Accessibility Standards Rise for Ontario Churches
Churches in Ontario must take another look at their customer service this year to ensure they meet provincial standards aimed at improving the ways organizations treat people with disabilities.
The “customer service” standards came into effect for non – profit organizations on Jan. 1, and are the first part of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act to be implemented. Additional standards for buildings, employment practices and other areas of concern will be crafted and phased in between 2012 and 2025.
Most churches (those that employ fewer than 20 people) are required to create a policy and train their staff and volunteers to thoughtfully and respectfully include people with disabilities. Churches and non – profit groups with more than 20 paid employees must also keep a log as they train their staff, and must provide the government with a report by Dec. 31.
To help Ontario churches, the Canadian Ministries office has created a resource, which includes a sample accessibility policy, available online at presbyterian.ca/resources/online/1841.
More information, and checklists and tool kits, are available through the Ministry of Community and Social Services at mcss.gov.on.ca. ¦ —CW
Financial Woes at VST
St. Andrew’s Hall remains on “solid financial footing” as its associate school takes “extraordinary” steps to rein in expenses.
The Vancouver School of Theology board of governors declared a state of financial exigency on Jan. 4—a measure employed when an institution “needs to take extraordinary action to reduce expenditures and preserve resources,” according to the guidelines of the Association of Theological Schools.
The move allows the board to lay off tenured professors if necessary, although at press time no final decisions had been made regarding the cost – cutting measures to come. In a statement, the board said it was “continuing to proactively address this issue through further staff reductions, institutional restructuring and new forms of partnerships.”
St. Andrew’s Hall, which exercises its charter through its association with VST, is governed by its own board of directors. The Presbyterian college does not share VST’s financial woes, and remains “on very solid financial footing,” according to its dean, Rev. Dr. Stephen Farris. A recent land development deal has added to the college’s coffers, and construction has begun on a new building to be used for administrative offices and worship space. The Hall supports VST with a yearly grant and shares the professors it employs.
Farris said the financial situation at VST, where he is serving as acting principal for the 2012 calendar year, is “serious but not disastrous.”
The VST board has pointed to the effects of the 2008 downturn and the loss of funding from two of its denominational supporters—the United Church, which ended its funding in 2011 and the Anglican Church which has decreased its funding—as reasons for its current challenges.
Yet the school remains vibrant, with both VST and St. Andrew’s Hall boasting the largest student cohorts they’ve ever had. The VST board said the trust funds for student bursaries “remain healthy.” ¦ —CW
Russia Bans Presbyterian’s Report on China
Russian courts have upheld a ban on a report co – written by a Presbyterian former MP, calling it extremist literature that, according to one of its expert witnesses, “can create for the readers a negative image of China.”
As a result of the ruling, David Kilgour, a former MP for Edmonton – Beaumont, and David Matas, a prominent human rights lawyer, could face criminal prosecution if they visit Russia to talk about their investigations.
A member of Westminster, Ottawa, Kilgour told the Record he considers the ban “a badge of honour.”
They have co – authored two reports and a book, Bloody Harvest, detailing alleged organ harvesting from practitioners of Falun Gong—a spiritual discipline that is illegal in China—who have been arrested by Chinese authorities. They suggest organs from these prisoners are sold as part of a lucrative market for transplants.
In October, a district court in Krasnodar, Russia, ruled their 2007 report to be “extremist material,” a decision that effectively bans the creation and distribution of their work. The ban was upheld on appeal on Dec. 22.
Extremist materials are considered to be items which excite racial, religious or national strife, create social hatred, or promote the superiority of one group—or the deficiency of another group—on the basis of religious, social, racial, national or linguistic identity.
The work in question—a Russian translation of their 2007 Report into Allegations of Organ Harvesting of Falun Gong Practitioners in China—was examined and banned alongside other Falun Gong – related works.
Matas and Kilgour’s report, the court said, contained “pronouncements which engender strife and dislike toward people who do not apply to this religious association [Falun Gong].”
A psychologist charged with examining the work suggested it “can create for the readers a negative image of China, its social and political system, … etc.”
Neither Kilgour nor Matas were present at the trials, although Matas wrote to the appeals court.
In a joint letter dated Dec. 27, 2011, Kilgour and Matas asked the Canadian government to issue a diplomatic note of protest to Russia over the ban on their writing.
“An evidence based report on human rights in China written by Canadians in Canada should not be subject to criminal proceedings in Russia,” they wrote.
“David Matas and I have visited more than 40 countries as volunteers to urge governments to pressure the party – state in Beijing to stop its pillaging of organs from Falun Gong,” Kilgour said. “It is no accident that Russia is one of the ones we have not yet reached.”
Falun Gong is a spiritual discipline that became popular in China in the early 1990s, but the government banned it in 1999 fearing it could threaten communist ideals and lead to social unrest. ¦ —CW
Mod Nominee Campaigns for Position
On Dec. 1st, Rev. John Borthwick of St. Andrew’s, Guelph, Ont., caused a stir by launching a Facebook page with the title “Borthwick 4 Moderator”. A few days later he began a blog of the same title. Critics of the move say it is inappropriate for a nominee to campaign for a role that is considered an honour, not a position of power. Borthwick’s reply is that he wishes the election of a moderator to be an educated decision.
“The moderator process should be an opportunity for the church to dialogue about its reality, its dreams and its potential options for the future together,” says Borthwick. “Social media is a perfect venue for that conversation. I think all candidates should be invited to participate in something like this.”
The other nominees on the ballot for Moderator of the 138th General Assembly are Rev. Peter Bush, Rev. Gordon Haynes, Rev. Dr. Andrew Johnston, and Rev. Dr. John Vissers. They have each declined an invitation to set up similar blogs. ¦ —EW
