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Building Bridges Registration Deadline is March 8th

This event takes place at UCV on March 30 and  is co-sponsored by the UCV Social Justice Committee and the Vancouver Quakers. The facilitator is Kathi Camilleri.

During this experiential workshop we will explore our personal role in supporting the revival of the values that worked so beautifully in Indigenous villages for thousands of years. We will also explore in-depth the affects of Residential Schools and Canada’s Policy of Assimilation.

This workshop is geared to solutions rather than recrimination and is a great forum in which to ask questions. The workshop is done from a non-blame and non-shame perspective and invites all participants to become a part of the healing that IS already happening.

Kathi’s work has been inspired by Jann Derrick’s teachings of Jann Derrick’s “The Circle and The Box” and by many Elders’ teachings.

Please register by March 8th: Click here for EventBrite registration page

Cost:   Suggested donation $20 per person

Lunch  (soup and bannock) and other light refreshments will be provided.

Time: Saturday, March 30 9:30 am to 4:00 pm

Additional info: www.villageworkshopseries.com

 

UCV Members March in Support of the Unist’ot’en

Many UCV members came to listen to and march with Indigenous supporters of the Wet’suwet’en people who are defending their land by opposing construction of a gas pipeline by TransCanada Coastal GasLink.

The Solidarity Action with Wet’suwet’en took place on Tuesday Jan 8, 11:30 in Vancouver. Similar rallies and marches took place locally, nationally and internationally.

Supporters followed the Indigenous led march from the Provincial Courts Building to Victory Square.

Click on any image below to start slideshow

24 UCV Members Participate in Write for Rights 2018

We grouped letters going to the same person and mailed 17 big envelopes.

December 10th, 2018, marked the 70th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by world leaders at the United Nations.

On December 9th, 24 UCV members met in the Fireside Room to write letters for for priority cases identified by Amnesty International that need global attention.

A total of 88 letters were mailed!

Write more!

Amnesty International Group 52 meets the second Tuesday of every month except August at 7 p.m. in Hewett Hall.

Contact: momus1@hotmail.com or wadej@shaw.ca or colleenandwendy@gmail.com

David Buchanan, Chair of our Library Committee, also invites your questions, comments and interest. davidfbuchanan@gmail.com

Reconciliation Ideas Table

The Social Justice Committee will be hosting a monthly ideas/information table.  Please stop by to browse through books  by indigenous authors, pick up free copies of articles and give us your thoughts about what Reconciliation means to you.

Books may be checked out for one month.  Please leave your name and email address on the book check-out sheet.

Here are some ways to be involved:

1. Donate to Raven Trust

RAVEN sees the inequity in accessing the justice system and is supporting those First Nations willing to take actionable steps to achieve parity.  Read more about Raven Trust.

2. Support Tsleil-Waututh Nation’s efforts to Protect the Inlet
by writing a letter to Premier Horgan and your MLA

3. Read and share: ACTION ALERT – Application for Injunction Served to Unist’ot’en Camp

4. Read: Resources on Allyship and Solidarity

From Colonization to Reconciliation (?) A Reading and Discussion Group

February 20 to April 3 2019, Wednesdays 7-9 pm in the Fireside Room

To begin to effect truth and reconciliation between settler Canada and First Nations peoples, Ryan McMahon, the Anishinaabe activist, challenged us to read and engage with our foundational laws, treaties, Acts, and  official Commission reports and recommendations.  “Let’s use pre-existing documents, studies, inquests, etc. that have done ALL the heavy lifting for us,” he said.  “It’s not too late to look back at where we’ve been, determine what went and is wrong, and fix things on a go forward basis.”

At the Unitarian Church of Vancouver (UCV), we’re going to try and take up Mr. McMahon’s invitation.

Together, we will read the The Indian Act, The White Paper, relevant portions of the  Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, the Kelowna Accord,  the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Summary Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.

Click on links in previous paragraph to see full text of most of these documents. Click here for an overview of Indian Act and other documents

No prior knowledge or expertise is expected (it’s a journey we’re taking together).  Just a willingness to read, discuss, listen, learn and be changed.

Reading materials to be provided, with help to cover copying costs appreciated.

Proportional Representation Leads to More Fair and Inclusive Government–Letter to the Editor for PR by Rev Steven Epperson

Reverend Epperson submitted the following letter to several newspapers.  It is posted here for interested members of the congregation.

Proportional representation leads to more fair and inclusive government
By Reverend Steven Epperson, Unitarian Church of Vancouver

I want to add my support to those individuals and groups, including the BC Conference of The United Church of Canada, in their endorsement for the proportional representation (PR)  option in the electoral reform referendum in British Columbia.  Advocacy for the practice of “the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large” has been a bedrock principle of the Unitarian religious tradition throughout its nearly 500 year-long history.

