ACTIONS MATTER - Holy Trinity Anglican Church
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ACTIONS MATTER
CALL TO ACTION
Dear Disciples of Rupert’s Land,
Matthew 6.25-34
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? Therefore, do not worry, saying, “What will we eat?” or “What will we drink?” or “What will we wear?” For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ‘So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.”
Indeed, God prepares, clothes, feeds and loves creation. God cares for Creation through the rich generosity of interdependent relationships, we are that which God has called to show sustaining compassion and care for the human family.
Bishops and Archbishops of the Anglican Church of Canada have sent an Open Letter on Guaranteed Basic Income to the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance, calling for the immediate implementation of Guaranteed Basic Income for all people who dwell on this land.
Will you now consider signing and sending the attached form letter to your Member of Parliament, in support of the Bishops’ request.
Thank you for your ministry, and thank you for your hard work of discernment through these extraordinary days.
+ Geoff
When using the provided templates, please note:
· This letter may be sent by email or by Canada Post to your MP
o Letters to MPs sent through Canada Post do not require any postage
o If sending by post, the MPs local office will receive the letter more quickly than their Ottawa office
· It is critical to include your address, especially your postal code, in the signature portion of the letter that you send; this is how MPs determine that you are a constituent who they represent in the House of Commons
· If you do not know your MP or their contact information, it can be found at 'ourcommons.ca/members/en'
Letter campaigns like this are most effective when MPs receive a high volume of letters about the same issue. While it is more work, it is more effective if every member of a community writes a letter or email than to have one letter sent on behalf of everyone. This is a case where quantity is critical.
Missional Day – Saturday, May 9 -
Sent Into the World: What Are We Doing For Christ’s Sake?
The third of three events for clergy and lay leaders as we consider how we equip our parishes and communities to better serve God's mission in the world. Each of the events takes its theme from Bishop Geoff's mantra on the purpose of leaders in the church: To Nurture the Health and Wellness of the Body of Christ, Sent into God's World Where God is Already Active. This third event will explore how leaders, ordained and lay, are called to lead their communities out of the church and into the world. We'll look at the word "missional;" is it just the latest church fad or is there something more deeply at work here? With keynote speaker the Rev. Canon Lisa Vaughan, Parish Vitality Coordinator from the Diocese of Nova Scotia and PEI, and a number of practical workshops, leaders will have a chance to learn, ask questions, and be motivated to serve God in the world... where God is, of course, already active.
UPDATED FEES!
Because we have moved online, the registration fee is only $5 per person.
To register, contact Judy McIvor at general@rupertsland.ca by Tuesday, May 5th at the latest. Cheques can be sent to the Diocese, payable to the Diocese of Rupert's Land.
A Prayer for the Secret Solidarity of the Human Race
The man I did not notice
yesterday died today
and left me alone.
John Shea from “The Hour of the Unexpected” 1977
This short poem lives in my heart calling me to attention, prayer and acts of compassion.
Who needs our attention, who needs our prayers, who needs us this day?
How can we strengthen our bonds of inter-dependence?
Can our circle of attention, prayer and compassion extend to all of God's beloved creation?
St. Matthew-Maryland Community Ministry needs our help!
Josh Ward writes:
"Right now we are seeing double the number of people we used to see on an average day. (Around people a day up from 75.) We have suspended most of our programs of course, but we are continuing to offer food supports in the form of bag lunches, emergency food kits we make up with donated non-perishable food items, and Winnipeg Harvest food hampers. As a side note, Winnipeg Harvest has asked us to help them distribute more food hampers, as they are seeing increased demand as well. We are now giving out 65 hampers per week up from 50. It is sad that we can't offer our usual drop-in gathering at this time, but at least we can continue feeding people, and we have at least a moment to check in with our regulars when they come to collect their food....
The best and safest way a person can help out right now is through a monetary donation. We have volunteers making supply trips a couple of times a week, and this way we are exposing fewer people and we can buy exactly what we need most.
Donations can be made online at 1justcity.ca,
or by mail to 365 McGee St, Winnipeg MB, R3G 3M5.
A Note from Jim Cornelius, Executive Director of the Canadian Foodgrains Bank [CFGB] What are the implications of the COVID-19 crisis on global hunger and CFGB programming around the world? It is likely to have a significant impact. In recent editions of The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World, three drivers of increased hunger have been identified: increased conflict, climate change, and economic slowdowns and downturns. The significant economic disruption being caused by the COVID-19 crisis is going to lead to growing hunger around the world as many countries do not have the financial capacity and social safety nets to support all the people losing their jobs and livelihoods. In speaking with my sister who is managing a program in one of the slums of Nairobi, her staff are reporting that the families they work with are most worried today about how they are going to feed their families tomorrow, rather than the health issues emerging from the crisis. Many day labourers and informal traders are already seeing their livelihoods greatly diminished. School feeding programs are ending. There is also a fear food prices could begin to rise as supply chains are disrupted.
Just as we in Canada have deemed grocery stores and the expansion of our social safety net as essential services, I think we need to treat our global food assistance & feeding programs as an essential service during this crisis period. We need to find ways to support and sustain these programs as best possible. This means:
Continuing to ensure food assistance is provided to vulnerable families around the world;
Adjusting the way the assistance is provided to help protect the health of partner staff, volunteers and project beneficiaries (like the adjustments our grocery stores here in Canada are making)
Finding ways to continue sourcing the food commodities needed (keep the supply chain functioning)
Raising the funds needed to sustain these programs.
I think it is helpful to think of ourselves as part of those working in the essential services sector, which means doing what needs to be done to adjust and sustain our food assistance programs rather than suspending or shutting down operations. All of us are needed in this ‘essential service’ work.
[PWRDF, the Primate's World Relief & Development Fund of the Anglican Church, is a member of the Canadian Foodgrains Bank. Should you be moved to make a donation to the work of CFGB, please indicate PWRDF in your memo line of your cheque or in the online donation panel of CFGB website.] www.foodgrainsbank.ca
Call to Action:
If you have a request for something, or an idea to engage others in, or an invitation to act together in some way please send it to the office for our website: office@holytrinity.mb.ca.
Immersion
There is anger abroad in the world, a numb thunder,
because of God’s silence. But how naïve,
to keep wanting words we could speak ourselves,
English, Urdu, Tagalog, the French of Tours,
the French of Haiti…
Yes, that was one way omnipotence chose
to address us – Hebrew, Aramaic, or whatever the patriarchs
chose in their turn to call what they heard. Moses
demanded the word, spoken and written. But perfect freedom
assured other ways of speech. God is surely
patiently trying to immerse us in a different language,
events of grace, horrifying scrolls of history
and the unearned retrieval of blessings lost for ever,
the poor grass returning after drought, timid, persistent.
God’s abstention is only from human dialects. The holy voice
utters its woe and glory in myriad musics, in sighs and portents.
Our own words are for us to speak, a way to ask and to answer.
[Denise Leverton “The Great Unknowing”; New Directions Publishing, 1999.]
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