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Join KAIROS in Protecting Canada’s Water!

In late 2012, Indigenous peoples in Canada issued a call to all Canadians to enter into right relationship and to awaken ourselves to the impact of legislation that will weaken the protection of our environment. Canadians have responded with faith and in solidarity. In January 2013 Chief Shining Turtle of Whitefish River First Nation said in an open letter to non-Indigenous Canadians:

Send a letter to your MP now!

Organize an “Our Waters, Our Life” event to honour water in your community!

More information on the impacts of Bill C-45:

-Backgrounder on Bill C-45’s connection with the petroleum industry by KAIROS
-Summary of federal legislation impacting First Nations by the Olthuis Kleer Townshed law firm
-Briefing note by the Union of Ontario Indians
-Legal backgrounder  by Ecojustice

The round dances you see in your malls or blocking your roads are both a call for change and a celebration of our culture.
…The dances we are doing are also a dance for life: they are call-outs to remind us all to respect the earth and our relationship with each other.

And the circle of those dances is not complete until you join us.

I know that it is up to you –not me– to know your own journey but I also know that many of you have hearts open to hear this call, and so I speak these words into the circle between us:

Let us work together, to ensure respect for earth, the water and our fellow creatures.
Let us work together to honour the sacred treaty relationship we have with one another.
Let us work together to creatively, peacefully and firmly push our government to repeal or amend the recently-passed laws which will harm the earth and us all.
Let us join together in the circle dance of respect for each other and the earth.

In response to these calls, KAIROS invites you to affirm the importance of the connection between our waters and our life by declaring solidarity with Indigenous peoples and protecting the waters on which we all depend. Join us for a series of individual, local, and national actions between World Water Day (March 22) and National Aboriginal Day (June 21), 2013. This action is a continuation of more than 40 years of work to build right relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in Canada.

More here:

OUR WATERS OUR LIFE.

The Kings Community garden was started in 2009 when a group of environmentally-conscious students from the King’s Keepers student club came up with the idea.  The Micah Centre got on board and helped the students with the necessary steps to begin the project.  The students were were given a grant from the students association for tools, soil, trees, etc.  The students succeeded in turning a 30′ by 60′ plot of land by the apartments into a garden for the King’s community and surrounding neighborhoods. The garden was divided into communal and individual plots which were tended throughout the spring and summer. By the time school began, a bountiful harvest awaited full of fresh tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, beans, squash, zucchini, peas, spinach, etc.

The garden was created with the goal of promoting healthy, flourishing lifestyles through the provision of fresh produce and satisfying labor, encourage environmental sustainability by promoting food security and consuming less energy by eating locally, and create a social community by bringing gardeners closer in touch with the source of their food and sharing in collective ownership of the garden.

While the past 3 ‘pilot’ years for the garden have been successful,  it faced several challenges mainly due to breaks in leadership as the involved students graduated/moved away.  The planted fruit trees died, weeds (mainly quack grass) took over in many places and produce was left un harvested and/or un allocated.  This year, the Micah Centre has decided to implement a raised beds plot system to enhance organization, quality and weed control in the garden.  This year, Kings Faculty, staff and students got priority for the garden plots and have been excitedly planting in soil that is an extra 10 inches above the ground.  We are excited to see the produce these raised beds will yield!

This summer our community garden manger is Jodi Hummel.  Jodi is in the Ed program at Kings and is passionate about food consciousness.

The garden is a great way to bring people in the Kings community together and beautify our campus.  We hope it will also be used to engage the surrounding community in the future and connect with other sustainability minded people in our city.  More about our garden is available on the Sustainable Food Edmonton Website:  http://sustainablefoodedmonton.org/the-kings-university-college/

The beginning stages of the garden in 2009…

Putting the raised beds together. Featuring a very muscular, sunburned, garden manger Jodi.

Beds in place, time to dig and hammer them into the ground!

Making holes…

Beautiful organic garden mix…

Hauling soil into the beds.

Planting time!

Would you be interested in an interesting 5 month internship opportunity in the area of community development and environmental sustainability?

Five Month Internship – May to September 2013  Application deadline: Friday, April 26
The BC-Alberta Social Economy Research Alliance (BALTA) is seeking an intern to work with our Scaling Innovation for Sustainability Project. We are seeking someone who is interested in developing their skills and experience towards a longer term career in community development and/or research, and who is currently unemployed or under-employed. Applicants must be 30 years of age or younger at the time of hiring, have a post-secondary degree or diploma and be out of school. This internship is part of the Canadian CED Network’s CreateAction Work Experience Program, which is funded by Service Canada.
Internship Position: Assistant Facilitator, BALTA Scaling Innovation for Sustainability Project
Hosting Agency: BALTA and its lead agencies, the Canadian Centre for Community Renewal and Athabasca University, will host the intern and provide the internship work experience. The Canadian Community Economic Development Network (CCEDNet) is the formal employer for all interns. The internship position includes some time and tasks associated with the national CreateAction program as well as the principal responsibilities with BALTA’s Scaling Innovation for Sustainability (SIS) Project.
Location of Work: BALTA works on a dispersed basis. The geographical location of the intern’s place of residence is not critical. Work location will be determined during the hiring process. The intern may work within the office or one of BALTA’s member organizations or possibly from a home based office.
Start Date: Early May – May 6 is the latest possible starting date
Length of Position: The internship will continue until September 30. There is a possibility the position may be extended for a few weeks with other funding.sustainability over the summer?

