ON GOING TO THE GO PROJECT

Some of our best learning experiences occur outside school. The GO Project offered by the United Church is an urban immersion experience for young people Grade 9 to age 18. It is worthwhile, in my opinion, to determine what the project aims to achieve.

The GO Project appears to me to be a finishing school for those who work from a church base to be activists in local communities. It also intends to be a youth experience that is consistent with the values and manner of proceeding generally accepted and promoted by the United Church. The participants should be ready to include all, to accept difference and to thrive in a "questioning atmosphere."

The youth should anticipate learning from and receiving from the people they meet in their various sites. As they help in a food bank, a clothing outlet, a child care centre, a young person drop-in centre, they will be thinking of similar initiatives for the communities they come from. The purpose is "to provide youth and their leaders with the ability to discern the actual needs of those in their home communities." This occurs through a "ministry of presence" and in sites that are "sustainable" in the sense that they continue on after the youth participate in their work.

A statement of the Mission of the GO Project with an emphasis on community concludes: "GO - be a positive presence in the community around you GO - Enrich the lives of youth by taking a leadership role within your church GO - Serve God by discerning how to serve your community"

Most happily, I will be with the young people as an adult leader/participant.

CATHY RUSSELL WRITES ON KAIROS EVENT

From Cathy's blog for St. Matthew's Church: godsomemoments.blogspot.com

We wear ribbons for all kinds of worthy causes these days- pink for breast cancer, yellow for soldiers serving overseas, red for HIV/AIDS, purples for epilepsy.  Today, John and I were part of a huge ribbon that stretched over 700 feet and several blocks. 

This huge ribbon made up of over 170 banners from across the country was an initiative of Kairos Canada a Christian Justice organisation.  The banners displayed images and messages of solidarity with our First Nations people, and called on the Canadian government to implement the articles of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (which turns into the rather  unfortunate acronym of UNDRIP).  

We marched carrying the banners from Victoria Island to Parliament Hill and then to the Human Rights Monument.  There were singers, drummers and speech makers.  But for me, the most impressive statement and the most moving was the banners themselves- small lengths of fabric from all across the country-Halifax NS , Victoria BC, Calgary AB, Nunavut, Belleville, ON, Montreal QC and many points in between.   Before the march began I wandered  through the many rows of banners joined together on the ground, and I was awestruck by the variety of creativity, colours, images and words, all on the same theme of solidarity with First Nations.  

Each banner tells a story- or rather two stories- a story about the group who made it and a story of their prayers for their First Nations brothers and sisters. The groups are Christians- United Churches, Anglicans, Lutherans, Roman Catholics, Christian Reformed and Presbyterian.  They are Unitarians and Quakers, Karios Chapters, Unions and NGOs.  The prayers are for basic equality in areas like education, clean water and health care, and for recognition of land claims and treaty rights.   Though you would never have known it from our most recent election these things matter to many Canadians. 

One banner stops me in my tracks- its message so profound and so simple “God's love is more powerful than racism.”  It’s a perfect summary of Paul’s words to the Romans- For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Rom 8:38

 

Today, surrounded by people and messages of faith and solidarity and good will, I am proud to be a Christian, a member of Kairos Quinte, a United Church minister, and a Canadian, even though I know we are still a long way from God’s kingdom come.  Speaker Cindy Blackstock, from the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada summed it up for me- “Canada is a great country, but we can be better.”  May God make it truly so! 

QUINTE INTERFAITH REFUGEE SPONSORSHIP COMMITTEE REFLECTION

Many people will remember the late 70's and the boat people of Vietnam. That's the time I became active with sponsorship of refugees. It was a clear opportunity to live my faith. I am grateful that I have had this opportunity. In the 1980's I was the priest founder of a Spanish language Mass in Scarborough serving Salvadoran and Nicaraguan refugees. I give thanks for that.

