KAIROS Church Leaders’ Delegation to Alberta Tar Sands, May 21-27 2009

On May 21, a group of seventeen Canadian church leaders, Southern partners, Indigenous leaders from Canada and KAIROS staff will head to Northern Alberta to learn more about Canada's tar sands.

As part of its ongoing work on energy justice, KAIROS is coordinating a delegation of Canadian church leaders and Indigenous and Southern partners to the site of Canada’s largest industrial development, the Alberta tar sands.  

The delegation will:

·         explore the theological, ethical and social implications of fossil fuel extraction;

·         hear about the experiences of and engage in dialogue with local churches, church leaders, members of the KAIROS network, southern partners, and Indigenous people on justice issues related to the tar sands;

·         provide new opportunities for the church  to bear witness to government policies in the areas of energy and climate change, environment and Indigenous rights.

The delegation includes church leaders from across Canada, including Alberta and Saskatchewan.  They are:

 ·         The Rev. Bruce Adema, Director of Canadian Ministries, Christian Reformed Church in North America

·         Dana Bush, Calgary Monthly Meeting, Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)

·         Abe Janzen, Executive Director, Mennonite Central Committee Alberta

·         The Rev. Susan Johnson, National Bishop, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada

·         Sr. Anne Lewans, osu, Vice-President, Canadian Religious Conference

·         The Right Rev Thomas O. Morgan, Retired Archbishop of Saskatoon, Anglican Church of Canada.

·         The Rev. Cheol Soon Park, Moderator of the 134^th General Assembly, The Presbyterian Church in Canada

·         Donald Peters, Executive Director, Mennonite Central Committee Canada

·         The Very Rev. Bill Phipps, Former Moderator of the United Church of Canada

·         The Most Rev. V. James Weisgerber, Archbishop of Winnipeg, President, Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops

Also participating are representatives from two Indigenous communities in Canada that are impacted by fossil fuel extraction:

·         Ray Jones is Hereditary Chief of the Gitxsan First Nation in British Columbia, and has been involved with his community's response to a coal-bed methane project on a part of Gitxsan territory in northern B.C.

·         Terri Brown is the former President of the Native Women's Association of Canada and a member of the Tahltan First Nation in B.C.

Two Southern partners can both speak to the impacts of oil exploration on their Indigenous communities:

·         Fabricio Guamán works with Accion Ecologica and Oil Watch International in Ecuador.

·         Michael Keania Karikpo works with Oil Watch International in Nigeria.

(See the delegates' full biographies here.)

The delegation is rounded out by KAIROS staff:

·         Mary Corkery, Executive Director

·         Ed Bianchi, Indigenous Rights Program Coordinator

·         Sara Stratton, Education/Campiagns Coordinator (Sustainability)

The delegation comes to Alberta knowing that things have changed considerably in the region over the last six months, and seeking to learn more about the tar sands projects and their impacts on all involved communities – society at large, workers, Indigenous peoples and communities, and the earth community.

It will be a time of listening and dialogue, of reflection and action, both pastoral and prophetic. We will also be in conversation with workers, industry representatives, community workers and elected officials. It is one more step in our ongoing conversation about energy issues, globally and in Canada. 

The tar sands are raising many questions for Canadians across the country and for Albertans in particular.  They play a huge role in Canada's economy, in the varied communities of this region, in the Boreal forest and in the global climate. What are their impacts, positive and negative? How should they be developed?

These are big questions, questions that every Canadian Christian should take to heart. Join us on our journey. Follow along on our delegation blog.  A different member of the delegation will be blogging each day.

Background reading:

KAIROS Framework Paper (Large file, PDF format): Re-Energizing the Future: Faith and Justice in a Post-Petroleum World. 

KAIROS discussion paper (PDF format): Christian Faith and the Canadian Tar Sands

Re-energize campaign page