Archive for 2018

Winds of Change: Education for Reconciliation update in BC

November 7, 2018

On October 30, 2018 a delegation consisting of Janet Gray (BC-Yukon KAIROS Regional Representative) Susan Draper (KAIROS Victoria), Rev. Laura Kavanagh (KAIROS national steering committee member), Ruth D’Hollander (Aboriginal Neighbours), and Indigenous leaders and educators, Nella and Alex Nelson, met…

Post filed in: Indigenous Rights

Trailblazer: Salal + Cedar, a watershed discipleship community

November 7, 2018

While the just transition to a clean energy economy requires new technology and new ways of understanding our planet, it also calls on us to embrace new ways of knowing one another; to living in right relations with each other…

Post filed in: Ecological Justice

Spirited Reflection: Finding Rev Saul in Muddy Waters

November 7, 2018

In my work with Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) over the past 10 years, I have become very aware of the influence that Christianity has had in colonization around the world. Through the voices of our partners from Colombia, Iraqi Kurdistan,…

Post filed in: Spirited Reflections

KAIROS Times: November 2018

November 2, 2018

Hot off the press! The November 2018 KAIROS Times Newsletter.

Post filed in: KAIROS Times E-Newsletter

Spirited Reflection: Unbinding All Saints

November 1, 2018

Recently, news has come to us from a global partner, news of the increased threat of violence to them for their important work for human rights and peace.  The situation is so fraught that I feel unable to share the…

Post filed in: Spirited Reflections

KAIROS at COP24 in Poland

October 31, 2018

KAIROS is pleased to announce that Jessica Steele and Georgine Kengne will represent KAIROS as United Church accredited delegates to COP24, the 24th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP24) in Katowice, Poland from December 3-14, 2018.  The United Church of Canada (UCC) is the only…

Post filed in: Ecological Justice

Ontario mustn’t backslide on education about Indigenous issues

October 29, 2018

It was déjà vû. When the Ontario government cancelled curriculum-writing sessions this summer on truth and reconciliation, I was immediately taken back to 1998 when I was part of a team writing curriculum for the Ontario Ministry of Education. At…

Post filed in: Indigenous Rights

Spirited Reflection: Ancestors, spirits and reconciliation

October 29, 2018

Reconciliation is a huge task, a deep responsibility, a seven-generation work of covenant renewal.  Reconciliation involves decolonization and reparation.  It calls for a massive act, or series of acts, of confession and (hopefully) forgiveness.  There are no short cuts, and…

Post filed in: Spirited Reflections

Migrant Worker Story: Meet Luzviminda

October 25, 2018

My name is Luzviminda Alicbusan. I’m a caregiver. I came to Canada from the Philippines in 2008. After completing the 24-month live-in requirement, I submitted my permanent resident application in 2011. In 2014, I received the Procedural Fairness Letter. In…

Post filed in: Migrant Justice

KAIROS local group promotes mining justice documentary to neighbouring communities

October 23, 2018

Editor’s Note: Here is a fabulous example of the work of the KAIROS network.  Members of the Salmon Arm Ecumenical KAIROS Committee had seen the documentary ‘Flin Flon Flim Flam,’ produced by award-winning investigative journalist John Dougherty, and wanted other…

Post filed in: Ecological Justice, Regional News

KAIROS partner, South Sudan Council of Churches responds to latest peace plan in South Sudan

October 22, 2018

As a Church, we believe that peace is not something on paper. Peace is a practical reality on  the ground.” This time the peace agreement must not be allowed to fail. This time they will hammer their swords into plowshares…

Post filed in: Africa, Gender Justice/Women of Courage

Héritiers de la Justice collaboration with 2018 Nobel Peace Prize co-laureate Dr. Dénis Mukwege 

October 12, 2018

Photo: Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Dr. Dénis Mukwege congratulated by local civil society partners October 6, 2018 at Panzi Hospital in Bukavu, Democratic Republic of the Congo including Neema Lubala, sixth from right, and Chantal Bilulu from KAIROS partner Héritiers…

Post filed in: Africa, Gender Justice/Women of Courage

Spirited Reflection: Getting past ecological grief

October 12, 2018

On a cool, windy afternoon in early September, speakers took to the microphone at Waterloo Public Square joining people on seven continents to “Rise for Climate.” When two young adults took their turns, their tears and cracked voices stirred something…

Post filed in: Spirited Reflections

NEW VIDEO: Launch of updated Education for Reconciliation Report Card

October 10, 2018

Photo: Ellen Wood, Jennifer Henry, Alison Cox, Shannon Perez, Cheryl McNamara, Susie McPherson and Ed Bianchi. The E4R Report Card was released on October 9th, 2018 at a press conference at the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation in Winnipeg….