Under our current First Past the Post (FPTP)—or “winner-take-all” voting system—the party with the most seats can form a government even if it received a minority of the popular vote. That means, in effect, that political parties win 100 per cent of governing power, even if they received only 40 per cent or less of the vote. Thus 60 plus percent of votes are disregarded, an outcome which can foster resentment and alienation – as was well noted by former Liberal premier Christy Clark in 2009.

The main change, which is found in all three PR options in our ballots, is that the percentage of votes should bring the percentage of seats. It is basic common sense, apart from some details of process, and the bedrock principle is sound.  That is why about 90 other democracies in the world use PR, including Commonwealth entities such as Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

This topic should not be a partisan one – although regrettably it has become so – because all the B.C. parties have suffered unjustly under the FPTP system (such as the B.C. Liberals in 1996). The “No to PR” campaign mostly uses negative attacks on the referendum process instead of defending its electoral status quo, raising the question: Is it able to?

The No campaign slogan hails FPTP as “Simple, Stable and Successful.”  Where is any mention of democracy there?  Too often the most “simple” and “stable” systems are autocracies.  And “successful”—for whom, exactly? The majority of voters, or for those like the “No” side which condescendingly – and wrongly – asserts that PR is “too complex and confusing,” and resorts to video ads of goose-stepping soldiers to confuse and scare B.C. voters?  This last outcome would be prevented by the PR rule that fringe parties must gain at least five percent of the vote, while their combined total is now usually at less than one percent. In fact, the greater inclusivity of the PR system may assist in reconciliation with our aboriginal peoples.

People often express to me their astonishment over the US voting system with its anti-democratic, antiquated Electoral College that enabled the current president to win despite winning 2.8 million fewer votes than his rival.  Isn’t our own FPTP, winner-take-all voting system – designed in 13th century Britain to fit a two party system – similarly antiquated?

Think of how our federal Conservatives in 1988, with 43 percent of the popular vote, formed a “majority” government and then rammed the Free Trade Agreement through Parliament, despite being opposed by parties supported by 57 percent of the population. In a different FPTP twist, here in B.C., think of how the Liberals won 58 per cent of the vote in 2001—a majority to be sure—yet they gained every legislative seat except two because of FPTP.  This left the province with no official opposition for four years.  Such results could happen again under the old system.

I worry about the long-term effects of FPTP’s winner-take-all politics on our young people and future generations.  If having voted with a majority, their votes are then disregarded as a result of our FPTP system leading to “false majority” governments, they will feel that their votes are wasted; they may understandably conclude they are in effect disenfranchised, and wonder: why bother to vote at all?

Let us learn about different electoral systems and refuse patronizing claims that these are “too complex” for us to understand.  Trustworthy information is available in the Elections BC booklets and website. The four options in the referendum are also explained in your ballot package.  Moreover, if voters do not like how a new PR system works out in practice, you can vote to reverse it in the second B.C. referendum, that is, you can “try it before you buy it.”

I will be voting for Proportional Representation.  It is a step on Canada’s path to political maturity, and towards a more fair, inclusive and accountable government.

Rev. Dr. Steven Epperson

Unitarian Church of Vancouver

949 West 49th Avenue

Vancouver, BC V5Z 2T1

References:

Canadian Unitarian Council Resolution on Imagine Democracy

United Church of Canada, BC Conference Statement

United Church Supports Proportional Representation for Justice

Reconciliation “Network” — We Are All Part of the Network

Why a Reconciliation “Network”?

Many of us are actively involved with reconciliation.  Many of us have questions and aren’t sure where to turn for answers.  Many of us would like opportunities to learn more and to have dialogue with others. In acknowledging all of this, our Reconciliation Network reflects the fact that we have no special committee or group responsible for reconciliation. We are all part of the network.

A fluid working group is meeting at various times (rather than a set time/day) to nurture this network and you are welcome to join us. The Reconciliation Network webpage and working group will be evolving and changing.  For now, Melody Mason and Lynn Armstrong are co-facilitating meetings of the working group.

You are welcome to contact us with questions, ideas and suggestions.

Amnesty International Letter Writing Group

An Amnesty International letter-writing group is hosted at the church on the second Tuesday of each month 7 – 9 pm

Meeting location: alcove in Hewett Hall

Everyone is welcome!

If you’d like more information, contact David Buchanan. davidfbuchanan@gmail.com

Building Bridges Workshop – Mar 30, 2019

Save the date of March 30, 2019, for an experiential workshop at UCV, “Building Bridges Through Understanding the Village,” to help us learn more about First Nations ways and values and the impact of colonization with facilitator, Kathi Camilleri.
Learning outcomes include:
– A cognitive and emotional understanding of traditional First Nations values
– A deep and emotional insight into the depth and inter-generational effects of colonization
– Methods for creating supportive relationships in a positive way
Registration details will be available soon.
This event will be co-sponsored by the Social Justice Committee of UCV and the Quakers.