Archive for 2017
Momentum builds during Month of Action to make Canada open for justice
May 31, 2017
KAIROS has been active during the May Month of Action for Open for Justice, a campaign of the Canadian Network on Corporate Accountability, of which KAIROS is a member. This campaign calls for an independent Ombudsperson and access to Canadian courts…
Post filed in: Ecological Justice
MEDIA ADVISORY: Canada’s colonial past to unfold on Parliament Hill, June 2
May 31, 2017
Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples to participate in mass reconciliation event: KAIROS Blanket Exercise (Ottawa, ON) – Canada’s history of stolen land, broken promises and cultural genocide will unfold on Parliament Hill, June 2 from 5:00 to 7:30 p.m. with the…
Post filed in: Indigenous Rights, Media Releases
Live through history! Join us on June 2 for the largest Blanket Exercise ever!
May 30, 2017
Post filed in: Indigenous Rights
KAIROS statement of solidarity and prayer for peace in Mindanao
May 29, 2017
On Tuesday March 23, 2017, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte placed the island of Mindanao under military rule following an armed encounter between the Maute militants and the Philippine military in Marawi City, Lanao del Sur. Philippine church leaders and human…
Post filed in: Asia-Pacific
Spirited Reflection: Another session of the KAIROS Blanket Exercise
May 29, 2017
It’s over. The Narrator has finished speaking. The room falls quiet. The few participants, still standing, glance at each other. The Narrator then asks everyone to think back to what the room looked like at the beginning of the Exercise…
Post filed in: Spirited Reflections
By the end of May these youth will have shared the Blanket Exercise 29 times to over 1000 people in Saskatchewan
May 26, 2017
Although he is just finishing his Grade 12 education, Michael Cardinal is already teaching five centuries of Indigenous history. “Assimilation, residential schools, the 60s scoop, Canada’s history,” said Cardinal. Cardinal is one of eight Bert Fox Community High School students…
Post filed in: Indigenous Rights
Spirited Reflection: Pilgrimage for Indigenous Rights
May 25, 2017
But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their…
Post filed in: Indigenous Rights, Spirited Reflections, UNDRIP Blog Updates
New video: Kitchi Blanket Exercise
May 24, 2017
Please share this video with your network. Let’s all ‘show up’ on June 2, to participate in the largest Mass Blanket Exercise ever! #reconciliACTION150
Post filed in: Indigenous Rights
Spirited Reflection: Serious Thought
May 18, 2017
Genesis 1, Verses 10, 12 10: “And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of waters called his seas and God saw that it was good.” 12: “And the earth brought forth grass and seed after his…
Post filed in: Spirited Reflections
KAIROS Blanket Exercise bridges cultural gaps between First Nations and Alberta RCMP
May 15, 2017
‘It’s going to help me to be more attentive to what the Native people have gone through.‘ Photo: RCMP members from Alberta take part in the KAIROS Blanket Exercise in Cochrane. (Laurent Pirot/CBC) RCMP Staff Sgt. Lauren Weare tries in vain…
Post filed in: Indigenous Rights
Discomfort, ‘real feelings’ felt by Yellowknifers during exercise about history of Indigenous North Americans
May 11, 2017
‘Blanket exercise’ represents Aboriginal people being separated from their original home and traditions Peter Workman is determined to learn — even if it makes him feel uncomfortable. “I’m part of a generation that didn’t receive a lot of training or…
Post filed in: Indigenous Rights
TAKE ACTION to demand justice for Topacio Reynoso and her father
May 11, 2017
On April 13, 2014, unknown gunmen attacked 16-year-old Topacio Reynoso Pacheco and her father, Alex Reynoso, killing Topacio and leaving Alex seriously injured. Both were active in their municipality of Mataquescuintla, standing up for land and the health of the…
Post filed in: Indigenous Rights, Latin America
KAIROS Times: May 2017
May 5, 2017
One Month to the Kitchi Blanket Exercise! KAIROS Blanket Exercise Youth Exchange with Guatemala expands to include Canadian tour Winds of Change blow in Manitoba Let Justice Roll: campaign update May is a month of action for mining justice “These…
Post filed in: KAIROS Times E-Newsletter
Letter to the editor: Coal calculations
May 5, 2017
Re B.C.’s Clark To Target Thermal Coal Regardless Of U.S. Softwood Outcome (May 4): Christy Clark’s attacks on thermal-coal exports through B.C. in the name of fighting climate change are hypocritical, given her support for exporting liquefied natural gas. Yes,…
Post filed in: Ecological Justice
May is a month of action for mining justice
May 4, 2017
Through the Open for Justice campaign, KAIROS and the Canadian Network on Corporate Accountability network continue to call for an independent ombudsperson to investigate human rights violations and environmental damage from Canadian mining companies in the Global South, as well…
Post filed in: Ecological Justice
Wi’am – Occupying space with courage, resilience and humanity
May 4, 2017
It was my first time in Israel and Palestine. From April 1-10, I joined a Canadian delegation, which included representatives from the United Church of Canada and the Presbyterian Church in Canada, to visit partners in the region and finally…
Post filed in: Middle East
An exercise in understanding: the KAIROS Blanket Exercise
May 3, 2017
The floor of Wallace Hall is criss-crossed with colourful blankets. Participants move from blanket to blanket, greeting each other quietly, occasionally trading items – a cornhusk doll for a braid of sweet grass, a piece of leather for a dreamcatcher….
