“The church has a really strong history on social justice, and that’s obviously the work that I feel called to do as a theologian and somebody in outreach ministry. I think that if the church endorsed raising our voices to reclaim some moral authority around economic systems of injustice in our country, that would go a long way to heal some of the political divides.”
( ― Right Rev. Dr. Carmen Lansdowne, Moderator )
Friends in Justice,
As August comes to an end and the PMR Justice Newsletter returns to its regular schedule, it is with great gratitude and hope that we welcome Carmen Lansdowne as the 44th Moderator of the United Church. As she said powerfully in her installation reflection, the social justice work of the United Church has a long and significant history, yet with much still to do as the world faces the continuing challenges of systemic injustice and the global effects of climate change.
We are all called as Christians to do our part in sharing the work of leadership. Our faith offers us rich resources of spirituality and practice to serve as healers of this damaged world. Let us continue to seek out ways to connect with each other and our community partners to raise our voices and take action in working for positive change.
Blessings,
Jane
In solidarity with First United’s response to the Vancouver Police Department’s actions during the City of Vancouver’s decampment of the Hastings Street Tent City on August 9, 2022, we share their August 10th statement, posted to First United’s News page (link here).
NEWS
INSTALLATION OF THE MODERATOR: AUGUST 7, 2022
We celebrate the historic installation of The Right Reverend Dr. Carmen Lansdowne, Kwisa’lakw, Moderator of The United Church of Canada, and the closing of the 44th General Council. This service was held on Sunday, August 7, 2022 at 1pm Pacific Time, in person at Canadian Memorial United Church, Vancouver, BC and online via YouTube LiveStream. More about the installation here.
FROM IDENTITY AND MISSION – GENERAL COUNCIL OFFICE
Your help is urgently needed. Please take a few minutes out of your day in support of Mission & Service partner Defense for Children International-Palestine (DCIP) and five other Palestinian human rights defenders, namely, Al-Haq, Addameer, the Bisan Center for Research & Development, Union of Agricultural Workers Committees (UAWC), and the Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees (UPWC), who are under serious, immediate threat from the Israeli government.
Early in the morning of August 18 2022, around 5:55 am, Israeli forces raided DCIP’s main office in Al-Bireh- Ramallah and the offices of 5 other Palestinian human rights and civil society organizations. CCTV footage shows that more than a dozen Israeli soldiers forced open the DCIP office’s locked front door and removed a computer, photocopier, printer, and client files related to Palestinian child detainees represented by DCIP’s lawyers in Israel’s military courts. They exited the office after 45 minutes, welding shut the entry door and leaving a notice taped to the door ordering the office closed declaring DCIP an illegal organization. It is unclear exactly what items were confiscated. DETAILS HERE
1. Ask Foreign Affairs Minister The Hon. Mélanie Joly and your MP to speak out now!
Send an email to Minister Joly asking her to condemn the designation and to express public support for these organizations. Use the sample letter, or use the information in the letter August 18 2022 sent to Minister Joly by The United Church of Canada to write an email in your own words (both attached), or use one of the many public statements that have been published from organizations around the world condemning the designation, and ask your MP to use their platform to express their public support for these organizations. Doing so will help increase the pressure on the Israeli government to reverse its decision, and provide much-needed public protection for these threatened human rights defenders.
2. Join in international action to #StandWithThe6
The six are asking us to get involved in the following ways:
- Show your support on social media: explain why you #StandWithThe6 organizations – tweet or make a video!
- Retweet/share posts from the 6 organizations
- Organize / join local rallies, events, panels, conversations!
- Share the statements above with your own networks and on social media using the hashtag #StandWithThe6.
Have you been evicted or forced to move in British Columbia? First United’s legal advocacy program is asking people to share their experiences so we can understand:
- who is being evicted
- where they’re being evicted from
- the impacts of eviction on people and communities in B.C.
If you want to help tell the story of eviction in British Columbia, please go to this link. We want to use this information to advocate to make tenant protections stronger in BC.
