2011 Speakers

Friday Evening Opening Worship

Monique & John Nunes

Monique C. Nunes

(bio)

Administrator, Baltimore Lutheran School, Towson, MD

Rev. John Arthur Nunes

(bio)

President & CEO, Lutheran World Relief

Sunday Morning Interdenominational Worship

Rev. Peg Chemberlin

(bio)

President, National Council of Churches in Christ USA and Executive Director, Minnesota Council of Churches

The sermon from the Sunday Interdenominational Worship from Rev. Peg Chemberlin, "Be a Holy Nag for Jesus," can be downloaded as a PDF file here.

Here is the video of her sermon:

Ecumenical Advocacy Days 2011: Rev. Peg Chemberlin - "Jesus' Holy Nags" from Ecumenical Advocacy Days on Vimeo.

NOTE: To download a copy of this video to your computer, move your mouse into the video box, click on "vimeo' in the lower right to go to the hosting site Vimeo. You must create a free account with them. Once you have done so, you can go to the page this video is located on in the Vimeo site, scroll down to where it says "About this Video" RIGHT CLICK the download link, and select "Save as / Save target as" to begin the download.

Saturday Plenary

"Women and Girls Aren't the Problem: They're the Solution!" Part 1, Domestic Perspective

Daisy L. Machado

(bio)

Academic Dean and Professor, Church History Union Theological Seminary, New York, NY

Ecumenical Advocacy Days 2011: "Women and Girls Aren't the Problem: They're the Solution!" Dr. Daisy Machado from Ecumenical Advocacy Days on Vimeo.

Regina L. Oldak

(bio)

Senior Counsel,National Women's Law Center

For a copy of some information from Regina Oldak's presentation as a PDF file, click here.

In recent decades women have achieved goals of which their grandmothers could only dream. Most women and girls in the United States have access to some level of education, and broad career opportunities have opened to women. However, the quality of education is frequently determined by where a young woman grows up, and women's career options are often limited by their economic bracket, and by race, language, ethnicity and immigration status. Across career levels, women on average continue to earn only 77 cents for each dollar earned by a man in the same position. An inordinate percentage of women are in lower-paying service jobs.

Women in every socioeconomic level experience physical, sexual and verbal violence which do not discriminate on socioeconomic level. Domestic and random violence cut across age, race and economic standing, and are aggravated by economic woes and high unemployment. Women carry much of the weight of the recession, evidenced in an alarming gender imbalance in the distribution of jobs gained in 2010, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Men and women must work together to recognize and remedy economic inequities. People of faith must lead the way in eliminating sources of economic discrimination and violence.

Ecumenical Advocacy Days 2011: Women and Girls are the Solution!: Domestic Legislative Plenary - Regina Oldak from Ecumenical Advocacy Days on Vimeo.

Sunday Plenary

"Women and Girls Aren't the Problem: They're the Solution!" Part 2, International Perspective

Ritu Sharma

(bio)

Co-Founder & President, Women Thrive Worldwide

Around the world, women and girls comprise seventy percent of those living in poverty. Too often, women and girls are economically marginalized and denied educational opportunities. In addition, the World Health Organization reports that globally, one in three women experience some form of violence within their lifetime. Violence against women has become a global epidemic and has been called the "paramount moral challenge of this century." As Nicolas Kristof says in his book Half the Sky, "Women and girls aren't the problem; they're the solution."

Seeking development, security and economic justice for all people and all communities means that together, men and women of faith must focus on the empowerment and education of women and girls. Leading international policy experts agree that the most effective way to fight extremism and global poverty is the empowerment and education of women and girls. These issues are not just "women's issues;" they are humanitarian issues that cross gender, race, creed, color or national boundaries. People of faith are called to awaken to the injustice our global sisters face, and become mobilized for the salvation of all. May it be so!

Ecumenical Advocacy Days 2011: 'Women Aren't the Problem ... They're The Solution!" International Perspective with Ritu Sharma from Ecumenical Advocacy Days on Vimeo.

Legislative Forum Plenary Speaker

Jack Jezreel

(bio)

Founder and Executive Director, JustFaith Ministries

Ecumenical Advocacy Days 2011: Jack Jezreel, Justfaith Ministries from Ecumenical Advocacy Days on Vimeo.

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View the archive of previous years' speakers below:

2010 Keynote Speakers