KAIROS Times: May 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 blankets hold history”
- NAFTA renegotiations must be done through the lens of climate change
- Wi’am – occupying space with courage, resilience and humanity
- Championing peace by making Canadian corporations accountable
- Easter Hope: KAIROS brief Easter video for sharing
- Donor Testimonial
- Upcoming
- Featured Partner
- Featured Resources
- Spirited Reflections
One Month to the Kitchi Blanket Exercise!
We are asking for your help to ensure thousands turn out on Parliament Hill on June 2 for the Kitchi Blanket Exercise. (Kitchi means “really big” in Anishinaabemowin, the language of the unceded Algonquin territory where our settler capital is located.) With so many people sharing the experience, reverberations will be felt far and wide.
What you can do:
- Come to Ottawa: We anticipate buses arriving from various cities, so organize one or hop on board.
- If you live far from Ottawa… Find a friend or relative in the area; ask them to represent you and wear a button or nametag that says so. Show your solidarity from wherever you are.
- Help spread the word: Use the website, poster and social media banners to let your networks and communities know about this event. Visit Website Share on Facebook Download Poster Twitter banner Facebook banner
Bring the intentions of the Kitchi Blanket Exercise into your worship: June 2 marks the second anniversary of the release of the 94 Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. Take a special moment on either May 28 or June 4 to bring this focus into your worship service and refresh your commitment to reconciliation. Use this resource to help you get started.
KAIROS Blanket Exercise Youth Exchange with Guatemala expands to include Canadian tour
KAIROS has partnered with Breaking the Silence (BTS) to have two Guatemalans tour the Atlantic region in June. One is a member of the KAIROS Blanket Exercise Youth Exchange (the Exchange) that includes Guatemalan, First Nations, Métis, Inuit and settler youth and leadership. Read more.
Winds of Change blow in Manitoba
The KAIROS Cambrian/Agassiz network in Manitoba is mobilizing for Education for Reconciliation! On April 3, the group sent a letter to the Hon Mr. Ian Wishart, Minister of Education and Training, to ask for a meeting. On April 7, copies of this letter and a cover letter were sent to all MLAs inviting them to raise questions to the Minister as to how he is proceeding with the request.
In the next few weeks, KAIROS Cambrian/Agassiz members and supporters will book appointments with MLAs to ask them to present the KAIROS Education for Reconciliation petition to the Legislative Assembly.
Manitoba stipulates that petition pages must be filled with 20 signatures. Cambrian/Agassiz members are currently collecting signatures to fill incomplete pages. The plan is to have one or more KAIROS Cambrian/Agassiz members present in the gallery the day the petition is read. Stay tuned for more updates!
Let Justice Roll: campaign update
Last month, Let Justice Roll: Implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples was launched! In addition to a mini-website on the campaign, we also created a campaign resource guide that includes a theological reflection, FAQs on the UN Declaration, resources, activities and actions congregations can take to support the campaign. Read more.
May is a month of action for mining justice
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 as access to Canadian courts by those affected. May is a Month of Action! KAIROS supporters have generated over 200 letters so far to the Minister of International Trade. If you have not already done so, please take a moment to write the Minister through the KAIROS website.
Although KAIROS was disappointed that the recent federal budget did not include any funds for the creation of an extractive ombudsperson, KAIROS and Open for Justice collaborators continue to advocate for this through the May Month of Action.
It’s time for the federal government to deliver on this commitment. The situation is urgent, widespread and there has been no demonstrable shift in human rights policy relating to extractives since the federal election. The call for an independent extractives ombudsperson and access to justice for the aggrieved fits a rights-based, feminist, progressive trade agenda. Make your voice heard!
“These blankets hold history”, by Sara Anderson
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 are interested in using the exercise to further their understanding of the true history of this land that some call Canada. Read more.
NAFTA renegotiations must be done through the lens of climate change
Canada, and not just Mexico, may be in for a rough ride when it renegotiates NAFTA with the United States. When it comes to fighting climate change, however, the ride will be rougher. Read more.
Wi’am – occupying space with courage, resilience and humanity, by Rachel Warden
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 meet people I’ve been corresponding with for years. I have always been impressed by our partners’ courage, resilience and humanity. I was even more impressed after meeting them and witnessing their day-to-day reality. Read more.
Championing peace by making Canadian corporations accountable, by Connie Sorio and Bishop Antonio Ablon
Can Canada champion world peace while simultaneously supporting Canadian extractive companies that are accused of human and ecological rights violations? Read more.
Easter Hope: KAIROS Brief Easter Video for Sharing
When I first heard the testimonies from the KAIROS Philippines delegation, my mind and heart were drawn to the images and feelings of Good Friday. Read and view here.
Donor Testimonial
Upcoming Events
Toronto: Niigaani-gichigami Gratitude Walk
May 6 @ 10:00 am – 2:00 pm
Sherbourne Street & Waterfront, Toronto
Toronto- KBE in Spanish-Educación Para la Reconciliación
May 6 @ 3:00 pm – 5:30 pm
Roncesvalles United Church, 214 Wright Ave., Toronto
Ottawa: Kitchi Blanket Exercise
June 2 @ 3:30 pm – 7:30 pm
Ottawa Parliament Hill
Ridgetown, ON: Cahoots Festival 2017
June 8 @ 5:00 pm – June 11 @ 1:00 pm
18669 Kenesserie Rd, Ridgetown, ON
Featured Partner
Wi’am: The Palestinian Conflict Transformation Center is a grassroots civil society organization based in Bethlehem. In Arabic, “wi’am” means “cordial relationships.” Developing relationships is the essence of its mission. Wi’am helps resolve disputes within the Palestinian community at the grassroots level by implementing Sulha, the traditional Arab form of mediation, along with Western models of conflict transformation. Its programs empower children, youth, women and men, and address the psychological and physiological consequences of long-term conflict. Learn more.
Featured Resources
Let Justice Roll: Implement the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
Briefing Paper: Fossil Fuel Projects at Odds with Actions on Climate and Indigenous Rights
Spirited Reflections
Bread for the Journey, by Dr. Karen Buckenham
In having access to food, in sharing a meal together, in breaking bread alone or together, we are engaged in something practical and even mundane, which at the same time points beyond itself to reveal God. Like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, in the breaking of bread, “You are made known to us”. Read more.
One Blue World – Art & Healing, by Anne Camozzi
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 reconcile the wonder Nature evoked in me, with acts of war, especially considering we’re just a tiny blue dot in a huge universe, where geo-political boundaries disappear. Read more.
The Palm Sunday Protest March, by Jennifer Henry
It wasn’t a Sunday walk in the park, you know, this Palm Sunday procession. Not a stroll, or a gentle donkey ride, with friends. It was not a military parade, full of pomp and circumstance signifying very little. Rather, it was a carefully orchestrated protest laden with symbols that turned on its head the expected solution to oppression–a military Messiah. Read more.
Call for Submissions: Aim to Inspire
As a key part of KAIROS’ commitment to faithful action for ecological justice and human rights, we are seeking new Spirited Reflections to help inspire our constituents and others. Read more.