Long before I came to live in Belleville I had heard about the work of the Quinte Interfaith Refugee Sponsorship Committee (QIRSC) from my friends Mieke and Tom Thorne. The committee has a history of well over a decade of work and has sponsored five families in that time. For the past 8 months I have been a member of the committee myself. I have been impressed by the care they take with raising funds and making every effort to support their current sponsored family in all aspects of entrance into life here in Belleville.

Welcoming others has its evident rewards. Mieke and Tom had a history of opening their home to welcome others. Their generousity has blessed them with friends from all over the world.

Why do we welcome refugees? We welcome refugees because it makes sense to do so. I am not thinking here merely of a rational pro and con type of sense. Rather, to welcome refugees makes deep religious and cultural sense. The newcomers to this land of harsh winters only survived because native peoples opened up their tribal circles to the French and the British. With John Ralston Saul I have come to see Canada as founded in the pattern of the native Talking Circle.

Let us face the fact that we are all refugees. Our ancestors were all refugees. We are descended from those who left Africa. We are spiritual descendents of the people of Israel who were refugees out of Egypt: "You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God" (Leviticus 19:34).

We are descended from the Loyalists fleeing threat in the newly independent American states. We are descended from the boat people fleeing famine in Ireland. We are descended from those escaping Bismark's armies, Stalin's purges, Hitler's genocidal aggression and the devestation and scarcities of post-war Europe.

Each Christmas we re-live the story of Joseph and Mary seeking a place where the couple can pass the night and where Mary can give birth to Jesus. We want to be among those who would welcome the holy family. In a globalized world of many traditions we want to be people of the Golden Rule -- Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

Those working with the Quinte Interfaith Refugee Sponsorship Committee give thanks for the opportunity they have had to welcome refugees. Thank you Rednersville-Albury United Church for supporting the work of this committee.

OH HAPPY DAY! GARY'S RETIREMENT

What a beautiful Saturday! Sunshine and soft breezes. Cathy and I explored the mouth of the Salmon River out to the Bay of Quinte by canoe; it's Tyendinaga Mohawk territory. It's now our private spot that you are not to know about. Protected from the winds and home of turtle, beaver, heron, pike. We paddled ourselves into a pleasing state of exhaustion and returned in time for me to join the Federal Liberal Extraordinary Convention at 3 p.m.

The Convention went on for close to three hours. I experienced it as a happy experience and think that the Federal Liberals are beginning to feel somewhat cheered up. We/they have decided to hold off the leadership convention until some time between March 1 and June 30 of 2013. With these additional months, Bob Rae has the opportunity to shepherd a grass roots policy process. The more humble(d) Liberals are determined to listen and to think about the positions the party should take ... Think about this; there were over 2000 delegates in a teleconference with simultaneous on-line streaming of comments. This level of participation is apparently a first for North America. It feels like a new birthing. Lots of positive comments from the delegates notwithstanding the few technical glitches.

In the evening Cathy and I attended Gary Warren's retirement party at the Belleville club. One of his daughters led the toast and roast telling us that Gary's crowning achievement was the "International Support Worker" graduate certificate program at Loyalist. We learned that Gary transitioned from caring for the 'otherwise enabled' to teaching others to care. A visit to Mexico broadened his horizon and eventually inspired him to design a program that would bring an international perspective to caring for others.

Gary's daughter read out a history of his career and named the four points of wisdom that were keynotes in his life. The first is "Go with the green light." The second is "Spell phlegm." The third is, "Name your fear and face it." The fourth, "What do you want to talk about today?" Here is my interpretation of these points of wisdom.

"Go with the green light," is the motto of an activist. Don't get stopped because people and situations say no. You have a vision to fulfill and persevere until you find a way to carry forward. "Spell phlegm" is about ongoing learning. Work out the puzzles. Gain the knowledge. "Name your fear and face it" has to do with realizing that what you fear is the point of challenge that will make life interesting. Embrace the opportunity. "What do you want to talk about today?" is the basic starting point of a philosophy of education that recognizes that teaching is encouraging others to follow the line of their questioning minds and questing spirits.

