1.  BC Banners to Ottawa - June 20   2.  International Solidarity Award - June   3.  An Open Letter to BC's Political Leaders - May 9   4.  Towards a New Vision for Palestine / Israel - May 1   5.  Earth Day in Victoria and Qualicum - April 22   6.  The Dark Side of Chocolate - February 9   7.  Migrant Rights are Human Rights! in Vancouver - December 10   8.  Beat the Drum - December 5   9.  Refusing to be Enemies - November 9

BC Banners to Ottawa

These BC Banners are now on their way to Ottawa for use in National Day of Action on June 20th.  Thanks for all your creative expressions of support for indigenous rights in Canada!

KAIROS receives international solidarity award

In Vancouver, Barry Morris of KAIROS Vancouver was honoured to accept a special award on behalf of KAIROS at CoDevelopment Canada's annual fundraising dinner. This award is given to groups that work in the field of international development. For more information about CoDevelopment Canada, go to http://www.codev.org/.

An Open Letter to BC's Political Leaders: Faith Community Leaders call for a New Vision of Relationship with the Earth

Media Release Following the election of a federal Conservative majority government, 53 of B.C.'s Faith Leaders stress the importance of provincial action on climate change. May 9, 2011. (Vancouver) Faith leaders from across the province have come together to stress the importance of caring for creation and fighting climate change. On May 9, an open letter was sent to Premier Clark and NDP leader Adrian Dix, urging them to work toward "mitigating the damage already done to the natural world," and to "provide citizens with a new vision of relationship with the earth." "That there was almost no mention of climate change or environmental protection during the federal election campaign is deeply troubling," comments Susan Draper, KAIROS BC-Yukon Network Coordinator. "This failure to acknowledge or even recognize our intricate and dependent relationship with the earth has placed this province and our country at the crossroads. Because the federal government has not taken significant action on climate change and environmental protection, it is even more important that our Provincial government assumes more leadership on this critical issue. Concrete actions to reduce energy consumption as well as initiatives such as carbon taxes, the banning of fuel tankers from our coastal waters, and the Western Climate Initiative are important steps our provincial leaders can take to help us transition to a different way of living on this planet." "These are issues that threatens the health, safety, and quality of life for future generations," says Rev. Ken Gray of the Church of the Advent, an Anglican church in Victoria and one of the letter's signatories. "In many cases, the desire for profit has led us to put short term human needs ahead of all other values and all other beings that share this planet with us. The consequences are obvious: the impacts of global warming caused by humanity's burning of fossil fuels are increasingly visible and threatening much of what we know and love about this beautiful province." For further inquiries or additional contact information: Susan Grace Draper KAIROS BC-Yukon Network Coordinator graceful@shaw.ca 250-370-0121

