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Dear Friends,
Epiphany blessings to you and your loved ones, and prayers that this New Year has begun with joy and a renewed energy for this life we are blessed to live.
Another Christmas has gone by with atrocities perpetuated in the Holy Land. As our hearts, minds and spirits are turned toward Palestine, we must be reminded that even in the very beginning of his life, Jesus was surrounded by those who would oppress, and those who would overturn this oppression. Matthew 2:11-12 tells this part of the Epiphany story:
On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.
The Magi remained true to their connection with Spirit and with God, and in their visit to the newborn Christ, they offered gifts from their traditions, and they offered of themselves. The Magi “left for their own country by another road”, they chose to journey on a path that subverted the oppression of Herod’s rule, a path that moved toward God’s justice for the world rather than human ambition and greed for power.
We may find ourselves at similar odds with the status quo in our own lives; the tyranny of consumerism, war, environmental depletion, and human rights abuses are all rolled into “the way that things are”. This Epiphany season, let us be as the Magi. Let us each give of our traditions, our resources and ourselves to ensure that the “other road” is available for us to journey together on. Let us welcome one another into our events and initiatives as co-conspirators for love, for joy, for hope, for peace and for justice. You will find many initiatives included in this newsletter, I pray that you will also find inspiration in the diversity of offerings and opportunities to engage that abound in our Pacific Mountain Region.
In solidarity,
Kendra Mitchell-Foster
Regional Minister: Justice, Pacific Mountain Regional Council
KMitchellFoster@united-church.ca
1-800-934-0434 (within BC) or +1-604-431-0434
Lheidli T’enneh Territory
Prince George, BC
PacificMountain.ca/Justice-Network
Guaranteed Livable Income
Poverty can happen very quickly to anyone. Our long-standing commitment to calling for a Guaranteed Livable Income first articulated in 1972 took on new resolve and urgency in the pandemic, and we continue to persist today.
It is a gospel message to bring good news to the poor, and not just at certain times of the year. Advocacy and work to achieve a nation-wide Guaranteed Livable Income program helps us to carry this message into our communities and to those in power. There is always work to do.
Leading into the election in 2025, The PMR GLI group is revitalizing and organizing to support grass-roots advocacy actions in our communities. There is a National GLI meeting each month via zoom, and regional communications, efforts and support. The next meeting is January 14th at 10:00 am. If you are interested in joining, please contact Barry Morris at bkmorris60@yahoo.ca, or Kendra Mitchell-Foster at kmitchellfoster@united-church.ca. There will be a short meeting after the National GLI meeting to cultivate more momentum for these initatives in the PMR.
If you are looking for an initiative to animate within your own community, GLI lawn signs and bumper stickers are excellent awareness-raising tools. Information and pdf image files for these can be found on the PMR Justice GLI page.
To learn more about the United Church’s involvement and advocacy with GLI initiatives, visit the UCC National GLI page. For more information on broader anti-poverty initiatives, visit the UCC National Ending Poverty page.
Affirming Ministry
This month we will be hosting an information session for our Affirming Ministry community, and anyone who is interested in deepening Affirming Ministry in their congregation or community of faith. Come and find out what is happening this winter/spring season, and we will have ideas to help you prepare for the upcoming PIE Day on March 14th, where we Publicly, Intentionally and Explicitly affirm all in the 2SLGBTTQSIAP+ community.
We will have a special workshop with Ben Dobyns on the new SQUID discord server, an online/social media platform to help connect the queer community with spiritual resources and support. SQUID is an ecumenical project to provide online secular and spiritual communications support for queer and allied religious communities in the Pacific Northwest. Development of the SQUID Discord server is sponsored by Christ Church Cathedral, Vancouver.
You can register for this session here.
Let’s get ready for PIE Day 2025! The theme for PIE Day 2025 is Sing Out Proud, representing us sharing our values and our joy around celebrating difference and diversity throughout our beloved 2SLGBTQIA+ communities. This year Affirming Connections has held a PIE Day song contest, to help us literally sing out loud through lyrics and music. Stay tuned for the release of the contest winners and submissions.
You can find a quick video overview about PIE Day here and visit the National PIE Day page for more information. Our partner, Affirming Connections, has wonderful resources to help plan and promote your events on their materials page. If you already have your PIE Day events planned, please add them to the PIE Day Calendar so that folks can join in the fun you have planned.
National Ribbon Skirt Day
January 4th was National Ribbon Skirt Day.
Assembly of First Nations (AFN) National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak issued the following statement to commemorate the third anniversary of Ribbon Skirt Day:
“Today, we honour the courage of Isabel Kulak, a member of the Cote First Nation in Saskatchewan, who was a Grade 5 student in 2022 when she wore a handmade ribbon skirt to school and was told it did not meet the dress code for formal attire,” said National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak. “Isabel’s resilience in the face of prejudice sparked a global movement of solidarity and inspired the enactment of the National Ribbon Skirt Day Act by the Government of Canada.”