DREW HAYDON TAYLOR AT THE BELLEVILLE LIBRARY

I feel comfortable in the world of Canada's First Nations peoples. For me there are memories of soft summer days at powwows watching dancers, listening to the drum singers and chatting at the edge of forest and lake. It is a place where one can joke and laugh.

I thought about that as Drew Haydon Taylor, a Curve Lake FN Anishinabe, drew us into his world of writing with an aboriginal perspective. National Aboriginal Day June 21 approaches and a related Belleville Public Library event began with a presentation from a group of women from Tyendinaga First Nation praying in the language of the Mohawk people and singing.

Tyendinaga borders Belleville to the East. The leader of the group spoke eloquently of the history of the Mohawk band originally from northern New York state. Another woman in the group, darker complexioned with long black hair, supported her with a smile that lifted our hearts and communicated delight.  I should always travel with my camera.

Haydon Taylor started by saying that he was happy to be here on Tyendinaga Iroquois territory. He then hesitated and corrected himself. Had Belleville not been Nishnabe land? I felt happy that he got that piece of history correct. I puzzle about the British assigning the Mohawk band land in the Deseronto area so close to an Ojibway reserve. Cathy thinks maybe it was colonial strategy -- "Divide and conquer."

The Canadian writer, Peter C. Newman, has recently moved to Belleville with his wife. His plan is to write about the Loyalists. I hope his research will shed light on the historical puzzles of this place.

Haydon Taylor explained that he is a writer (who hates to write), a person with no day job, someone who has been able to make a living from writing. He recalled asking his Grade 11 English teacher whether a person could make a living from creative writing. The teacher answered with a curt "No." Haydon Taylor noted that when he speaks to high school students he emphasizes that his one piece of advice to them is -- "Don't listen to your Grade 11 English teacher." We clapped as the author informed us he was on his 23rd published book.

Haydon Taylor says he woke one day to find that he was a playwright. He has written some 16 plays and there have been numerous stage productions of his work. He talks of a phone call from a professor at the University of Venice asking for permission to translate and present one of his plays at the unversity. He is popular with Germans. 

He reminded us of the old joke -- What do you call a vegetarian Indian? Answer: A really lousy hunter.

Haydon Taylor noted that Aboriginal literature has gained a reputation as dark and serious and focused on the pain of a people ridding themselves of the poison of oppression. He has seen this not just with North American peoples but with the Maori of New Zealand and the Dalits of India. Raised at Curve Lake First Nation with childhood memories of elders telling wild stories and falling asleep to the sounds of their laughter, Haydon Taylor has opened another path.

Cathy and I agreed that it was a very enjoyable evening thanks to both the Tyendinaga women and Drew Haydon Taylor.

THE TURTLES OF TURTLE ISLAND

Turtles!!! We saw many turtles basking in the sun at the mouth of the Moira river this morning. I had never seen that before.  Amazing.

As Cathy and I with our companion Ruby the Dog paddled our canoe closer to this profusion of turtles I recalled reading about North America as Turtle Island. A native elder had told the creation story about the land being built on the back of a great turtle. A child listening asked the logical question: What is below the turtle? The elder had answered: "It's turtles all the way down."

Watching the basking turtles slipping warily one after the other into the water I had the sense that I was close to the native story of creation. The backs of the turtles were shaped like maps criss-crossed by river-like lines on the rounded shells. As far as I can tell, most of the turtles we saw are what are called the northern "map turtle" though one of my photos show what might be a "painted" turtle as well.

Now that I'm writing about turtles I had to research what a group of turtles is called. Here is something I didn't know. A group of turtles is called a "bale" of turtles.  I wonder who thought of that word?  The map turtle hibernates over the winter in deeper parts of the river or lake bed while absorbing oxygen from the water.

