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Dear Friends,
Blessings of May to you and your community, and with prayers rising for a nourishing journey toward Pentecost. May is a month filled with opportunities for solidarity, and within those opportunities you may find energy, inspiration, connection and relationship.
- May 5th is Red Dress Day – a day to honour, remember and organize/act for Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women, Girls and 2Spirit people. Although Red Dress Day is commemorated on May 5th, there are campaigns, resources and actions that are available to you all year round.
- May 14th is Moosehide Campaign Day – a day to bring awareness of the everyday, year-round campaign to educate about, oppose and work to end violence against Indigenous women and girls. Take some time today to learn about this campaign and all that you can do to engage: host an event, screen a documentary, distribute advocacy materials in your community
- May 15th is Nakba Day – a day to stand against the genocide still perpetrated against the Palestinian people. Nakba Day commemorates the beginning of the Palestinian Catastrophe in 1948 that saw the illegal occupation and division of the Palestinian homeland, and the forced displacement of over 700,000 Indigenous Palestinian people. You can mark this day with prayer, action, education and advocacy. The genocide is not over, we have toolkits, resources and community that we can connect with to keep solidarity with Palestinian people central in our communities and our call as peace-makers.
- May 24th is Pentecost and the celebration of the birth of the church. This is a time to live into our vocation as church, to call for justice, peace, and care for all, especially for those who are pushed to the margins of a heirarchical society. Kairos’ Turn Debt Into Hope campaign calls for a jubilee in society, to forgive debt, to eradicate poverty and to work for a world where all have what they need, and none have too much.
There are so many other ways to engage in justice work this month, these are only a few; and they are important for us to recognize, and to feel moved to engage. As Acts 2:43-47 says about life among the believers after Pentecost, I hope this for our church, for all people, and for all of creation:
“Awe came upon everyone because many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need. Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.”
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
Moose Hide Campaign May 14th
The Moose Hide Campaign recognizes that all forms of violence are unacceptable, regardless of gender. We see the disproportionate number of women who are victims and the importance of engaging men and boys in addressing this issue. We also know that “shame and blame” isn’t the answer.
- Every year there are over 60,000 physical or sexual assaults against women in BC – more than 1,000 per week
- One in three women will be sexually assaulted in her lifetime (Stats Canada, 2006)
- In 2014 there was a daily average of 7,969 women and children staying in shelters across Canada because it was not safe at home (Statistics Canada)
- There were 1,181 cases of missing or murdered Aboriginal women in Canada between 1980 and 2012, according to the RCMP, with BC recording more than any other province (Native Women’s Association of Canada, 2010). However, according to grassroots organizations the number is much higher, closer to 4,000
Domestic violence is preventable
1 IN 2
Half of all women in Canada have experienced at least one incident of physical or sexual violence since the age of 16
Solidarity with Palestine
Nakba Day Resources
You can find United Church resources to support faithful action below:
UCC Support Just Peace in Palestine and Israel
GC 45 Commitments to Just Peace in Palestine and Israel
United Church urges Advocacy to Move Canada From Condemnation to Consequences
Apartheid-Free Communities movement, of which Pacific Mountain Region is a signatory
Arms Embargo Now campaign, of which the United Church of Canada is a signatory
Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East has several ongoing campaigns and resources
Affirming Ministries
PIE to Pride season is full of ways to engage your community and dive into Queer Theology. Join us for four monthly film screenings, each film featuring real life stories of people who have navigated queerness in the context of church, community and family. A discussion will follow each film that will touch on elements of Queer Theology and Liberating Theology to support the expansion of our own experiences and to support the authentic exploration and articulation of our own faith.
Register for one or all of our four cinema nights:
“Proper Pronouns” May 15, 2026
“Iridesce Project Play” June 26, 2026
Social Media and Hate: A Virtual Workshop
Thursday, May 21, 2026 · 5pm PT/ 6pm MT / 8pm ET
We’ve all seen hate show up in our social media feeds. But understanding how these messages spread online – and why they can sometimes be difficult to recognize at first – takes more than good intentions.
Join us for a virtual workshop with Hazel Woodrow, Education Program Manager at the Canadian Anti-Hate Network, as she walks us through the strategies hate movements use to spread messaging online, how those strategies affect different communities, and what each of us can do to push back.
This workshop is designed to be accessible across a wide range of experience with social media and online culture. No prior expertise is needed – and even those who spend a lot of time online may find new ways of understanding how these tactics operate at a structural level.
Registration: Pay-What-You-Can (suggested $10)
Register here: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/social-media-and-hate-a-virtual-workshop-tickets-1988931917907
Guaranteed Livable Income
Join the PMR GLI Working Group for a 4-week book study engaging with stories, perspectives, strategies and theology to support local actions and collective care.
Book Study – Radical Trust: Basic Income for Complicated Lives
June 3rd, 10th, 17th, and 24th 6:00 – 7:15 pm via Zoom
Radical Trust: Basic Income For Complicated Lives explores the notion that a basic income is a compassionate and dignified response to poverty and income inequality in Canada. Through extensive testimonials with those that the “social safety net” fails most dramatically, it tells the stories of lived experience, as individuals navigate the complicated circumstances of their lives. The myth of meritocracy creates distinctions between the deserving, a distinction that is the basis on which Canada’s entire income support system rests. It’s become apparent that Canada’s current income support systems do not work. The COVID-19 pandemic shattered the illusion that income support will be there when you need it. But this shattered illusion isn’t new for those with lived experience in these systems. Many have suffered persistent, and generational poverty. For years, Canada’s income support schemes have failed Children in foster care, Indigenous women, girls and Two-Spirit persons, people who struggle with addiction, and many others who are left on the fringes of our society.
Visit the Pacific Mountain Region’s Justice Network page to find helpful tools and resources for your Guaranteed Livable income work.
PMR Guaranteed Livable Income webpage
PMR GLI Letter-writing Campaign resource
To help us track the impact of your letter-writing actions, on all emails to representatives please cc the National United Church’s Justice Action email at takeaction@united-church.ca