ILT Visit Ecuador ______National Meeting in

NETN

NETWORK FORUM

IC Tanzania ______2019 Lenten Campaign

THE GRAIL INTERNATIONAL Get INVOLVED

News from CSW

NEWSLETTER EVENTS

March 2019 "I used to think the top environmental problems were biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse and climate change. This newsletter is intended to be a I thought that with 30 years of good science we could address those two-way communication channel problems. for Grail members to fill up the But I was wrong. gaps between Crossroads with The Top environmental problems are selfishness, greed and short news items and an events apathy... calendar. ... and to deal with those we need a spiritual and cultural DEADLINE NEXT transformation - and we scientists don't know how to do that." May 09, 2019 Gus Speth (is an American environmental lawyer and advocate Phone: +31-74-7074273 and author of several books ) cell: +31-6-31072836

[email protected] (shared by Elizabeth Lee - Spiritual Network) www.thegrail.org 1

ILT have just completed a visit to Ecuador, then attended the Mexican National Grail Meeting in which almost 50 women from all of their Grail regions were present, and that was followed by the Network Forum. Finally ILT meeting and diligently preparing for the International Council meeting in Kisekibaha – Tanzania, from 3 to 14 July 2019.

Ecuador - 15 to 18 February 2019 We arrived in Ecuador, Rosa Maria Ruiz, from New Countries Team, Dilma Alves Rodriguez and Mary L. Heidkamp, from the ILT, on February 13 and 14 to meet with the Grail Group in that country. Welcome with great affection, joy, enthusiasm and warmth, from the first moment, by the participants of the group, this was for all of us an inspiring experience of rare beauty. Whether at informal or formal times, the women of the Grail were eager for knowledge of the dynamics of the International Grail. At the meetings held on Saturday, 16th and Sunday the 17th, we had the opportunity to listen to their personal stories and to know the group's journey reflected in their beautiful and meaningful stories. On Sunday was spent reviewing the Criteria for Membership in the Grail and answering questions they had regarding to understand various dimensions of the International Grail Community including the structures and how to set up the Grail bank account. They are 12 women as the core group, plus 5 more that participate part time, with age ranges from 35 to 67, most are single, a couple have grown up children. All of them are professionals, professors at the university, marketing advisors, business women, architect, administrators. A few of them just got their retirement. We were fascinated by their strong community involvement. They work with different types of communities, some work with indigenous Kichwa women, near Cotacachi on Alternatives to Violence, and with another in the Amazon on . They plan to open the group to other women from marginalized communities, like the less affluent and black women of Ecuador. Another nice face of this group is their organization through monthly meetings, and all cooperate with the expenses of attending programs or trainings, they are self-sufficient, independent women. Over all, this was a very enriching visit, where both sides learned from each other and were encouraged by the findings. To complete our visit to Ecuador, we spent a day and two nights in the indigenous Kichwa community near Cotacachi, staying with two local families. An experience of great learning and genuine joys in living with those families. Finally, we deeply thank each of the Grail for their welcome, openness, clarity of purpose, joyful convivence, trust and shared life. Gratitude!

Rosa Maria Ruiz and Dilma Alves for the Ecuador Visiting Team 2

THE GRAIL National Meeting in Mexico The Grail in Mexico had a big National Meeting in Morelos from 22 to 24 of February. 51 Grail women were together, Grail members and women involved in Grail project from all over the country: Cherán; La Paz; Llano de la Vaca; ; Morelos and Torreon. In addition to the presence of three members of the ILT, there was Mary Kay Louchart.