Now my imagination takes me back to the time when the people who invented the canoe paddled these waters. For years now the canoe has been a "sacred" vehicle for me. When I get into the canoe, I slip away from the cares of my everyday life and into the luminous places of creation. The canoe is the perfect entrance into this world away from cars and trucks and noise, quiet and close to the water and little disturbance to the creatures who draw life here.

It wasn't so long ago that the mouth of the Moira river was the home of the Mississauga Ojibway. Was it only last year that there was a money settlement of a land claim that took in most of downtown Belleville?

This coming Monday June 20 at 10 a.m. Cathy, Ruby the dog and I will be on Parliament Hill to unfurl a banner as KAIROS gathers us to show our support for the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Canada has finally signed on to the Declaration and the effort now is to generate public support so that the promise of the Declaration will be fulfilled in the lives of our Aboriginal peoples. We have received so much from these ancestors who lived so close to the earth on Turtle Island.

CONSOLATION WITHOUT CAUSE

Cathy's invitation to speak at the Pentecost Sunday service about a moment of being graced leads me to think about a phrase -- "consolation without cause." What is meant by the phrase "consolation without cause"? It refers to a religious experience that goes beyond antecedent conditions. In other words, I feel deeply consoled and it's not because I had a good night's sleep, nor is it because a friend told me I was a fine person, nor is it because of listening to music nor eating a delicious meal. This graced moment is not something that I did. It is an experience that happened to me. I recall that when we trained as spiritual directors the question we were to ask of people in direction was what happened to them. We did not ask what they did during their time of prayer; we asked -- "What happened to you during your time of prayer?"

For the person experiencing "consolation without cause," the experience can support the choice of a particular course of action. Of course, I have to take care to not read too much into the meaning of the "consolation" event. The idea is to keep watch for a pattern of consolation helping confirm a decision.

In the service I spoke of a recent experience of a graced moment, an experience of "consolation without cause." The experience of being touched, consoled in the Holy Spirit, occurred at Bay of Quinte Conference Annual Meeting in the church in Lindsay last weekend. I was sitting in the upper balcony of the church at the edge of the group of young people attending the Youth Forum connected to the Conference. I had too little sleep the night before and was not particularly interested in the discussion taking place in the assembly below. Suddenly -- 'out of the blue' as it were -- I felt a touch of peace and joy. I asked myself -- where did that come from?

After the experience I asked myself whether it was a sign that I was in the right place? Did it mean that working with youth was a calling for me at this point in my life. Maybe? I will have to test that out and see whether there are further moments of consolation confirming decisions I make along this path.

MAUDE BARLOW AT LOYALIST CONVOCATION

Maude Barlow was the speaker at the convocation today. The International Support Worker (ISW) graduands in attendance had an opportunity before the event to chat with Maude. She was quite approachable and enthused about and supportive of the ISW program.

In our chat and in the convocation address, Maude reminded us that the UN resolution on the right to water and sanitation had passed (July 28, 2010). A more recent initiative explaining the implications of this resolution for governments has also been put into effect. Maude revealed that she is presently writing an account of this significant advance in protecting the right to water. I am looking forward to reading her account; the website for her activities is http://www.canadians.org/.

Meanwhile, Gary Warren is hoping that the ISW program will be advertised widely and attract many students. So the invitation goes out to you and all your friends interested in employment in agencies with international outreach. Consider the Loyalist program for both learning about development and for a six week immersion experience in another country.

Cathy was invited to say the invocation prayer at one of the Loyalist convocations and she asked to do the one at which I was graduating. People liked her prayer and I include it here:

"Holy Creator, Source of all knowledge and wisdom We ask for your blessing on those who have completed their courses of study at Loyalist College. We thank you for all those parents, teachers, partners, friends and mentors whose support and encouragement have helped make today possible for these graduates. May their graduation mark the beginning of a quest to be life long learners. May they ask the right questions, seek the best answers, test and exceed the accepted standards in their chosen fields of study and work. May their formation here in this community of learning, help to reform and reshape our community and the whole of the world. Fill them and us with hope and courage in the possibilities of goodness, the pledges of service, and the promises of justice. Amen and Amen. "

In other news, Cousin Owen Duggan is visiting us while on sabbatical from his work in Japan. He is kindly helping us with planning a deck to extend out the back of our home into the yard. He has also come with slides of his work helping clean up after the Earthquake and Tsunami in Japan.

