the Eradication of Poverty, which is the very first of the Millenium Development Goals. Because, as someone said, "Poverty means the absence of human rights, the rights so basic to all the other Millenium Goals." Poverty has many faces and underlying causes, but this year the focus point was poverty as it affects the family, youth, and aged and disabled persons. Since everything is connected, the topics discussed also included trafficking, immigration, education, climate change, finances, food, water...to name a few!

Each of the UN commissions operate on two-year work cycles: the first year is the study/ review year, and the second year is when policy is actually set. This year was the study year for the CSocD, so the member states listened, studied position papers, had visiting experts and special "rapporteurs" in to speak. The Commission ended with recommendations on each of the target areas, which will be sent to the Secretary General for action by the executive group. Eventually the material that is approved will end up as part of the Secretary General's report, and items will be voted on in the policy year. Whew! layers on layers of bureaucracy, like a torte.

And even though we were finishing the CSocD and getting ready for the CSW, last week we had a briefing (and they are NOT "brief!") on the Commission on Sustainable Development, to be held in May. But I think you've had enough for now! And I have some fun things I haven't even told you about, yet...(you don't think we are working all WEEKEND, do you?)

Put me in your prayers for Wednesday; I am going to speak for UNANIMA in response to a panel during the CSW...

Follow the lead of the Spirit

I started this blog as a way of extending an invitation to you and others to walk with me seeking the path that would lead us to discover God and God's plan in our lives. I find myself engaged in making choices both in the circmstances of every day and at the crucial turning points of life. My choices give shape and direction to my life. The value of seeking God's direction, what I call discernment, is that it offers me a way of making loving choices, of following the lead of the Spirit of God in all the decisions I make. I have come to see discernment as a necessary gift, because if there are choices to be made, I need a process that helps me to make them well, under the guidance of the Spirit of God.

Today I invite the Spirit of God to speak clearly and even shout through my deafness to catch my attention and keep me on the path with St. Angela and her "cherished daughers", my Ursuline family, discovering what choices in my day will give life.

filling my life to the brim

I came upon an article entitled,"A Renewed Commitment to Consecrated Life in the Third Millennium". It explores the challenges facing those seeking to live as consecrated religious today and possibilities for such a life of witness. It gave me much to ponder. I spent some reflective time discovering how much I truly believe in the value of consecrated life in the Church today.

The article affirms conscrated life today and states, "The impression that some have of a decline of appreciation of consecrated life in some sectors of the Church can be seen as an invitation to a liberating purification. Consecrated life does not seek praise and human appreciation, it is repaid by the joy of continuing to work untiringly for the Kingdom of God, to be a seed of life that grows in secret, without expecting any reward other than that which the Lord will give in the end. It finds its identity in the call of the Lord, in following him, in unconditional love and service, which are capable of filling a life to the brim and giving it fullness of meaning."

My call as a consecrated woman, as an Ursuline Sister, is a "invitation to liberating purification". I truly commit myself to God's mysterious call which ask that I entrust my life, relying only on the grace of surrender which has lead me to know a joy that fills my life to the brim. It is a liberating purification! I am fulfilled beyond all expectation in striving to serve the People of God. I am blessed in sharing life with my Sisters who have also surrendered and know a joy that brims over and will be complete only in the end, thy Kingdom come, thy will be done.

YATTA YATTA YATTA

If each word spoken or written at the UN could earn a penny, we could eradicate poverty and send everyone on a pleasure trip to the moon. Watching a UN commission at work has been a real education in international politics and strategy. My first impression was that everyone was just going "yatta yatta yatta," mouthing platitudes and buzz words taken from preparatory documents, and perhaps talking just to hear themselves speak or to brag about their country. But that's an unfair assessment, generally speaking.

In our work in the NGOs we are trained to listen to the public statements to see what the various countries think is important. One day I acted as observer at a session, with a checklist for key words refering to our special areas of interest...to identify potenital allies that we can enlist to influence the direction of the debate, or to note small countries who might benefit from some of our research. For example, Chile spoke at great length on the empowerment of women; Bangladesh spoke strongly on climate change. Check, and note.


Here, words really MATTER, and are chosen very, very carefully. One of the ways NGOs can be effective behind the scenes is by suggesting language for a statement, or working with a small member state to craft a document of mutual interest. In particular the delegates struggle over verbs, which will imply levels of their country's commitment to a cause or resolution. Weak support is indicated by words like "endorse," "invite," or "acknowledge." Or the members can completely gut a resolution by adding at the end a little parenthetical phrase like "as appropriate," or "if possible." The process of diplomacy is very subtle; as one of our golden-tongued, experienced Irish colleagues says, "It's a game, a dance, a football match!"

But mostly we NGOs act as the official gadflies, in which capacity we are sometimes (says an Australian colleague), "as welcome as a blowfly at a barbeque!"

HAPPY SOCIAL JUSTICE DAY!