Maria Luisa wrote: For us as Grail Mexico it was a pleasant surprise to know that the International Leaders would come to our country to meet The Grail members in Mexican Grail, in a National Meeting. The objective: find most of the women of the groups with whom The Grail have been working in the two regions: Morelos-Valle de México and Norte Sur. And to hear from us lived experiences in a process of individual and group growth with the guidance of women of the Mexico Grail. The Development of the meeting It was exciting and motivating to know that we would be sharing and get knowing each other for three days. We were fifty women from the regions mentioned. Being in a place that only motivated reflection and encounter with God and ourselves allowed us to work in a climate of peace and harmony to identify in each experience the paths of justice and the promotion of dignity and freedom so longed for Mexican women. Opening the door to the noise of 50 women talking was amazing. Although there most of the women did not know we were all connected by a common interest that is the work we do as women of the Grail. It was very important for us as Mexican Grail, to listen and to know the work that the International Leader team is doing, its dynamics, its structure, its links with other organizations, in order to strengthen the work for the benefit of the grail women in the countries where it is finding. I would like to highlight the opportunity that we also had, in the framework of this meeting of women of the Grail, and give to our beloved sister Maria Teresa McDermit a well-deserved recognition for her work in our country since 1966 with the vision of the Grail. For this event, 30 other friends joined the celebration of Teresa McDermit. It was evident that the work developed by the women of the Grail-Mexico, rests in my opinion on four key elements: In non-Formal Education; it is intergenerational; intercultural; based on Values What have led us: Personal and Group Growth, to understand the role of Leader, to form work teams that are leaders in specific topics, such as business management, or activities in favour of the environment of and boys; that we have a diversity, we have a management skill, that we should be more assertive in our communication, advocate to establish the new direction to improve and continue to train young leaders with the skills that go hand in hand with the leader encouraging teamwork, decision making,

3

listening skills, are important for personal and social development, for children, who are the future of the country. Finally, I think we have a great challenge to weave unity in diversity. If we want to live better, we will have to be able to recognize fraternity in the faces of others, even those whose differences make us uncomfortable, since we can be plural, different in many aspects and still twin in the common. It is important to renounce apathy, participating and taking more responsibility and giving ourselves in favour of others.

Reyna Martinez wrote: On last February 22nd, during the National Meeting of the Grail in Mexico we took a time to celebrate Marie Therese Mc Dermit's life. Friends, grail sisters, close organizations and family reunited to thank God for the life and work of There, not only in the Grail in Mexico but the International Grail in the US, Africa and Latin America. She, as lay and nurse has committed her life to woman's rights, peace and nonviolence and human's rights since a long time ago. What a gift to have a celebration with There, telling stories of her childhood and letting us to join her.

Rosaurora Espinosa wrote: FIRST NATIONAL MEETING OF THE GRAIL OF MEXICO, 21-23 FEBRUARY 2019

With great emotion, we share our impressions and feelings about this historic Encounter, after we, as members of the Grail of Mexico, were called by the current International Leadership Team of our beloved Movement. And we also had a great pleasure of the presence of our dearest Mary Kay Louchart. Since Thursday, February 21, the gardens of the beautiful house where the meeting took place were filled with happy women, arriving from several regions of the country: Coahuila (located in the North of the country), Michoacán and Guanajuato (in the Center West), as well as the Valley of Mexico, Mexico City and Morelos (in the Center-South). This was how the birds, the meadows, the beautiful trees typical of Morelos and the presence of the attendants, made the environment even more florid! The diversity of our Grail of Mexico was expressed from the first moment, when appreciating clothes with colorful and varied embroideries that identify us as different cultures and, at the same time, convergent. Towards 5 o'clock on the afternoon of the 21st, we enjoyed a very inspiring opening ritual, which was performed by our sisters from the Grail in Morelos. Subsequently, Maria Carlos, on behalf of the ILT, shared with us some aspects that define the current moment of the Grail in terms of its organization (especially the organic structure), the importance of the Networks, and the spirit that moves us as an international movement that has grown in number of members, but also in terms of the understanding of the great needs of our world and our contexts, including –of course– the great importance of what we will be celebrating in a couple of years: 100 YEARS OF LIFE OF THE MOVEMENT! On the 22nd of February, the ILT invited us to celebrate an inspiring ritual sharing light and salt, as elements of reflection and symbolism, which refers to the understanding of the type of movement that is the Grail. Later, in another space, we were asked to discuss the Declaration of the Vision of the International Grail in teams that were made up of women from different regions. Then, using our creativity, we shared an image or a scene that reflected our understanding of the text. IT WAS A VERY IMPORTANT MOMENT, in which we shared, with many of the attendees that are not part of the Movement, that important construction that offers us IDENTITY.