There was a celebration this evening of 86 years since the foundation of the United Church. Belleville's Central Zone churches gathered at Eastminister United for a service and Owen had his slides running during the reception after the service. It worked well since the speaker at the service was the Program Coordinator for the Partners in Mission Unit of the United Church, Pat Elson. Pat is heading off to Japan soon and had a good chat with Owen about the situation of some of the areas affected.

And let me not forget over a hundred turtles sunning themselves on floating tires at the mouth of the Moira River. I've never seen anything remotely like this. We were in our canoe and we didn't have our camera with us.

YOUTH FORUM AT BAY OF QUINTE CONFERENCE

The Bay of Quinte Conference Annual Meeting CAM 2011 is taking place at Cambridge Street United Church in Lindsay. The theme is the Tree of Life. The theme presenter is the moderator of the United Church of Canada, Marti Tindal.  Drawing on a course Mary-Jo Leddy presented on the theological thought of Wendel Berry, she talks of four movements of creation.  The Tree of Life in Autumn, the Tree of Life in Winter and the Tree of Life in Spring and yes, the Tree of Life in Summer.

Running parallel to the general conference is the Youth Forum. Marly, David, Cathy and Laura and other leaders foster youth participation in smaller events throughout the year. Jackie promotes from the Conference office.  Numbers of those attending the youth portion are up from last year; 50 or so in 2010 and 60 plus in 2011. The youth and the adults associated with the youth forum follow a separate program that intersects at points with the general conference. The youth bring energy to the event and put on view their capacity for leadership. Some members of the Youth Forum are also voting members in the court of the Conference.

I am one of the leaders of the small groups of youth -- identified under the sycamore tree. The first evening the group members shared something about background and current interests. They talk about "social justice" and "care for the environment" as personal priorities. 

There is so much happening here. Michiko is flamboyant in striped pajama trousers. She is leading Yoga before breakfast. Later she is Spanish style long black skirt topped by a turquoise shirt. She is a student of social justice and peace studies at King's College, Western and has just returned from a group trip to El Salvador and Guatemala. We experimented with a Spanish language conversation over pita supper last evening.

Jonathan (Jon) rapidly develops on all fronts. He has plans to support a friend in replacing his riding's M.P., if not four years, then eight years from now. At 17 he has time to make long range plans. His guitar skills advance and he leads us in a jam session of Beatle songs. The volume of conversation rises in the rooms. We learn various techniques for gaining silence -- hand raised up, mouth closed shut. Shy youth learn to speak. The group show insight and compassion. Being with them lifts me up.

Marti Tindal participates in an eco game, Cathy's holy motion exercises, and she answers questions about the role of the moderator.  A student questions whether organized religion has a future.  Tindal understands the United Church as committed to a "conversation" that will be guided and gifted by the Holy Spirit.  She points to the church's opening to the First Peoples.  No one knows how the Spirit will move but responsive to the Spirit the church will continue.

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT CANADIAN MINING ABROAD?

I am thinking about how Canadian mining has been part of my life. My earliest memories are of slag heaps. Piles of broken rock. I was raised to the age of 10 in Cobalt. Our first house was not far from the "Glory Hole," and I can still remember being excited by the shiny golden colour of pyrite. We played among the old shafts and mine workings.

My grandfather spent his working life in the hard rock Hollinger Mine in Timmins. This mine was a major producer of gold. Grandpa supported his wife and nine children working right through the time of the recession. Our family owes its life to the mining industry.

