[Anglican Communion News Service] Statement from the Anglican Communion delegation at the 60th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, 2016:

22 March 2016

We as the Anglican Communion delegation at the 60th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW60), March 2016, have experienced a deep sisterhood in our time together. Our sisterhood is built on mutual respect and love, and the relationships in Christ we have with each other.

We have held each other in a deep embrace and found that our convictions lead us to reaffirm the ‘Walking Together‘ Statement made by our sisters in the Anglican Communion delegation at UNCSW 51 in 2007.

We do so mindful of the upcoming meeting of the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC-16) in Lusaka, Zambia, and offer our continuing prayers for this meeting of our Church leaders.

The ‘Walking Together‘ Statement

From the Anglican Women gathered at the 51st Session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, 3 March 2007

In the name of God, Saviour, Redeemer, and Giver of Life.

We, the women of the Anglican Communion gathered in New York as the Anglican Consultative Council delegation to the 51st Session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, and as members of the International Anglican Women’s Network representing the diversity of women from across the world-wide Anglican Communion, wish to reiterate our previously stated unequivocal commitment to remaining always in “communion” with and for one another.

We remain resolute in our solidarity with one another and in our commitment, above all else, to pursue and fulfill God’s mission in all we say and do.

Given the global tensions so evident in our church today, we do not accept that there is any one issue of difference or contention which can, or indeed would, ever cause us to break the unity as represented by our common baptism. Neither would we ever consider severing the deep and abiding bonds of affection which characterize our relationships as Anglican women.

We have been challenged in our time together by the desperately urgent issues of life and death faced by countless numbers of women and children in our communities. As a diverse delegation, we prayerfully reflected on these needs.

We thus reaffirm the conclusion of the statement presented by our delegation to this year’s Session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women:

This sisterhood of suffering is at the heart of our theology and our commitment to transforming the whole world through peace with justice. Rebuilding and reconciling the world is central to our faith.

Amen.