Susan Grace Draper B.C.-Yukon KAIROS Network Coordinator 2601 Dufferin Ave. Victoria, BC V8R 3L5 graceful@shaw.ca The Honourable Christy Clark Premier of British Columbia Box 9041 Station PROV GOVT Victoria, BC Canada May 9, 2011 An open letter on climate change from over 50 faith leaders from across British Columbia Dear Ms. Clark, Mr. Dix: As members of BC faith communities, we call upon the next generation of British Columbian provincial political leaders to engage in an issue that threatens the health, safety and quality of life for future generations of citizens. As a result of our systemic failure to recognize humanity's intricate and dependent relationship with the earth, this province as well as the entire globe is at the crossroads. British Columbia's faith communities have a long and proud tradition of seeking justice for creation, as well as lifting up the social concerns for the poor and the vulnerable. While all faiths have differing stories and approaches to the presence of the Divine, most faiths share an understanding that in the beauty and complexity of the land, water and air, the Divine Presence is felt; in the midst of these everyday miracles, humanity finds itself, its livelihood and its unique creativity. With others, we have witnessed the exhaustion of our forests, a neglectful management of fish stocks, and an avaricious approach to resource extraction for decades in this province. The motivation for most of this activity has been unduly influenced by a singular desire for profit, often at the expense of sustainability. We have put short term human needs ahead of all other values and the consequences are obvious: the impacts of global warming caused by humanity's burning of fossil fuels are increasingly visible and threatening much of what we know and love about this beautiful province. Global warming is already bringing changes and challenges to our province; much will be required of our leaders as a result. Our industries and communities have for too long been overly reliant on the fossil fuels that will destroy our way of life if we don't find the will to change. But it is difficult for ordinary citizens to understand that what they have always known and taken for granted may not be the reality they will be grappling with in only a few decades. Your roles as leaders in the next few years will surely be to work towards mitigating the damage already done to the natural world, as well as to provide your citizens with a new vision of relationship with the earth. This fresh vision for British Columbia must offer a bold strategy- one that is ecologically sustainable, economically transitional, fiscally viable in the long run, and attentive to the legitimate concerns of First Nations peoples. Will it mean sacrifice? Probably. There are no easy answers here. Mistakes will be made and must be acknowledged and learned from. Leaders must be able to communicate frankly; trust is absolutely required. In essence, it is time for a new way of doing politics in BC. We invite your response to this open letter. People from varying faith perspectives appreciate that a healthy ecosystem is essential to human happiness, but more importantly, we now know that a holistic approach is what is needed to preserve the sacred diversity of life on this planet. If you are ready to work on creating this new kind of social contract with the earth and with all the earth's creatures, you can count on our support and cooperation. Grace, Justice and Peace, Bishop Michael Ingham Bishop of New Westminister, Anglican Church of Canada Kenneth J. Gray (Rev) Anglican Communion Environmental Network Colwood, BC Susan Grace Draper BC-Yukon KAIROS Network Coordinator Rabbi David Mivasair Ahavat Olam Synagogue Rev. Bill Cantelon KAIROS Victoria Dr. Sallie McFague Vancouver School of Theology Sister Cecilia Hudec KAIROS Richmond Acharya Shrinath Prasad Dwivedi Global Hindu Foundation, Canada Janette McIntosh KAIROS Vancouver Rev. Dr. Sylvia Cleland West Point Grey Presbyterian Church Sr. Aloka Brenda Batke-Hirschmann Mahapajapati Theravada Buddhist Monastery Hans Kratz Parksville/Qualicum KAIROS Rev. Ross White, Cadboro Bay United Church Susan Ardekany Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Vancouver Rev. Margaret Marquardt, Eco-Justice Unit Anglican Diocese of New Westminister Rober Worcester Eco-Justice Unit Anglican Diocese of New Westminister Sr. Joyce Harris Sisters of Saint Anne Social Justice Committee Rev. Tyler Gingrich All Saints Lutheran Church Kelowna Karen Truesdale KAIROS Vernon Keith Jamieson St. Aidan's United Church, Social Action Committee Dean Fredlund Deo Lutheran Church, Global-Local Needs Committee Kitty Wright St. Saviour's Pro-Cathedral Nelson Rosemary Maranin St. Saviour's Pro-Cathedral Nelson Rev. Janet Silman St. John's United Church Pastor Erik Bjorgan Deo Lutheran Church Bill Chu Canadians for Reconciliation Society Rev. Dr. Glen Davis Vancouver School of Theology Paula Fredlund Deo Lutheran Church, Global-Local Needs Committee David Danchuk St. John's Anglican Church Teresa Macht St. Joseph the Worker Parish Rev. Wendy McNiven Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Kamloops George Zorn Deo Lutheran Church, Global-Local Needs Committee Elaine Hooper Pilgrim United Church Council Maureen Fowler Wisdom Circles Vancouver Rev. Dr. Sally Harris Trinity United Church, Kitsilano Sr. Maureen Wild Sisters of Charity Rev. Herbert Hilde St. Giles Presbyterian Church, Prince George Russ Quinn Canadian Memorial United Church, Environment Ministry Team Cathy Fletcher, Positive Living Centre of Victoria Karl Perrin Unitarian Church of Vancouver, Environment Committee Mae Gracey Parksville KAIROS Rev. Dr. Don Grayston Retired Professor, Simon Fraser University Jonathan Bird City Gate Leadership Forum Dawn Braithwaite Cowichan Centre for Progressive Christianity Jim Manly KAIROS Nanaimo Dr. Victoria Marie Vancouver Catholic Worker Margaret Vickers Sisters Association of the Archdioceses of Vancouver, Justice, Peace & Integrity of Creation Committee Ruth Walmsley Vancouver Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) Bonnie Youngman Positive Living Centre of Victoria Francois Brassard Xristos Community Society Chris Diamond Corpus Canada