“The ribbon skirt represents the identity, traditions, and strength of First Nations women. It is a reminder of the importance of protecting cultural expression and ensuring that First Nations teachings and values are celebrated and understood across generations. Today, I encourage First Nations people to wear their cultural attire with pride and invite all Canadians to deepen their understanding of First Nations heritage and contributions.”
Solidarity With Palestine
with Pastor Allison Tanner
Tuesday, January 14, 11:00 am
Online via Zoom
A Zoom link will be sent out to registrants Jan 13
UNJPPI (United Network for a Just Peace in Palestine and Israel) is a network of mainly United Church folks across Canada working for a just peace in Palestine and Israel. UNJPPI West is a subgroup of them. We meet monthly online and most months there is representation from Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia.
This month we are hosting a learning event with Allison Tanner. Allison is Pastor of Public Witness at Lakeshore Ave Baptist Church (Oakland) and National Organizer of the Apartheid-Free Communities Initiative, a campaign of the American Friends Service Committee.
Here is an opportunity to learn why human rights organizations charge Israel with apartheid and how local churches and community organizations can join the growing movement to end Israeli apartheid. Allison will introduce the Apartheid-Free pledge, its vision, goals, and strategy and the growing network of churches and communities that have signed the pledge.
Questions? Reach out to Debbie Hubbard at seekingequalrights@gmail.com or Marianna Harris at holymom1@shaw.ca. Please feel free to share with others who you think might be interested.
Register here
On November 5, 2024, the United Church of Canada 40 Days of Engagement on Anti-Racism campaign held an event entitled Fighting Anti-Palestinian Racism in Canada. This session with Tarek Al-Zoughbi, Dania Majid, Robbert Massoud and facilitated by Patti Talbot illuminates the struggles, triumphs and tools important to seeing, addressing and eliminating anti-Palestinian racism in Canada. The recording of this event is available for use in beginning and sustaining the crucial work of solidarity with Palestine and her people.
International Holocaust Remembrance Day
On January 27, 1945, the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp – where more than one million people were sent to gas chambers and to their agonizing deaths during the Holocaust – was liberated. In 2005, that day was designated as the annual International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust. Each year, Canadians and individuals all over the world take this opportunity to remember the victims of the atrocities of the Holocaust and reflect on the dangers of anti-Semitism.
In 2025, we mark the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp, and the 20th anniversary of the International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Anti-semitism is still a scourge in our communities, and we are all collectively responsible for its eradication. Knowing that our Holy Scriptures and the Christian Church were tools of the Nazi regime, we as Christians who believe every human is created in the image of God, have a special responsibility to act against anti-semitism in our communities, congregations, liturgies, traditions and worship.
On November 19th, The United Church of Canada’s National 40 Days of Engagement on Anti-Racism series produced an event on addressing anti-semitism in our tradition. This event was recorded and can be shared and used in community as a starting place for justice conversations. The Texts of Advent: Finding Good News and Avoiding Anti-Semitism with Amy Jill-Levine is available, among other anti-racism resources.
Indigenous Justice & EcoJustice
Sacred resistance and justice movements to protect our Mother Earth and all of creation have been strongly rooted in place, tradition and identity for generations with the Wet’suwet’en people. In late 2024, the film YINTAH was released to much celebration and an enthusiastic reception.
Spanning more than a decade, YINTAH follows Howilhkat Freda Huson and Sleydo’ Molly Wickham as their nation reoccupies and protects their ancestral lands from the Canadian government and several of the largest fossil fuel companies on earth.
The film itself is now streaming on CBC Gem and Netflix, and is a testament to the energy, sacrifices and unity required to live into sacred resistance. Trigger warning: this film deals with themes of Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women, Police violence and carries a rating of R for language.
Information about the film, as well as additional resources for planning screenings in your own community and actions are featured on the film website at yintahfilm.com
Solidarity Opportunities
Pilgrimage of Learning Delegations is a fully-funded program in which The United Church of Canada invites United Church of Canada individuals interested in learning about global partners and the Global Partnership Program to apply to the Pilgrimage of Learning initiative, comprising of 4 delegations each visiting one (1) partnership region (Latin America & the Caribbean, Africa, Asia and the Middle East) between May and September, 2025.
Are you interested in engaging with global partners in their own contexts to witness first-hand the mutuality of partnership? About the rich history of Mission & Service partners, and the priorities that they are addressing?
Join this pilgrimage to intentionally live into The United Church of Canada’s commitment to Mutual Radical Accompaniment and to decolonizing the church’s participation in global partnership. Applications can be accessed on the UCC Pilgrimage of Learning Delegations webpage, and close on January 31, 2025.