4

WE ALSO PROPOSED A PANEL ON THE SITUATION OF WOMEN IN MEXICO - With the presence of three women who have a great deal of experience and background after many years of participation in the feminist social movement in Mexico. Two of them live in the state of Morelos, and Rosaurora Espinosa as Grail member in Mexico with experience in other areas of the country. Their reflections addressed the reality of being a woman in Mexico, a reality that prevails in terms of inequality in the economic, social and political fields. Part of that was focused on feminicide in Mexico, as well as kidnapping and trafficking of women, considering how much women are now in risk when they belong to poor sectors and they loss both their natural land and resources, as a result of the invasion of big projects of Mexican and foreign corporations. We had the privilege of having the full attention of our ILT, which was listening and eventually felt surprised by the richness of our projects and activities that were shared over several sessions, while we ourselves could also appreciate the importance of so many years of work, through very creative presentations. We enjoyed rediscovering cultural diversity and the different possibilities for our work, according to the contexts of the country's realities. This diversity is manifested in the intergenerational composition of our teams, which at the same time sets preferences regarding projects and activities, and also when sharing objectives and activities in different spaces of adult women, young people, girls and boys. The creativity in our methodologies is also worth highlighting, all of them marked by the objectives of transformation to achieve conditions of greater justice and peace, where we all fit. Another very special convergence is the formulation of projects focused on the care of our land and its resources, struggling in adverse conditions, marked by violence and economic and political inequality. In the same day, we celebrated the life of our beloved mentor Marie Therese Mc Dermit, who was the brave woman that led us to know the Grail. There was an emotional tribute in which several organizations recognized their work for justice and peace On the 23rd of February, we continued our presentations by regions - The young women of Morelos and those of Michoacán, who have participated in the sessions of the CSW and in the Program developed by GLUN in Maputo, also showed us the richness of many initiatives with which they work in their own communities. It was a very special moment to see that the new generations that enter with so much impetus to enrich us! In a very special way, we made clear our objective to make visible that we work illuminated by the light of the Spirit of the Grail, trying to live each step of our own processes. AN INDIGENOUS RITUAL - We had other special moments, such as the experience of an indigenous ritual, in which our Purépecha sisters from the state of Michoacán showed us their respect for the spirit of the ancestors and for Earth with all its resources. Through a session of dance therapy, we also had another beautiful moment with the spirit of enjoying ourselves and feeling our presence even more. And, FINALLY, another very special moment was the closing ritual of our meeting, in which we shared our light with candles, making vows that our Grail grows and continues to fill us with its spirit, always. The ILT had a gift for everyone: wood rings as a symbol of commitment in the Grail, as the Brazilian people use to do among different social organizations.

5

The International Grail Network Forum The International Grail Network Forum was held in Mexico City from February 26 through February 28, 2019. The Forum included the Network coordinators as well as the ILT. Network coordinator’s present were Mary Boyd: Trade and Global Justice; Terri Carter representing the Spirituality Network, Sarah Mabanja, Earth Network; Ticha Vasconcelos of the newly formed Migration and Refugee Network and Mary Kay Louchart for GLUNN (Grail Link to the United Nations). Dilma Alves, Mary Heidkamp and Maria Carlos Ramos also attended serving as ILT. During the meeting each Network provided an inspiring and engaging report of their work, their Network’s membership and their needs going forward. The meeting ended with a highly interactive conversation with Cristina dos Anjos Conceição, the coordinator for the 100 Years of The GRAIL Celebration to be held in Brazil in 2021. During the meeting many subjects were discussed, the main focus being the following:  Affirmation of the autonomy and the spirit of the Networks  Role of Network Coordinators  Recommendations on how to improve communications and interaction among Networks  Network input on the upcoming 100 Years of the Grail Celebration  Proposal by Network Coordinators for upcoming IC meeting

Grail International Networks connect members from around the globe who share a passion for these specific causes. Networks have an organic participatory nature where individual members have an important role to play within the Network. To learn more about a Network or to sign-up to join a Network, please contact the Network Coordinator:

 Mary Boyd: Trade and Global Justice – [email protected]  Patricia Gemmell: Spirituality Network - [email protected]  Sarah Mabanja: Earth Network - [email protected]  Ticha Vasconcelos: Migration and Refugee Network - [email protected]  Mary Kay Louchart: GLUNN (Grail Link to United Nations Networks) - [email protected]

We are very grateful for the strong support of Rosaurora Espinosa and her son Victor Lara, Virginia Alvarado and Maya Gallardo. This small team arranged for accommodations, rides to and from the airport, support with note taking at the meeting and any other need we could imagine.