Towards a New Vision for Palestine / Israel

Here's how 2 KAIROS communities in Victoria and Qualicum celebrated Earth Day in 2011!

The Dark Side of Chocolate

Press & Photo Release: Migrant Rights are Human Rights! in Vancouver

Media release and photos from the Human Rights Day gathering December 10th, 2010 at the Federal government offices by the Vancouver Central Library   PRESS RELEASE (photos follow text)   For reference: Janette McIntosh, KAIROS Vancouver and C4MWJ, janettem@telus.net Jane Ordinario, Migrante BC and C4MWJ, jordinario2009@gmail.com Migrant rights group remembers migrants on International Human Rights Day, Dec 10th Vancouver, B.C. – To commemorate International Human Rights Day, the Coalition for Migrant Workers Justice (C4MWJ) and the organizers of the “Vigils for the Silenced” held its picket at the Federal building in downtown Vancouver to raise the issues and problems of migrants, especially that of the temporary foreign workers.  The Coalition is also known as the Coalicion por la Justicia deTrabajadores Migrantes in Spanish and Koalisyon para sa Katarungan ng mga Migranteng Manggagawa in Tagalog.  This broad alliance is made up of  grassroots migrant organizations, service providers, faith-based communities and unions that came together early this year to combine their strength, resources, and energies in working for the promotion and protection of the rights of migrant workers. The Coalition members held paper placards on which were written common concerns that temporary migrant workers face like the significant barriers to asserting migrants’ basic rights (e.g. migrants’ lack of education and information of their rights and entitlements and oppressive working conditions ), inadequate regulation of agents, consultants and recruiters, the absence of any hope of permanent residency for TFWs in the Seasonal Agricultural Work Program and the reality that TFW programs undermine the ability of workers to organize. Janette McIntosh of Kairos said that while Canadians have prided themselves on being social justice minded humanitarians, “the Canadian governments can no longer claim to be a leader in either social or ecological justice initiatives locally or globally.” Right in Canada’s own back yard, Janette shared that the UN International Labour Organization ruled last November 2010 that Canada and Ontario violated the rights of more than 100,000 migrant and domestic agricultural workers in Ontario when it imposed the ban on farm unions. Raul of the Agricultural Workers Alliance-UFCW Surrey announced the Advent activities in support of Migrant Workers. Info on these events is available from their Agriculture-Workers-Alliance Face Book account. Barry Morris, Minister of the Longhouse United Church talked briefly about despair and hope in the light of the situation of the TFWs and the need to educate the Canadian public about the plight of the migrant workers. The photos with this press release show members from Kairos Vancouver, Richmond Kairos Committee, Longhouse United Church, Missionaries of St. Charles-Scalabrinians, Migrante B.C., Agricultural Workers Alliance-UFCW Surrey, St Joseph's Langley Mexican Farm Workers Outreach,  the West Coast Domestic Workers Association and the Canada-Philippines Solidarity for Human Rights.

Beat The Drum for Aboriginal Solidarity

Refusing To Be Enemies