Forty Years of Justice
KAIROS celebrated 40 years of ecumenical justice work by Canadian churches with a moving worship service at the Church of the Redeemer in Toronto in May.
Over the past 40 years, the churches through their coalitions have impacted public policies, and Canadian churches have accompanied brothers and sisters around the world through difficult times.
Kairos’ executive director, Jennifer Henry spoke about the global partnerships as a cornerstone for justice work.
“If they [our partners] have courage in the face of the tremendous risks they experience every day, we must, in greater privilege and security, find that daily biblical courage to vision a prophetic future.”
In 1973, church leaders toured across Canada to launch the 10 Days for World Development program. Through Project North, the churches stood in solidarity with the Dene people in calling for a moratorium on the Mackenzie Valley pipeline until land claims were settled. The report from the Royal Commission on the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline recommended a moratorium, which the Canadian government accepted.
From the 1970s to the early 1990s, Canadian churches supported South African churches in the struggle against apartheid. The Taskforce on the Churches and Corporate Responsibility persuaded the Toronto Dominion Bank to cease lending to South Africa.
Canadian churches participated in the global Jubilee campaign to cancel the debt of poor countries. In 1999, 640,000 Canadian signatures were gathered and presented to Canada’s Minister of Finance at an international meeting that year in Germany.
In 2001, 11 churches and church agencies joined to form Kairos.
Joe Mihevc, co-editor of Coalitions for Justice, which is about the first 20 years of the ecumenical coalitions, reflected on the churches overcoming theological and organizational challenges to form 10 coalitions that would respond to conflict, poverty, ecological crises and other issues. Mihevc observed that: “Church leaders saw that it was possible to do together what may be impossible to do alone.” ¦ —Stephen Allen and Katharine Masterton, Justice Ministries.
Clergy Deserve Free Parking
After rousing the public’s support, Rev. Keith McKee of St. George’s, London, Ont., helped reverse a hospital’s decision to charge clergy parking fees while they visit patients.
McKee said he has offered pastoral care to in-patients for more than 30 years. Most of that time he parked for free.
“I visit the hospital four times a week on average. Usually I have two or three people from my congregation who I’m visiting. Then I look at the clergy list to see who’s from out of town and stop by to say ‘hello’ and introduce myself and offer to say a prayer,” said McKee.
Two years ago, London Health Sciences Centre asked him and other clergy to purchase a yearly $50 subsidized pass.
In mid-March, McKee and other clergy received a letter from LHSC administration informing them they would need to start paying standard parking rates, beginning on April Fool’s Day.
According to the administration, the change was made in order to cover the costs of maintaining the parking facilities, which are not supported by provincial funding.
The news came as a shock to McKee, who said his congregation had already approved their 2013 budget.
He estimated parking would cost $30 per week for the congregation—an annual total of $1,560—a significant amount for small congregations.
McKee appealed to the community in a Letter to the Editor, published in the London Free Press on March 14. A reporter from the newspaper picked up the story; his article was published the next day. By then the public was mobilizing.
“There was an outpouring of support from the community. After the story was published I received a lot of phone calls on Friday and Saturday, both from members in my congregation and members in the community who told me they would be calling the administration to express their concern,” said McKee.
“One man told me while he wasn’t religious, and didn’t go to church, he recognized spiritual care as very important for patients’ healing journey.”
The next week the administration informed the public the hospital foundation would subsidize parking for clergy; meaning a return to a $50 yearly pass.
“I feel very buoyed by the community of London. It’s affirming to hear how much they value clergy visits,” said McKee. ¦ —Seth Veenstra
Callahan Launches New Book
If your church doesn’t have a lot of programs, “that’s God’s way of blessing you,” said Dr. Kennon Callahan as he launched his new book, Living in Grace, at the church’s national offices.
Over time, focus has shifted from program-centred churches to growth-centred churches and then to mission-centred churches, Callahan said. “This book honours grace-centred congregations.”
“In the first century what counted was the grace of God. Welcome to a new first century. The 21st-century is one of the greatest ages of mission the Christian movement has ever known. And in this time what people long for and look for when they come to a congregation is the grace of God.”
“There was a fellow some centuries ago who said, if you want to build a ship, don’t organize people into task forces and collect wood. Teach them the love of the sea. My paraphrase on that is, if you want to help congregations and people, don’t organize them into task forces and busy projects. Teach them to love the grace of God. And the ship will get built.” ¦ —CW
Presbyterians Nominated
Two Presbyterian authors are being recognized for their works by the Word Guild, a Canadian organization supporting Christian writers.