6

IC in Tanzania We are four months away from the IC, in Tanzania, at Kisekibaha from July 4 to July 14. Program was send out to the countries. We are longing to come together! Many challenges are waiting for us!

Our guests will be present by videoconference. The Communication Team will help us to have part of the IC online. Let's try to participate!

Women of Faith are the Change Dr. Azza Karam serves as the senior advisor on social and cultural development at the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), where she coordinates UNFPA-wide outreach with faith-based partners and chairs the UN Inter-Agency Task Force on Religion and Development. Before she joined UNFPA, she was the senior policy research advisor at the United Nations Development Program in the Regional Bureau for Arab States, where she coordinated the Arab Human Development Reports. With the support of the Ford Foundation, she founded the first Global Women of Faith Network during her tenure at Religions for Peace, while also advising on interfaith development work in Muslim-majority countries. During this time, she served also as president of the Committee of Religious NGOs at the United Nations.

We have roots and we fly – our Vision Statement Dr Marian Ronan - «I am a writer and scholar of religion specializing in contemporary Roman Catholicism, that is, Catholicism since Vatican II. From 2000 to 2009 I was on the faculty at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, CA, where I taught contemporary Christian theology and American religion. Now I’m Research Professor of Catholic Studies at the Center for World Christianity at New York Theological Seminary in New York City. My husband and I live in the amazing culturally and religiously diverse Flatbush section of Brooklyn where you can walk in ten minutes from mosques to Orthodox synagogues to Pentecostal store fronts to Haitian/Chicano/Caribbean Catholic churches. » https://marianronan.wordpress.com/about/

7

2019 Lenten Campaign Creation anxiously awaits the revelation of the soon and daughter of God. (Rom 8, 19)

The Grail Earth Network As we enter this sacred period of Lent, many of us will traditionally choose different ways of fasting from meat and other things they like. We have lived to observe this every year for forty days. We all have different reasons why we would participate in this tradition of fasting. Some individuals chose to meditate throughout the 40 days while others will abstain certain food or silently engage in self recollection and reconciliation. Today, we can choose a different approach as we deeply engage in fasting, I thought as we look forward to strengthening our faith and relationship with our Creator, we should also have time to reconcile with the earth. We can work on healing the earth which we have contributed to destroy by eating simply and healthy by choosing plant-based food instead of meat and working in solidarity wherever we are for the sake of benefiting Our Earth. This may sound hard to practice but we can always try. Maya from Grail Mexico and I came up with the following post cards with prayer reflections coming from one of Pope Francis Laudato si prayers for the earth. The pictures on the post cards are from different Grail countries showing some of the activities that Grail members are doing to protect the Earth as they respond to climate change issues. Some pictures are also from the IGA 2017. We wish you a successful meditation during this lent period, hoping that the reflection prayers on the card will encourage us more to respond to the call of reconstructing the Earth. Sara Mabanja and Maya Gallardo : [email protected]

Earth, air and water are Your creation, and the web of life is Yours. Help me to be a keeper of your Earth: to simplify my life, to reduce my use of energy, and to choose plant-based foods that protect all You have created. Help me take my part in the community of people caring for the Earth, each other, and the Amazon, the lungs of our planet. Holy spirit, deepen my awareness of our connectedness, help me to see that I am one strand in the sacred web of creation, and grow in me the mindfulness that all of creation lives and moves and has its being in You, God of boundless love. Amen.