Post filed in: Indigenous Rights

MEDIA RELEASE: Encouraging progress on TRC Call to Action 62.i: Education for Reconciliation

October 9, 2018

(Ottawa, ON) – The majority of provinces and territories are making progress towards implementing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s (TRC) Call to Action 62.i – also known as Education for Reconciliation, according to KAIROS Canada in its updated…

Post filed in: Indigenous Rights, Media Releases

Just and inclusive tables: KAIROS Thanksgiving video message

October 4, 2018

As Thanksgiving approaches, I would like to share with you a short video message about our common work of setting a just and inclusive table. I invite you to take a moment to watch it and share it with your…

Post filed in: Executive Director, Migrant Justice, Spirited Reflections

KAIROS Times: October 2018

October 2, 2018

Hot off of the press! Read the October 2018 KAIROS Times Newsletter.

Post filed in: KAIROS Times E-Newsletter

Help foreign migrant workers stay in Canada. 1000 letters to be sent by November 2.

September 28, 2018

This October, join thousands of Canadians and migrant workers in calling on the Canadian government to take action! Only 2 minutes of your time to send a letter to your MP Canada’s Caregiver Pilot Program ends in November 2019. This…

Post filed in: Migrant Justice

At University of Toronto’s Faculty of Medicine, leaders take part in KAIROS Blanket Exercise that teaches Indigenous history and trauma

September 27, 2018

  Photo by Liam Mitchell: Department chairs and senior leaders in the Faculty of Medicine participate in the KAIROS Blanket Exercise.   Dr. Lisa Richardson, co-lead of Indigenous Medical Education in the MD Program, says that the KAIROS Blanket Exercise is…

Post filed in: Indigenous Rights

Spirited Reflection: Fruit Trees and Nuclear Weapons

September 22, 2018

September 26 is the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons – and in 2018, this is an exciting day. In recent years, the international focus on nuclear weapons has shifted away from the security concerns of nuclear-armed…

Post filed in: Spirited Reflections

Spirited Reflection: Orange Shirt Day

September 18, 2018

Orange Shirt Day is on Sunday, September 30. The day is inspired by Phyllis Jack Webstad’s experience. On her first day at residential school in 1973, Phyllis was stripped of her new orange shirt, a shirt that had brought her…

Post filed in: Indigenous Rights, Spirited Reflections

Urge Senators to support the UN Declaration Act

September 18, 2018

Join KAIROS in urging all Senators to vote in favour of Bill C-262, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act. KAIROS is part of a Coalition of Faith Based Organizations* that is focused on ensuring that the…

Post filed in: Indigenous Rights, UNDRIP Blog Updates

Federal Court of Appeal overturns approvals for Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project

September 14, 2018

  September 5, 2018 “I’m glad today the courts heard the teachings of our culture and our spirit…” Chief Rueben George, Tsleil-Waututh First Nation KAIROS Canada recognizes the importance of the August 30 Federal Court of Appeal decision to overturn…

Post filed in: Ecological Justice, Indigenous Rights

Spirited Reflection: Youth and children: raising hope and making change

September 12, 2018

World Council of Churches Week of Prayer for Peace in Israel Palestine Timing is everything, so they say, and the truth of this applied in the coincidence of reading a review of a book about the complexities of the Israeli-Palestinian…

Post filed in: Middle East, Spirited Reflections

NEW VIDEO: Women of Courage in Colombia talk about peace

September 5, 2018

In conflict and post-conflict zones, such as Colombia, there is often a tendency to treat victims only as victims—instead of hearing what they have to say about what they expect. Here are voices of women from Colombia and elsewhere, including…

Post filed in: Gender Justice/Women of Courage, Latin America

Trailblazer: T’Sou-ke First Nation Solar and Greenhouse Initiatives

September 4, 2018

“In order to achieve sustainability, it needed to embrace traditional values, including deep respect for Mother Earth.” – Chief Planes  In an effort to build a stronger, more sustainable economy the T’Sou-ke First Nation is “setting the table for future…

Post filed in: Ecological Justice

Resilience and collective responsibility in peace building in Palestine

August 20, 2018

In July, my colleague Rachel Warden and I travelled to the West Bank to visit with Wi’am: Palestinian Conflict Transformation Center, one of five KAIROS partner organizations in the Women of Courage: Women, Peace and Security (WPS) program. I was…

Post filed in: Gender Justice/Women of Courage, Middle East