Larry Brice’s book, Confident Faith: In a World That Wants to Believe has been nominated for four awards. From Port Rowan, Ont., Brice is minister at St. Paul’s, Burlington, Ont., founder of Reachout Ministries, and the host of Reachout for Life, a Christian interview program airing on Crossroads Television.
“[T]his book is popular in the judging because it draws upon so many of the best ideas from the historic Christian denominations—from Roman Catholic, to Anglican, Presbyterian, and Baptist theologies, etc., which thus offers a very wide appeal to Christians and non-Christians alike,” Brice told the Record. “The last chapter, My Story, is a personal testimony to the God who is not only proven to exist beyond a reasonable doubt by logic and reason in the book, but shares a faith in a personal God who is also proven at times in the most severe suffering. It is my prayer … that it would be ‘faith building’ for every reader and also lead to confident faith in God at times of great adversity.”
Brice also has a new book out, The Uncomfortable Church: Can Gays Be Reconciled to the Body of Christ? Drawing from scripture, the PCC’s Church Doctrine Committee, eminent conservative theologians, and insights from the author, the book explores the moral issues surrounding gay and lesbian marriage and ordination, and the relationship of homosexuals to the church in general.
“I found it possible to maintain our historic view of scripture and the traditional definition of marriage, while still warmly affirming many of the gains homosexuals have made in our time bringing gays and lesbians into mainstream society,” said Brice.
Jayne E. Self, a member at Tweedsmuir, Orangeville, Ont., is nominated for Death of a Highland Heavyweight.
Self’s work has been rewarded in the past. Last year, her first mystery, Murder in Hum Harbour was honoured by the Word Guild for best mystery novel. And her article for the Record, Boogie to the Front (January 2010), based on the moderator’s trip to Ghana, received an honorable mention in 2011 by the Canadian Church Press.
“I believe stories should be more than entertainment. They should make you think—at least the good ones,” Self told the Record. “I’m honoured that Death of a Highland Heavyweight has been nominated for a 2013 Word Award. For me that means the judges see more to my mystery than a fun afternoon with quirky characters in a Nova Scotian village. They see the story’s underlying question: when does faith cost too much?”
The awards gala happens June 12 in Mississauga, Ont.
The Record will feature a review of Brice’s latest book in September, written by Rev. Dr. Kevin Livingston of Tyndale University College and Seminary, Toronto. ¦ —Amy MacLachlan
Teenager Rallies for Congo
Along with being the daughter of a Presbyterian minister and a Guatemalan political refugee, Anna MacDonald is a passionate advocate for social justice.
On April 22, she joined hundreds of high school students and members of the local Congolese Association in a rally in front of the legislature in Winnipeg. The youth held up signs and electronic devices with the slogan: “No more blood in our phones.”
Canadian companies are heavily invested in mining operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Among the country’s mineral resources are large deposits of coltan, a black metallic ore from which the element tantalum can be extracted. Tantalum is used in electronics like cell phones, computers, tablets and gaming consoles.
“The big thing we wanted to put emphasis on is how we as Canadians benefit [from unethical practices in Congo],” the 18-year-old said from her home in Winnipeg. “We wanted to show the government we care about this issue and lots of high school students are interested in this issue.”
At the rally, the group called for an end to human rights abuses in Congo and encouraged the provincial and federal governments to pass legislation which could hold Canadian companies accountable for how they extract, use and trade materials from countries where there are conflicts.
“If you do something wrong, you should be held accountable for that,” she said. “I don’t think some people should suffer for the benefit of others.”
Her social justice group, the Met School Justice League at Garden City Collegiate, also held a human rights day to raise awareness about the issue. Keynote speakers addressed topics like corruption, the use of rape as a weapon of war, and the use of local militias to clear out villages in locations where mining companies want to set up operations.
The group plans to hold a benefit concert on May 28 with proceeds to go to Doctors Without Borders.
“Where this ties into my church is there are a large number of Congolese members in my congregation and it’s a growing demographic,” she said.
“I’ve grown up in the Christian life. Being a minister’s kid can be really hard sometimes and I’ll be honest, I’ve struggled with my faith. But I’m surrounded by good people who don’t pressure me to think one way or the other and they’ve helped me to be strong in my faith and believe in God and follow His path.
“A big influence of mine was my mother who was a political refugee from Guatemala. I grew up knowing her story and … I know God wants me to carry on in what I believe in and fight for it even when I’m faced with negativity. This is a controversial topic because not everyone wants legislation in place.”
