Archive for March 2020

Spirited Reflection: Holding close to our hearts

March 31, 2020

In this time of isolation, staying behind doors and apart from one another, questions on the meaning and power of prayer may arise.  How can I offer support to those far away? Is there a way to close the gap? …

Post filed in: Indigenous Rights, Spirited Reflections

KAIROS offices are closed until May 31

March 31, 2020

Dear Friends. I want to reach out to you, sending strength and courage in these difficult times.   Like many, we have made the decision to close our offices and suspend our in person programming (including KAIROS Blanket Exercises) until May…

Post filed in: Uncategorized

Join the Global Climate Strike online

March 31, 2020

This Friday, April 3, the Global Climate Strike is going virtual!  At 12 pm (EDT), Fridays for Future Toronto will host a 2-hour online rally with performers, speakers and opportunities for group action. The rally will be livestreamed on Facebook and other social media platforms. Tune in…

Post filed in: Ecological Justice

Thanks to outgoing regional representative, Wendy Kalkan

March 31, 2020

As a community we offer our thanks to Wendy Kalkan for nearly four years of service in the role of KAIROS Prairies North Regional Representative. Wendy completed her time in this role as of April 1st. There are many, many…

Post filed in: Regional News

Closer together with our global partners

March 30, 2020

“Caremongering” is a new word and one we hope becomes part of our lexicon as the world unfolds, we hope, towards the creation of more equitable, just, resilient and sustainable societies here at home and for our global partners.  Yet, the word, “home” is a curious one.   The virus reminds us of many things. One…

Post filed in: Gender Justice/Women of Courage

Changing the world one KAIROS Blanket Exercise story at a time

March 30, 2020

Words cannot express the gratitude for every time we are called upon to offer the KAIROS Blanket Exercise (KBE). It is an honour to meet with participants who, for the most part, are on a journey of learning.   We have been asked to go where people have little or no…

Post filed in: Indigenous Rights, Spirited Reflections

KAIROS Canadá condena la violencia que ha sido exacerbada por COVID-19 en Colombia

March 27, 2020

KAIROS: Iniciativas ecuménicas canadienses por la justicia, que aglutina a diez iglesias y organizaciones religiosas, condena los asesinatos de líderes y lideresas sociales a lo igual que el aumento de la violencia basada en género que han acompañado la propagación de COVID-19 en Colombia.  El 25 de marzo, KAIROS se enteró del feminicidio de una…

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

KAIROS condemns the violence that has been exacerbated by COVID-19 in Colombia

March 27, 2020

KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives, which unites ten churches and religious organizations, condemns the assassinations of social leaders and the rise in gender-based violence that have accompanied the spread of COVID-19 in Colombia.  On March 25, KAIROS learned about the feminicide of a long-time member of the Organización…

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

KAIROS is NOT going away

March 27, 2020

Dear Friends, I want to reach out to you with solidarity and hope in these perilous times.  We send each and every one of you our strength and commitment to weather this crisis together with our eyes and actions clearly focused on…

Post filed in: Executive Director

Advocates urge protection for migrant workers travelling to Canada amid COVID-19 restrictions

March 25, 2020

Migrant worker advocates want the federal government to improve protections for foreign labourers travelling to Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic.  The comments come as the federal government reassured farmers that, despite new travel restrictions, foreign workers will be allowed into Canada…

Post filed in: Migrant Justice

Spirited Reflection: Coping with lockdown, quarantine, staying-at-home

March 25, 2020

A long-time partner of KAIROS in the Philippines, Vernie Yocogan-Diano, shared the following with us to keep up our spirits, to learn from the Igorot and to remind us all worldwide of the choices we face. In northern  Philippines, the Igorot (a collective term for Indigenous peoples in the Cordillera mountain region) are composed of several…

Post filed in: Asia-Pacific, Spirited Reflections

No new money for oil and gas companies—give it to workers

March 24, 2020

A large collection of health, faith, environmental, labour and social justice groups, including KAIROS Canada, have sent a letter to Prime Minister Trudeau and his cabinet asking that in the federal bailout to the oil and gas industry, expected later this week,…