8

Get INVOLVED “Traditional knowledge: Generation, transmission and protection” 18th Session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII), 22 April – 3 May 2019 The Grail and UFER are sponsoring Our Elders Have Taught Us: Translating Tradition and Culture into a Sustainable Economy for Future Generations. We hope to have two Grail presenters and perhaps a third. Veronica Guajan, Indigenous from Ecuador whose people have developed Ecotourism on the land which they inhabit and Shirlei Aparecida Almeida da Silva, an activist in ‘women and human rights’ in Brazil. The Grail is co-sponsoring with the Indigenous Peoples’ Centre: Indigenous Women Sharing Traditional Practices. The event will address indigenous women’s participation and obstacles to participation in spiritual, social, cultural, economic, and political life, specifically in the context of education and labour with attention to Indigenous Peoples’ languages, climate change issues, and governmental/administrative issues impacting education and labour. Indigenous peoples, also known as first peoples, aboriginal peoples or native peoples, are ethnic groups who are the original settlers of a given region, in contrast to groups that have settled, occupied or colonized the area more recently. Indigenous peoples live in all regions of the world and own, occupy or use some 22% of global land area. Numbering at least 370-500 million, indigenous peoples represent the greater part of the world’s cultural diversity and have created and speak the major share of the world’s almost 7000 languages. Many indigenous peoples continue to be confronted with marginalization, extreme poverty and other human rights violations. Indigenous peoples are inheritors and practitioners of unique cultures and ways of relating to people and the environment. They have retained social, cultural, economic and political characteristics that are distinct from those of the dominant societies in which they live. Despite their cultural differences, indigenous peoples from around the world share common problems related to the protection of their rights as distinct peoples. Religious leaders mobilize to protect indigenous people and forests www.interfaithrainforest.org What if the moral and spiritual influence of the world’s religious communities and their leaders were directed towards protecting rainforests and their indigenous guardians? Is this an appropriate role for religious and faith-based communities to take on? The coalition of religious and indigenous leaders behind the Interfaith Rainforest Initiative believe it is. Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, and Taoist religious leaders joined forces with indigenous peoples from Brazil, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Indonesia, Meso-America and Peru at the Nobel Peace Centre in Oslo in 2017 to launch the Interfaith Rainforest Initiative (IRI) and are committed to mobilizing billions of people of faith to stand up for rainforests and their protectors.

New paths for the church and for an Integral Ecology, it is the theme of Amazonia Synod of the Catholic church that will take place in Brazil, 6-27 October 2019. The Amazon has approximately 7,000,000 km2 of forest, of which only 1 699 092 km2 (that is, 24%) are distributed in 500 protected areas ... the rest is at the hands of powerful economic interests. This will be a Synod that will disturb many interests! We are called to action!

9

NEWS from CSW63 This year, the Grail parallel event run and presented only by girls, entitled: Girls in Action – ‘What we do to achieve SDGs?’ brought a broad perspective of what the Grail contributes towards the achievement of this global agenda. Malikah from Cincinnati/USA, Erica from Portugal, Ariel from New York/USA, Kimy from Mozambique and Magdalena from Tanzania were the panelists, moderated by Wintana from Cincinnati/USA e Gabriela from Florida/USA, were so vocal on SDG1, SDG3, SDG4, SDG5 and SDG16. Issues such as the need of good infrastructures in school, especially the toilet and clean water; more safe spaces for girls on order to empower them; more activities on girls empowerment and leadership to overcome poverty; create more girls clubs on issues of sexual violence, discrimination. Not less important, continue advocate for girls rights. The protest on visa denied was present on the event, through honoring our girls participants who were denied visa (Valentine Wanjiru from Kenya and Ana Beatriz Osorio from Brazil). TAKE NOTE Next Crossroads focus on Laudato Si, climate change, the environment, and other related topics will be published in April. Do not expect any Crossroads bulletin in this month of March!! UPDATE YOUR CONTACTS

Marian wrote:

As of April 1, I will take up residence at Twin Towers, joining eight other Grail members there. This will be my new contact information:

Marian Schwab 5025 South Ridge Drive Cincinnati, Ohio 45224 (513) 853-2374

Events 2018/2019  Indigenous Forum- 18th Session - 22 April – 3 May 2019, New York  ILT meet with Capital Foundation – May, Utrecht, The Netherlands  International Council Meeting – 3 to 14 July – Kisekibaha, Tanzania

10