Bringing Messages from Canada to the Women’s Courts for Justice, Territory and Peace in Colombia

"I am on my way to Colombia to participate in the Women’s Courts for Justice, Territory and Peace, organized by our partner, the Popular Women’s Organization (OFP), and the Movement of Women against the War and for Peace. I go with a sense of trepidation, knowing that I will hear some horrific and heartbreaking testimonies from women who are victims of the decades-long conflict in Colombia. But I also go inspired by the courage of these women and of our partners who are committed to ensuring that these testimonies bring about transformation in the form of truth, justice and reparation."

So begins KAIROS Latin America Partnerships Program Coordinator Rachel Warden's first blog entry on her trip to Colombia this last month.

Click here to read all of Rachel's blog entries during her trip >>

UN Recognizes Palestine as a Non-Member State

On 29 November 2012, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) passed an historic resolution upgrading the Palestinian Territories to the status of a non-member observer state. This move by the UNGA to recognize Palestinian statehood is seen by many as an important and positive step towards peace in the region...

A genuine commitment by the Canadian government to its two-state policy, which is also KAIROS’ policy, should have translated into support for Palestine’s move to establish a peaceful state alongside Israel,  objection to the expansion of Israeli settlements on Palestinian territory, and an acknowledgement that this expansion is the main factor in the refusal of Palestinians to re-enter negotiations.

Click here to read the full article >>

Communiqué: Sea change Needed to Bring Lasting Peace in the DRC

November 23, 2012 : The taking of Goma in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) by the March 23 Movement (M23) is a major affront to international law and to the largest and most expensive United Nations peacekeeping mission in operation. It has intensified an already alarming humanitarian crisis. The proven involvement of Rwanda, which is a member of the Security Council of the United Nations, in the military operations of a rebel group within Congolese territory places the international community in an uncharted situation that requires new strategies. The attached PDF is a joint communiqué on the facts, circumstances, actions needed, and background to the current crisis in DR Congo.

Download 'Sea change needed to bring lasting peace in the DRC' PDF
Denis Tougas, coordinator of La Table de concertation sur la Région des Grands Lacs, L’Entraide missionnaire

CIDA and the Role of the Private Sector in International Development

A new study on the role of the private sector in international development, by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development (SCFAID), has been generating a great deal of public debate in recent weeks.  The study recommends, among other things, that the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) forge new partnerships with Canadian companies, consider offering loans to the private sector, set up staff exchanges between CIDA and the private sector, and help open up developing countries to more foreign direct investment.

The Canadian Council for International Cooperation (CCIC) – the umbrella group for Canada’s international development NGOs, of which KAIROS is a member – has published analysis and some critical questions regarding the Standing Committee report. KAIROS considers CCIC’s paper to be a valuable contribution to this debate about the role of the private sector in international development.

Read the KAIROS backgrounder with links to the study, critical questions from the CCIC,
and articles in the Globe & Mail and Toronto Star >>

Doha: Canadians Resisting Climate Change Despite Inaction at UN Talks

In a new analysis, KAIROS concludes that:
"While the prospects for a new climate agreement at Doha are dim, there is indeed hope that the relentless expansion of Canadian emissions due to the tar sands can be halted. This hope arises not from diplomatic manoeuvres at UN conferences. It emanates from the actions of Indigenous peoples, ecologists, youth and social justice movements who are standing firm against the construction or expansion of pipelines to export tar sands crude to new markets."

Click here to read
the full article >>

Temples and Pipelines: Northern Gateway via the Gospel of Mark

KAIROS continues to reflect on the consequences of the Northern Gateway pipeline for Indigenous communities and all of Creation.  In this sermon for Trinity St. Paul’s  and Bathurst Street United Churches, Education and Campaigns Coordinator Sara Stratton explores those questions in light of three stories from the Gospel of Mark: the scribe’s question about the greatest commandment, the widow’s mite, and Jesus’ foretelling of the fall of the temple.

Click here to read Temples and Pipelines in PDF >>

Oil pipeline running through the rainforest in the Lago Agrio district of Ecuador. Photo: KAIROS/Sara Stratton

KAIROS joins Partners in Commemorating the International Day to End Violence Against Women, and the Global Campaign to End Gender Violence

KAIROS joins its partners in Canada and globally in calling for an end to all forms of gender violence and associated impunity.  The KAIROS Women of Courage program supports partners in Canada and around the world who are working to end gender violence, often at considerable risk.

Learn about KAIROS' work with Partners in DR Congo, Philippines, Palestine & Israel, Colombia, as well as in Canada >>

In this third week of Advent, we are again given an opportunity to name the context, the brokenness, and the need that is awaiting the birth of the prophet and teacher Jesus Christ.

We hear from John the Baptist calling from the margins again, preaching that something new and wonderful is on the way. Before people can share in the abundance of God’s love, John tells them to repent. He says the empire we are living in is killing us and that we are acting complicity and choosing to deny that it’s happening. John is radical here. He calls people not to deal with symptoms of oppression and injustice caused by the empire, but to look at the roots. In repenting, people must join in turning the whole world around.

We are living in midst of empire today. Many in Canada are living in poverty and not receiving fair wages. Farms across the country rely on migrant workers from Jamaica, Mexico, and elsewhere to maintain the land and gather the crops. Support workers like nannies and home caregivers come to be with families in Canada in order to support their own families whom they have left behind. Migrant workers often face abuse, poor living and working conditions, and unfair wages.

So what are we to do? That is precisely the question that people asked of John. His answers were practical and immediate. If you have two coats, give one away. This is John’s way of pointing to redistributive wealth and what justice can mean in the lives of the wealthy. Don’t cooperate with systems of the empire. He spoke directly to tax collectors: do not collect more than what is fair. He called for an end to greed, and because of how the empire paid them, an end to the taxpayers’ livelihoods. John is radically calling people to stop the status quo and choose instead a path of justice and peace.

How can we choose that path today? Well, listen once again to John. We can no longer be complicit in the injustices of our neighbour. We can seek relationships with those who, like migrant workers, live on the margins of our society. We can form partnerships as we listen to their stories and call for new ways of working together. We can advocate for proper working and living conditions, adequate health care and resources. The joy that can be found in living in a new way is overflowing and waiting for us.

This transformation of the world is happening in anticipation of the one who is coming, the Beloved. John says there is someone coming who will baptize people with the Spirit and who will live in a new way. Jesus will be even more radical and will change the world in ways never before imagined. And so, we are all called to live into this new way, waiting and praying for abundant love and life for all.

God of Joy and Transformation, work with us as we strive to live in a new way in right relationship with each other. Be with us as we await the coming of the radical prophet to enter our lives again. Amen.



View Miriam's 'A reflection on the First Sunday in Advent, 2012'

View Miriam's 'A reflection on Advent 2: Overturning empire’s power'