MacDonald aspires to become a documentary filmmaker and investigative journalist. She completed two documentaries as part of her high school classes: one focused on the issue of Canadian mining companies and violence in Congo, and the other featured political refugees like her mother. She graduates this year and said she plans to study film and global studies at the University of Winnipeg and then seek a master’s degree in journalism. ¦ —CW
North Saskatchewan Presbytery Launches Mission Fund
The Presbytery of Northern Saskatchewan is urging its congregations to dream big, and is supporting those dreams with its Fund of Possibility.
Created in November 2010, the Fund was born thanks to the closure and subsequent sale of several congregations. After carefully investing the initial seed money and watching it grow, the presbytery is ready to fund new projects and just wrapped up its first application process from churches within its bounds.
Each application is eligible for up to $10,000, with up to $25,000 to be granted this year. The deadline for applications was June 1.
“A few years ago, several congregations … were closed. It was a difficult time for us as we grieved together at the ending of several ministries. But even as we grieved, we spoke to each other about the hope that we have,” Rev. Amanda Currie, presbytery clerk, told the Record. “We reminded each other that our decisions to allow some ministries to come to an end—rather than slowly using up all their resources until they absolutely had to end—would mean the possibility of new mission and ministry in the future.”
Each congregation that closed (which included Circle West and Parkview and the amalgamation of McKercher Drive with St. Andrew’s, Saskatoon) recommended a plan for mission to the presbytery and to the national office. Some of the funds went to the PCC’s New Church Development Fund. In Saskatchewan, several local missions, including the Saskatoon Native Circle Ministry run by Rev. Stewart Folster, benefited from special gifts.
“[And] Some funds went to the presbytery itself and were earmarked for new missions and ministries,” said Currie. “We’re not talking about starting up new congregations yet, but hopefully we are opening our eyes and ears to see and hear what God is calling us to do in our communities to reach out with the gospel in word and deed.
“Hopefully the Fund of Possibility will keep reminding us that God is always calling us to new things, and that nothing will be impossible with God.” ¦ —AM
Man Arrested for Church Break-Ins
A 22-year-old man was arrested following a break-in at North Tryon Presbyterian, P.E.I.
Police arrested the suspect at the church around 2 a.m. on April 11 as they responded to an alarm.
A search of his home by the RCMP uncovered items associated with nearby South Shore United Church, which had been broken into earlier in the night.
He was charged with two counts of breaking and entering and failing to comply with an undertaking. ¦
—with files from the Canadian Press
Churches Deal with Taxes
Two churches in Brampton presbytery have resolved their property tax woes.
Trafalgar, Oakville, and St. Andrew’s Memorial, Mississauga, both faced substantial property tax increases when their buildings were reassessed.
Trafalgar was hit with a yearly tax bill of over $9,000 for the 2011 year, a huge increase from the $1,300 a year the church had paid previously for a portion of the building it rents out to a daycare.
In its reassessment of the church property, the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation, which is responsible for classifying and determining the value of properties in Ontario, decided a larger portion of the building should be taxed as commercial space.
The church filed a request for reconsideration.
“We argued that they made an error and misunderstood the way we use our building, sharing it with a daycare,” Rev. Kristine O’Brien, minister at Trafalgar, said in an email. “Although we did include the good work we do in our community, they were only concerned with the detailed account of how much we use the spaces in question.”
MPAC denied the church’s request for reconsideration, so the church filed another request, this time including floor plans and room dimensions as well as a very detailed account of how the spaces were used, by whom, and for how many hours each day of the week.
The second request met with success. MPAC recommended the church building be exempt from all municipal property taxes and the Town of Oakville agreed. Tax rates are set by municipalities, which rely on assessments by MPAC.
“This whole process took about nine months,” said O’Brien. “Although we were paying $1,300 a year, then assessed at $9,500, we are now paying $0. Hallelujah!”
St. Andrew’s Memorial in Port Credit, part of the City of Mississauga, saw their property taxes increase by several thousand dollars because of a reassessment. The church rents space to two schools.
A committee of session filed a request for reconsideration with MPAC and a tax appeal with the City of Mississauga under the Municipal Act, alleging the church had been overcharged due to “gross or manifest error.”
An inspector from MPAC agreed the initial reassessment had been incorrect in some places. The size of the spaces, the age of the building, and non-exclusive use by the schools all played a role in the reassessment said Donna Gallant, a member of the session committee.
MPAC reduced its assessment and the City of Mississauga granted the church’s tax appeal.
“We were pleased with the result,” said Gallant. Although the new assessment still resulted in higher taxes than the church was charged in previous years, she said the increase was “very workable for the schools” which took on the extra expense when the church renegotiated their annual rental contracts. ¦ —Connie Wardle
