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