On September 30, people all across Canada will wear orange shirts to remember and honour Indigenous children who were taken from their communities and families to residential institutions.This year, Indigenous communities across the country continue to share the truth they have always known: that many of the children who never returned home remain on the grounds of those institutions in unmarked burial sites. These communities are now seeking to honour the missing children.On Orange Shirt Day we also observe the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. For non-Indigenous Christians in particular, this is a time to reflect on their role in colonialism and the ongoing responsibility to make reparations.Check out the United Church website for activities and events to mark this day. This includes a powerful new prayer for you to use in worship.
BOOK LAUNCH:
Remembering Faithfully Forward: The Daily Niebuhr Family Meditation-Contemplation Reader
Edited by United Church Minister Barry K. Morris (Longhouse Council of Native Ministry, Vancouver)
Request a review or exam copy, or purchase at this link.
September is KAIROS Climate Action Month!
Throughout September, KAIROS will explore the following weekly themes through online content and actions: Season of Creation, Canada – Complicity and Action, COP27 Solidarity- Global Partners, COP27 Solidarity- Indigenous Partners, and Everything’s Connected. Decolonizing climate action will underscore the month.
Find out more about the month here!
PMR JUSTICE NETWORK FAITHFUL CLIMATE CONVERSATIONS
On several dates between September 13 and 27, 2022, we will be inviting interested members of PMR communities of faith to join one or all of a series of online Faithful Climate Conversations drawn from the resources from For the Love of Creation, led by a team of facilitators who have been working on climate issues. You will have a chance to connect with others in PMR and learn about ways to create safe and respectful conversations about climate change in your own neighbourhood and community of faith.
- Creation, Climate and You (Sept 13, 10 am – 12 noon; Sept 22, 1-3 pm; Sept 26, 7-9 pm)
- From Concern to Action (Sept 13, 1-3 pm, Sept 20, 1-3 pm; Sept 21, 10 am-12 noon; Sept 26, 10 am -12 noon)
- Build a Better Future (Sept 13, 7-9 pm; Sept 19, 7-9 pm; Sept 27, 10 am – 12 noon
Details on registration and confirmation of dates coming soon!
EVENTS
Racial Justice Workshops One and Two
Fall Dates are available for Racial Justice Sessions Workshops One and Two:
- Racial Justice Workshop Session One and Two (for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) – September 24
- Racial Justice Workshop Session One (for White People) – October 1
- Racial Justice Workshop Session Two (for White People) – October 1
- Racial Justice Workshop Session One (for White People) – November 8
- Racial Justice Workshop Session Two (for White People) – November 10
Join us for Thursdays in Black: Working Together to End Gender-based Violence in Canada, an online conversation with spiritual justice advocate Danielle Strickland and Sage Lacerte and David Stevenson from the Moose Hide Campaign. We will discuss how gender-based violence is a critical issue affecting our communities and ways local action can work to stop violence against women in Canada.
Details at this link.
OPPORTUNITIES IN JUSTICE
WITH THE UNITED CHURCH OF CANADA
Come and See Pilgrimage to Palestine and Israel (March 2023)
Rev. Marianna Harris and George Bartlett (former Ecumenical Accompanier) invite you to come on a pilgrimage to see for yourself what is happening in Palestine and Israel. Visit key holy places while reflecting on God’s vision of peace and shalom.
Details here.
Hunger on the Hill, Canadian Foodgrains Bank, Ottawa
The United Church of Canada invites United Church people interested in learning about global hunger and in meeting with MPs in person to apply for the Canadian Foodgrains Bank (CFGB) Hunger on the Hill Event being held in Ottawa October 15 – 19, 2022.
Details here.
CONTACT US
If you’re interested in the work of the Justice Ministries, we would love to hear from you.Have you come across articles and events in our community that you’d love to share? Please get your suggestions in by Thursday at noon to ensure they make it in the newsletter.
Want to subscribe? Click here, and check off the box labeled ‘JUSTICE NETWORK’.