Post filed in: Indigenous Rights
A call to action regarding human-made famine and conflict in South Sudan
May 3, 2017
South Sudan’s church leaders are calling for the world’s and Canada’s attention and action in the midst of a human-made famine in the conflict-riven, fragile state. While KAIROS members are contributing to humanitarian responses through the ACT Alliance (Action of…
Post filed in: Africa
Spirited Reflection: Riding on the bus
May 3, 2017
Ihave always struggled with the traditional spiritual disciplines – contemplative prayer, disciplined scripture reading, meditation, fasting. I have tried them all many times, and fallen away every time. I have often felt like a failure. But I’ve come to realize…
Post filed in: Spirited Reflections
Let Justice Roll: Campaign update for April 2017
April 30, 2017
Last month, KAIROS along with Mennonite Church Canada (Indigenous Relations) and Canadian Baptist Congregations, launched the campaign Let Justice Roll: Implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples to ensure that the Government of Canada takes the…
Post filed in: Indigenous Rights, UNDRIP Blog Updates
“These Blankets Hold History”
April 27, 2017
In March, I had the privilege of spending two and a half weeks in Alberta and Saskatchewan sharing the KAIROS Blanket Exercise (KBE) with various organizations and communities who were interested in using the exercise to further their understanding of…
Post filed in: Indigenous Rights
NEW Briefing Paper: Fossil fuel projects at odds with actions on climate and Indigenous rights
April 25, 2017
This Briefing Paper will first evaluate the progress being made in Canada to reduce green-house gas (GHG) emissions in light of the goals set by the Paris climate conference. It will then examine how recently approved fossil fuel infra-structure projects…
Post filed in: Ecological Justice
Spirited Reflection: Bread for the Journey
April 25, 2017
After the crucifixion, and unaware of his resurrection, two of Jesus’ disciples are walking on the road to Emmaus, talking about the awful events that had occurred in Jerusalem. They meet a stranger who is unaware of what has happened…
Post filed in: Spirited Reflections
We owe it to Indigenous peoples everywhere – to support their call for “our land, our rights, our peace.”
April 20, 2017
Nenita Condez is small in stature and pregnant with her third child. She is also courageous and defiant. This tiny mother is leading her Subanen people in the struggle to defend their ancestral land in the southern Philippines, where a…
Post filed in: Ecological Justice, Indigenous Rights
NAFTA renegotiations must be done through the lens of climate change
April 20, 2017
Canada, and not just Mexico, may be in for a rough ride when it renegotiates NAFTA with the United States. A draft letter from the U.S. Trade Representative to Congress outlining renegotiation objectives, which was leaked on March 30, reveals…
Post filed in: Ecological Justice, Op Eds
Spirited Reflection: One blue world – art & healing
April 18, 2017
In this Earth Day reflection I explore environment, art and healing. The image of my painting One Blue World (2004), was a prayer for water. The 2003 Iraq war was in the news everyday as I started painting. I couldn’t…
Post filed in: Ecological Justice, Spirited Reflections
Easter hope: KAIROS brief Easter video for sharing
April 13, 2017
Dear Friends, Here is the KAIROS Easter video. I invite you to take a moment to watch it, share it with your family and friends, post it on Facebook and tweet it. Share it on your congregation or community e-lists….
Post filed in: Executive Director, Spirited Reflections
Q & A with Sr. Mary Ellen Francoeur, ‘living contemplatively in the universe’
April 13, 2017
Sr. Mary Ellen Francoeur lives with intent, focusing on “growing into being more fully human.” After decades doing peace work, seeking truth and reconciliation for Canada’s indigenous people, and in short-term healing work with communities in Rwanda and the Democratic…
Post filed in: Africa, Ecological Justice