Post filed in: Ecological Justice

Was, is, and will always be a saint: Celebrating the life of Oscar Romero

March 24, 2020

On March 30, 1980, I was one of at least half a million people who attended a funeral in San Salvador. It was the funeral of Oscar Romero. For those who may not know, Oscar Romero was the Archbishop of…

Post filed in: Op Eds

Call for churches to do more to address anti-Black racism

March 23, 2020

Even in the midst of the global COVID-19 crisis, churches continue to work together on a range of issues, including that of anti-Black racism in Canada and around the world. Leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, the Anglican Church of…

Post filed in: Uncategorized

KAIROS stands in solidarity with partners in the Philippines

March 23, 2020

KAIROS stands in solidarity with partners in the Philippines and around the globe who continue to defend human rights, including the right to health, in the face of this global pandemic. KAIROS partner, the National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP), has released a…

Post filed in: Asia-Pacific

World Water Day 2020: Taking a watershed approach to climate change

March 20, 2020

“Your watershed is your lifeboat.” In this time of climate emergency, these words by permaculturist Brock Dolman are particularly revealing.  The theme of this year’s World Water Day explores how climate change and water are inextricably linked. The impacts of climate change such…

Post filed in: Ecological Justice, Op Eds

To better understand the present, they walk through Alaska’s past

March 20, 2020

“Truthful, undeniable and powerful.”“Very eye-opening.”“Incredibly powerful and healing.”“I felt like everyone I knew needed to go through it.” Those are just a few of the responses from Alaskans who have experienced the Alaska Blanket Exercise, an interactive learning tool launched…

Post filed in: Indigenous Rights

Trailblazer: Autumn Peltier, Indigenous water protector

March 19, 2020

UN Address: Inspiring 13-year-old Water Advocate“I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again: we can’t eat money or drink oil.” Autumn Peltier On World Water Day 2018, Autumn Peltier, a young water advocate from Wiikwemkoong Unceded First Nation on Manitoulin…

Post filed in: Ecological Justice

Children’s Reflection for World Water Day (March 22)

March 18, 2020

This World Water Day (March 22) share the story of late Grandmother Josephine Mandamin and her powerful message to protect water with the children in your community.  Just in time for World Water Day, KAIROS has released a Children’s Reflection…

Post filed in: Ecological Justice

A peace process undermined: Land defense and the non-repetition of violence in Colombia

March 13, 2020

The non-repetition of violence is a cornerstone of Colombia’s Peace Agreement between the government and the FARC—the former guerilla group (now political party). Recently published reports by the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders in Colombia…

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

Women of Courage partners and International Women’s Week

March 13, 2020

An overview of Women of Courage activities during International Women’s Week. Peruse the photo album at the bottom of this page. EcuVoice – ecumenical voice for peace and human rights in the Philippines “We are women of faith. Today with…

Post filed in: Gender Justice/Women of Courage

The OFP commemorates International Women’s Day by highlighting grassroots feminist economies

March 11, 2020

“We are women living in rural and urban areas who are building a grassroots feminist economy.”  For International Women’s Day, the Organización Femenina Popular (OFP) co-organized a week of activities with other local organizations who are part of a network known as the…

Post filed in: Gender Justice/Women of Courage

Media Release: Church delegation urges Canadian response to Palestinian humanitarian crisis

March 5, 2020

The KAIROS Church Leaders’ Delegation brings its findings on Palestine and Israel to Canadian MPs, March 9 and 10 (Ottawa, ON) – A group of church leaders urge the Canadian government to immediately address the worsening humanitarian crisis in Palestine…

Post filed in: Media Releases, Middle East

Spirited Reflection: Lent, Human Identity and our Environment

March 3, 2020

In pondering Eve’s conversation with the serpent (as in Genesis) and Jesus’ conversation with Satan when he fasted for forty days in the desert (as in Matthew 4:1-11), we see these conversations as saying something about our human identity.  In…

Post filed in: Spirited Reflections

‘Walk with me’ – a lesson plan towards reconciliation

March 2, 2020

Education is key to reconciliation and the key to good education is a lesson plan that sticks. The Blanket Exercise is one such lesson plan. Developed by KAIROS, the Blanket Exercise is based on a method that uses participatory education to weave storytelling and land-based learning…

Post filed in: Indigenous Rights