International Women’s Day March 8, 2016 Mobilizes Global “Pledge for Parity”

How often do you celebrate the women in your life, to show your appreciation and to strengthen them? Imagine doing this and boosting women’s equality too! March 8 is International Women's Day (IWD), to honor the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women, and encourage concrete actions for gender equality. This year’s theme: “Pledge for Parity.”

Action ideas:

1. Email/text/announce on Facebook: “It’s International Women’s Day, and I’m so thankful for you/the women in my life!”

2. Organize an inspirational day at church for honoring women. Come up with a creative title to draw people in. Share what IWD is and its potential for your community. Use excerpts from LPF’s Women’s Path of Hope in a prayer, sermon, or interactive group reading. Inspire with quotes from LPF’s Inspiration from Women.

Host a festive lunch. Arrange in advance for a few women speakers of different generations to thank a woman or man who supported their equality. Honor unsung women too, not only visible women leaders. Find a way for achievements to be specifically named. Dream up a symbolic, visual activity; e.g. participants write on a ribbon the name of a woman they honor and attach the ribbons as streamers onto a hoop. Take a group picture with the visual and caption it before sending to Facebook, local or synodical media.

3. See who wants to meet after your women’s day, to talk more about equality. Use LPF’s Women's Resources to affirm women and girls’ empowerment, including anti-violence work. Study the ELCA’s Social Statement on Women and Justice coming out in June 2016. (Response period will end June 2017. LPF will blog more about this soon.)

-- Lily R. Wu, LPF Women’s Initiative

(Illustration from IWD 2011 on their 100th anniversary.)

February 14: Dance with the One Billion Rising Revolution To End Violence Against Women

Violence has power. But active peacemaking has power too. Have you heard of One Billion Rising? It’s the largest mass action in human history to end violence against women. This global movement is based on the horrifying statistic that 1 in every 3 women in the world will be raped or beaten in her lifetime. With the world’s population at 7 billion, that’s one billion women and girls.

Launched on Valentine’s Day 2012, One Billion Rising expanded to 200 countries by 2014. It evolved in 2015 into the One Billion Rising Revolution. In 2016, the revolution escalates!

• The rallying cry is for systemic change: “overhauling, challenging, and fighting” corrupt systems…

• The goal is justice “for all survivors of gender violence and the impunity that protects perpetrators...”

• The determination is to “create a new kind of consciousness – one where violence will be resisted until it is unthinkable.”

• How can we get started?

• Be inspired by mass gatherings worldwide. See the panoramic YouTube video "One Billion Rising 2015 - La Rivoluzione."

• Sing with the music video "Break the Chain” (with captions on, to catch every word)!

• Learn the dance steps at "How to: Break the Chain Choreography" and introduce it to others. Also see “How to Dance ‘Break the Chain’ -- for the mobility compromised!”

• Check out the One Billion Rising Revolution website for more ideas. Don’t miss the toolkit, under “Resources.”

• Make use of Lutheran Peace Fellowship’s Women's Peace Resources for inspiration and empowerment. See "Stopping Violence Against Women and Girls," the “Women's Video Gallery,” and more.

• Pass this blogpost on to your friends. And share with us what inspires you to stop violence against women and girls, and to promote peace instead!

Lily R.Wu and Alan Forsberg

Dietrich Bonhoeffer´s Birthday - February 4

Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945) is known for his leadership role in the Confessing Church, efforts on behalf of peace and justice, opposition to antisemitism, and writings on theology and ethics that have been influential far beyond his German Lutheran context.
He was was hanged by the Nazis on April 6, 1945 in the Flossenburg concentration camp.

Check out  LPF's resources on this Lutheran Hero at:
Dietrich Bonhoeffer Resources