Crosscultural connection.

CUERNAVACA, Mexico--A dozen young women took a trip south of the border this summer, but it wasn't a fun-in-the-sun vacation. Instead, the 12 members of the Young Feminist Network (YFN) spent a week learning about the issues Mexican women face in society and in the church. They met with leaders of base communities, members of a women's cooperative, and with Benedictine sisters who taught them about the liberating message of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

"One of the things we learned was how so many of these issues are related," says Joy Barnes, program director for YFN, which is a project of the Women's Ordination Conference. "Throughout the week, it became clear how the oppression of women in Mexico is linked to the oppression of all marginalized peoples."

The group also examined the dynamics of power in their own lives, reflecting on their advantages as First World, mostly white women and creating action steps to address diversity more effectively at home.