Did you know there is a World Day of Social Justice? I learned that this week, when we had a special commemoration of it at the UN today. Now, if a group of women were designing a celebration, we would have a prayer service and singing and dancing, and maybe cookies, right? I've caught on that everything at the UN takes about the same shape--lots of talking. This celebration took the form of a panel discussion for the NGOs, sponsored by the Kyrgyzstan mission, on the topic of Social Protection. But it was a real celebration, in that the chairman cautioned the members (the official country representatives to the UN) not to ask any questions until the NGOs were finished, because it was our celebration. That's the exact opposite of how it usually works! Well, of course the NGOs never run out of questions or comments, so we will never know if a country wanted to speak.

The highlight of the panel for most of us was Michelle Bachelet (the former President of Chile and the present Executive Director of the United Nations Women). She is so vivacious, so smart, and apparently so concerned about the poor, that she won all our hearts. She reminded us that social protection is not charity--it is investment in people, and you can't develop a country without it. Another speaker said that the development of a social protection floor (a minimum level of financial help to meet the basic human rights for the poor, for women, for youth, for the aged, for people with disabilities, and for other vulnerable groups) is the most powerful tool a country has to combat poverty. Another said it is the best way to move toward the Millineum Development Goals. He said "there is a revolution in social protection coming from the south (Africa and South America)--other countries just need the political will to make it happen.

Then one of the NGOs noted that there was only one woman on the panel, and that there were no representatives of the truly poor. Go, Go, NGOs!

OLDER IS BETTER

Sure it is! after all, the older you get, the more opportunity you have had in your life to make friends. Thanks so much for all the support I have received from you, my friends, community, family, and "fan club" for my United Nations Adventure blog. I did appreciate all the birthday cards and greetings and phone calls and e-mails and e-cards. We certainly don't have an excuse not to "reach out and touch someone" these days, do we? But let me tell you about the once-in-a-lifetime gift I got: someone made a donation in my name to the Bronx Zoo, and for that I get an animal named after me--a Madagascar Hissing Cockroach! For sure I will have to go to the zoo to see my cockroach. Do you think I will be able to tell it from all the rest? Maybe they have branded it "MM!"

My birthday celebration started last Thursday with jellyfish--a new dish for me--at a restaurant in Chinatown, where the UNANIMA staff celebrated two office birthdays. There were also "100 year old eggs" to try, and the green leafy tops of snow pea plants to furnish our vitamin A for the day. Earlier the same week we had celebrated Lunar New Year (because we have two Chinese sisters and a Korean student in our house, we can't call it just "Chinese" New Year). The dining room was hung with dragons, "lucky money," firecrackers, and other red ornaments. We each got a gift, and a red envelope of "lucky money" to put under our pillows, so it felt like Christmas. Christmas and a birthday the same week, oh my!

Friday night we saw another opera at Lincoln Center, thanks to more free tickets. This was a comedy, Don Pasquale -- I hate to admit that I always claimed not to like opera, but that was when I just heard it on the radio, before I saw it on the stage with the sets and the acting. Saturday we attended part of a film festival on women's issues at Barnard College, a women's liberal arts college affiliated with Columbia University (Thomas Merton attended Columbia, as a young man). Whew, I was ready to get back to work on Monday...

And what is it like to eat jellyfish? Very much like chowing down on rubber bands. But you--go eat some chocolate and have a Happy Valentine's Day!

GO, GO, NGOs

If you're like most people in the USA you probably don't know what an NGO is...I didn't until our Ursuline community joined one a few years ago. In fact, we were among the "charter members" of our particular NGO, called UNANIMA (more on that, later). NGOs are Non-Governmental Organizations. As the name indicates, they act independently of any national government. Early international NGOs were important in anti-slavery and women's suffrage movements. NGOs have been active at the UN since it began in 1945; in fact, they are actually written into its Charter.

NGOs can interact with the United Nations Secretariat, programs, agencies, and member states--researching issues, lobbying, providing information and expertise. They can influence UN debate by proposing ideas for the draft agenda, submitting written statements, and making oral presentations.

One UN commission (the Commission on the Status of Women) says on its website that the "active participation of NGOs is a central element in the work of the CSW. NGOs have been influential in shaping the current global policy framework on women's empowerment and gender equality...they play an important role in holding international and national leaders accountable for their commitments." And NGOs are the way that people like us can influence UN policies!

A former president of the United Nations called NGOs the UN's "windows to reality," and Pope John Paul II called them "the conscience of the UN." Later I'll tell you what ELSE they call us sometimes, when we "bug" them too much ..!

ECOSOC and CSD

Ready for some alphabet soup? Last week began a major activity at the United Nations, one that particularly involves NGOs of religious women. One of the major working bodies at the UN is the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), the forum to discuss social and economic issues; as such, it helps countries reach agreement on how to improve education and health conditions, and how to promote observance of universal human rights and freedoms. The United Nations has many "commissions" to administer the wide range of issues that this involves! Among them is the Commission on Social Development (CSD), which is meeting for these two weeks. The focus this year is Poverty Eradication--a tall order but one upon which everything else depends. When you talk about the status of women, economic development, climate change, health, education...problems in those areas are all parts of both the causes and effects of poverty. It's a vicious cycle.