Click here to download job and application info

“Forgiven/Forgotten” is a fast paced drama that incorporates comedy, movement and video, creating a unique theatre experience like no other.  But, when attending a Theatre of the Beat performance, don’t expect a happy ending.

Inspired by Bertolt Brecht’s belief that, “Art is not a mirror to reflect society, but a hammer with which to shape it” the troupe’s unique, social justice focus and approach is designed to provoke questions and spark discussion. As the troupe’s Artistic Director, Wideman explains that, “Every show is followed up with a question-and-answer period. We believe the discussions afterward are as much a part of the experience as the performance itself. It become the Second Act.”

“Forgiven/Forgotten” can be found in Edmonton on June 1, 2013, 7 p.m.  at First Mennonite Church, 3650 – 91 Street NW (admission by donation). There will be a discussion and refreshments after the drama.  Theatre of the Beat will also be back through Edmonton this August for the 2013 Fringe Festivals with their thought-provoking comedy, “This Prison or: He Came Through the Floor.”

Theatre of the Beat is a traveling theatre troupe that ties there darnedest to challenge and inspire the communities they find themselves in. Founded in 2011, they have already had 42 performances in over 20 venues in both Canada and the United States. Last year they received critical acclaim on the Fringe Festival circuit with their debut performance Gadfly: Sam Steiner Dodges the Draft which received a nomination for “Best English Script” from the St-Ambroise, Montreal Fringe Festival.

Exactly one year later they are back at it again with  “Forgiven/Forgotten”. This six week, cross-Canada tour, spans from Kitchener, ON to Edmonton, AB and will visit a wide variety of venues ranging from professional theatres and high schools, to churches and prisons. Rebecca Steiner, the troupe’s General Director, says, “It is energizing to find oneself knee-deep in a creative process that is life-giving, that builds community, and that speaks to something greater than just us”.

Sponsored by Mennonite Central Committee the play was commissioned as a think piece, designed to bring awareness to various Restorative Justice initiatives in prisons and communities. The play follows a community thrown into turmoil upon learning that an offender will be serving the rest of his parole in their midst. “It really examines the role of our community in how we view and respond to those affected by crime,” says writer Johnny Wideman. “If we want safer, more whole communities, we need to address these issues systemically, going deeper than band-aid solutions.”

Do you feel called to serve or be a presence… to help make the world a better place, but don’t know where to get information? Are you interested in gaining valuable experience for cross-cultural employment?

Check out: https://www.scarboromissions.ca/Lay_missioners/short-term.php

Background of Short-term Mission Program

The short-term mission program at Scarboro Missions is a way of introducing young adults, who already have an interest in mission, to Scarboro Missions and to mission. The short-term missioners will go to countries that Scarboro Missions already has a relationship with and preferably where there are active lay missioners/partners such as Guyana.

Why this initiative?

The proposal for the short-term mission program came from lay missioners present for the Chapter in 2012 who felt that short-term mission would be an additional option to Scarboro Missions’ already existing longer term commitment. Some young people expressed the desire to be lay missioners but are unable to make the three year commitment as required by Scarboro Missions.

Short-term Mission Program Objectives

1. Offer a new Lay Missioner program by introducing young adults, who already have an interest in mission, to one-year overseas placement in Guyana;
2. Offer young Canadian Catholics an opportunity to contribute to Guyana in a voluntary capacity, and reflect on the situation and their experience in light of their faith and the Gospel, deepening their spirituality;
3. Promote compassion and empathy in short-term missioners through living simply and in solidarity with the poor and marginalized peoples of the world;
4. Promote learning, confidence-building, interfaith dialogue and cultural exchange, in a positive manner, between young adults and people in Guyana; and
5. Foster public awareness about and commitment to Scarboro Missions and/or mission in Canada or the Global South.

Timeline for Short-term Mission Program

February 26, 2013: Recruitment begins for short-term mission program
April 26, 2013: Deadline for short-term mission applications
May 2013: Screening of short-term mission applications
Mid-May 2013: Participants for short-term mission program will be selected
June 2013:Short-term missioners will prepare (at home) for departure
July to August 2013: Short-term missioners will participate in Formation program at Scarboro Missions
September 2013: Short-term missioners will depart for Guyana for overseas placement
June 2014: Short-term missioners will return from Guyana
June 2014: Short-term missioners will participate in re-entry at Scarboro Missions
Beginning of July 2014:Short-term missioners depart from Scarboro Missions

Criteria

Applicants must be:

• Catholic faith (evolving), express faith in service to the marginalized, social justice commitment or other outreach
• Canadian Citizen or permanent resident
• Personal maturity and adaptability
• Good overall health (physical, emotional, etc.)
• Willing to make a one-year commitment without a home visit except when there is a family emergency (life threatening illness/death)
• General age 22 – 35 (exceptions considered on a case by case basis)
• Willingness/openness to try and learn a foreign language if your mission work calls for it. Everyone is encouraged to try and learn the basics of the local language even if it is not needed directly in his/her work.
• College and/or university graduate or needed skill
• In general, people who have experienced recent significant events in their lives (e.g. divorce, death, conversion to Catholicism, marriage, any psychological/physical/mental trauma, new Canadians) are asked to allow a period of two years to elapse before applying formally for admission.

Click here to download the application form in and formats.

For more information, please see the Frequently Asked Questions below or contact the Short-term Mission Coordinator at oneyear@scarboromissions.ca or 416-261-7135, x280 (toll free: 1-800-260-4815).

E-mail sjiedmonton@gmail.com to register now!

Contact Roy Berkenbosch at roy.berkenbosch@kingsu.ca for more information or call 780-465-3500 ext. 8070.