Social
justice ...
is
alive and well in the Diocese of Fredericton
by David Watts
The
prophet Micah asks "What does God expect of you? Only this: to do
justice, to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God." With this
passage in mind I recently returned from a three-day National Church
consultation on Social Justice in Winnipeg. When I received the
invitation I worried that our efforts would not measure up to other
dioceses, but once I started making lists and doing a little digging, I
came to the conclusion New Brunswick Anglicans certainly do their share
of this important work. At the conference itself I learned that while
some dioceses have formal structures to coordinate their social justice
work, most are like ours: the work is carried out at the local level.
 The day I sat down to prepare my report for the conference
the gospel reading urged "when you give alms, do not let your right
hand know what your left hand is doing." It reflected perfectly what I
found in my research, we do a lot here in response to the needs of
others -- not just in terms of physical needs but also their need for
justice. But many of us who aren't directly involved in these projects
simply aren't aware of what is happening.
Our
diocese is a founding member of the Coverdale Foundation which provides
assistance to women in conflict with the law, so we have supported that
ministry for decades. We also have a long and faithful relationship
with the Primates World Relief and Development Fund (PWRDF), which
enables us to participate in relief, development and justice projects
throughout the world. Most of the social justice activities carried out
in this diocese, however, are inspired by individuals and small groups.
Gloria
Paul of Hoyt is an active and dedicated member of Project Ploughshares,
whose members strive "to be peacemakers and to work for a world in
which justice will flourish and peace abound."Saint John is home to an
active Kairos group, an ecumenical body that confronts injustice
in our society and abroad. The Rev. Chris McMullin, rector of the
Church of the Good Shepherd, serves on its
anti-poverty
working group.
The
national council of the Canadian Mothers' Union is resident in this
diocese until 2008, and its president, Kathleen Snow of Fredericton,
participated in the Make Poverty History demonstration in Edinburgh,
Scotland this summer. The world wide Mothers' Union supports this
initiative and we will certainly hear more about it in this diocese
soon.
Nearly
every parish in the diocese is involved in a local food bank or soup
kitchen. Some Saint John area churches support a soup kitchen and
mission for former offenders, there are parishes involved in community
outreach to young people and low - income housing projects.These are
just a few of the groups and individuals heeding the gospel call to
social justice activity.
My friend
the Rev. Dr. Iain Luke, who teaches ministry at St. John's College in
Winnipeg, picked me up at the airport and drove me to the conference
site at St. Benedict's Retreat and Conference Centre. On the way he
said: "As a part of the Christian gospel, social justice is too important to
be left only to those who have a passion for it." I took his words as
my personal theme for the event.
For three
days, about 40 of us, representing 25 Canadian dioceses, shared our
concerns and ideas. For two of our three days we were joined by half a
dozen representatives of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada who
had also come to Winnipeg for a regular meeting of their national
leaders in social action. They participated in our worship and took
part in our small group discussions.
Those
discussions focused on definitions of social justice, the reasons
Christians undertake it and the reasons we support it. In plenary sessions, we
heard details of current Kairos and PWRDF campaigns, the justice work
of the Lutheran church, and an outline of the on-going projects and
work of the National Church's EcoJustice committee.
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