Canada

As I write this, it’s just a couple of hours after the Prime Minister asked the Governor General to dissolve Parliament and call an election.  I know that elections come with a lot of partisan silliness that can cause us to groan and slip into cynicism and apathy. But as people of hope, rooted in Christ, it’s important to buck the trend of political cynicism, to be surprising by being hopeful, even grateful.  Visible gratitude for the opportunity to act as citizens for the good of our communities is counter-cultural in an age of cynicism.

September 6th is National Read a Book Day! With the upcoming Canadian election in mind, the Centre for Public Dialogue has compiled this great list of books for you to read on Sept 6th, or any other day this fall. These titles have been read and enjoyed by our staff and board members as they endeavor to speak hope to elected officials, and to engage our families, neighbourhoods, and church communities in doing justice. 

I’ve been procrastinating on writing this blog, hoping that some inspiration would hit me and I would punch out a message that would lift you up and fuel your desire to care for God’s world and its’ people. Usually it comes. 

Hear my prayer, O God; listen to the words of my mouth. - Psalm 54:2

"He put another parable before them, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.'” Matthew 13:31-32

Lead me in your truth, and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all day long. Psalm 25:5 

The conculsion to "Sharing Stories: Mary Robinson, Climate Change, and Us" series.

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. - Ephesians 2:10

This article is the third installment of our climate justice series.  Read the other articles here.  

Reading the fifth chapter of Mary Robinson’s book, Climate Justice, introduces us to two women, Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim and Jannie Staffansson. Both belong to groups of native nomads and yet their lives and experiences are worlds apart. 

Introduction to Sharing Stories: Mary Robinson, Climate Change and Us.  Find Chapter 1 in Robinson's book and read with us.  

In Climate Justice, Mary Robinson offers stories to share and promote the injustice that climate change creates.   Her first chapter: “Understanding Climate Justice” introduces her approach of first-hand accounts of witnessing climate change.