Since ECOSOC is the body through which the NGOs are connected with the United Nations, this is really a big week for us, and we were at meetings all last week--either observing / monitoring, participating, learning, discussing, caucusing... For eight months the NGOs have been preparing a "position paper"to be read at the plenary session of the Commission. Our own Catherine Ferguson (Director of UNANIMA), as chair of the NGO Committee on Economic and Social Development, read the statement---it was a good one, and she did a good job. The paper was titled Eradication of Poverty: a Civil Society Perspective 2011. (The "Civil Society" is everyone outside of the UN and the governments. NGOs represent the civil society.)

One of the things we keep reminding the UN is that reduction of military spending is a part of the solution to poverty. And we are not alone in that. UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon recently said in a talk to young people that "Every year, the world spends $1.4 trillion dollars on weapons. With a fraction of that we could cut poverty, fund schools, provide health care, and protect the environment. One year of global military spending could pay the UN's budget for 732 years." May he live long and prosper!

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

I think I've been very disciplined--after all, I've been in NYC for three weeks now, and am just now going to the American Museum of Natural History. But Saturday Jan and I braved the rain, climbed on the #11 bus, and made the pilgrimage. To anyone who has seen "Night at the Museum" it would seem familiar but not exactly the same: Teddy Roosevelt rides his horse outside, not inside, and the rotunda features NOT Tyrannosaurus rex but an even larger brontosaurus being attacked by a couple of raptors. The museum is a treasure house, filled with the knowledge and culture of the world. There's even a special interactive exhibit on the human Brain to help us understand how and why we appreciate all this! I found my favorite display from the last time I visited--a set of diatoms hand-sculpted from blown glass. The Hope Diamond was away on exhibit, but the Star Sapphire of India was there to amaze us with its beauty.

But the exhibit that really grabbed me this time was a display on the evolution of the written word...from a simple potter's mark all the way to this blog! (This was where I lost Jan. She wandered on and I stood transfixed at the exhibit.) There was a graphic that showed the evolution of certain letters, from primitive writing up to Latin characters. The "A" was very similar all the way through, though the early ones were tilted sideways or looked like a bird foot. "H" was similar in spirit, if not in exact form. But the one that blew me away was the "O," which was the same all the way through. And there I stood with my mouth in an "O," wondering at this marvel.


When you think of it, the "O" is universal, as far as I know, on every human face in the world, as a sign of wonder and surprise. After all, that's our human role in this world--to wonder and stand in awe at this surprising universe. As Joan Chittister said, "Surprise is God's way of saying 'hello'." So God said "hello" in the Word, and in all the wonderful things we saw in the AMNH. Now, we just need a couple more months to see all the rest of it!

LISTEN TO THE CHILDREN

We're enjoying an "ice day," staying home because the sidewalks of New York are coated with freezing rain. But I didn't have to completely miss my big event of the day, the official opening of the International Year of Forests, 2011. I found the live webcast on the United Nations web page; how cool is that? And one of the sisters in my community sent me a perfect quote for the day, one of my favorites from John Muir: "When one tugs at a single thing in nature, (s)he finds it attached to the rest of the world."

That quote was perfect for a morning spent thinking about forests and how they are connected to everything else. Loss of forests means loss of topsoil, loss of livelihood, loss of clean water, loss of fuel, loss of food (Haiti is a good/bad example of that). And loss of who knows what undiscovered potential medicines (about 1/2 of our medicines come from plants, many of them from forests). Forests absorb greenhouse gases, provide oxygen, and create rainfall; the Amazon rainforest alone has effects on climate in areas far from South America.

Today's celebration involved talks and film clips from award-winning films on forests, but as the camera panned the huge UN Assembly Hall, you could see the delegates lounging back, reading, laughing, yawning, talking in small groups...suddenly they all sat up and looked alert when a group of children came in, carrying cardboard cutouts of trees. Their little spokesperson asked the adults to "stop talking so much and DO SOMETHING," as he passionately described the threats to the environment and what they, the children, were doing about it. He asked why adults are so unconcerned, and speculated that it was perhaps because our future is only 20-30 years, but reminded us their future may last through 2100...and they are the ones who will see most consequences of climate change and other environmental damage. He reminded us that there are more children in the world than anyone else, and called on the children of the world to get involved in influencing the adults, saying, "maybe one mosquito can't do anything against a rhino, but 1,000 mosquitos can make even a rhino change direction!" He got a standing ovation.

The very last film clip showed a "grove" of "trees" with tall cardboard roll trunks and toilet paper foliage, standing in a toilet. The text said: 95% of all toilet paper used in the United States is made of 100% virgin wood pulp, some of it from 200 year old forests. Then, to the sound of chainsaws, the toilet flushed, carrying the grove of trees with it.

Let's listen to the children...and happy Year of the Forest!