So I want to be proud of Canadian mining. I even sang the Cobalt song in public:

"For we'll sing a little song of Cobalt
.   If you don't live there it's your own fault
.   
Oh you Cobalt
   Where the wintry breezes blow.  
Where all the silver comes from.
   And you live a life and then some
.   
Oh you Cobalt
.   You're the best old town I know."

I ask the question: WHAT ARE YOUR GOOD CONNECTIONS WITH CANADIAN MINING? 

An Ottawa Sun article tells me that "most of the world's 1,800 mining and exploration companies are headquartered in Canada. They employ more than 300,000 people in about 100 countries." Then I went to Mexico.  Let me recall my blog from January past:

"DO CANADIANS CARE ENOUGH? After this morning's talk by a speaker from otrosmundos organization I am reluctant to tell people here in Mexico that I am from Canada. Thanks to our Canadian mining companies we Canadians are perceived as polluters and bullies. NAFTA allows Canadian mining companies to overule Mexican domestic environmental laws and local community concerns; Canadian executives take advantage of this instrument of exploitation. People have died and will die in future because our companies make money the bottom line. With our Canadian mining expertise and some respect for local conditions we could in turn earn respect. Bill C-300, a private members bill tabled by Liberal Member of Parliament John McKay, proposed giving the government authority to investigate complaints against resources companies operating abroad, and to withhold public money from offenders. The bill was narrowly defeated. Shame. But my guess, along with that of M.P. John McKay, is that parliament will have to return to this issue. Canada as a whole is losing too much respect from the behaviour of the mining companies. As our speaker from otrosmundos detailed the damage Canadian mining companies have done I thought back to my childhood in Cobalt. Cobalt was the world's biggest silver producer back in the early 1900's. It was the strike that led to many others in the Canadian shield and was where Canadians had their first lessons in hard rock mining. Our house was set on the hill above what we called "Poison Lake." It was a gray green pond of sludge. As children we played along the edges of the lake and on top of the mounds of tailings. Today I read that arsenic was associated with the cobalt ore from which the silver was extracted. Water around Cobalt is polluted. Children are warned away. When my wife and I moved to Belleville, friends who had heard what local doctors were saying told us to install a water purifier in our home. There are mines to the north of Belleville. In past studies have shown a high level of arsenic in the Moira River. A close friend wonders whether it was Belleville water that caused her cancer. When I lived north of Lake Huron near Espanola, Anishnabe men who had worked in the Sudbury mines talked about the damage done them from years drawing in the dust from the mines. We catch on late about the damage done our own people and to the environment. Having some sense of what it means to run a environmentally safe mining site do we forget our learning? Does it make sense to have no corporate accountability and export death to other areas of the world? Shame. To see who was absent from the Bill C-300 vote and to learn how members voted go to http://howdtheyvote.ca/vote.php?id=940."

HOW HAS YOUR EVALUATION OF CANADIAN MINING CHANGED OVER TIME?

Groups like MiningWatchCanada and BarrickProtest.org have kept the spotlight on the damage Barrick Gold has caused in other countries. There are some positive results.

The Ottawa Sun article gives reasons for the Canadian government not to monitor mining activities outside of Canada: "None of this is necessary. HRW [Human Rights Watch] admits Barrick has moved from 'dismissive hostility' on reports of human rights abuses to one of collaboration. Crime in villages around the mine has dropped significantly, the company has increased monitoring of security personnel and it has improved a process for those who want to report crimes - especially sexual violence." 

The article continues in a way that shocked me. Barrick Gold ...

"... is also looking for alternatives to releasing millions of tonnes of liquid tailings into the Porgera River  [Papua New Guinea] - a practice that would bring sanctions in Canada."

Looking for "alternatives"!!! Something that should not have happened ... weak (corrupt .. desperate) local governments allowing --- obviously someone should be monitoring ....

HOW CAN WE INFLUENCE THE MINING INDUSTRY FOR THE BETTER?