Justice & Outreach
"The realization that education is not sufficient without advocacy is essential learning. This learning reverberates through the numerous online gatherings on various justice issues throughout the diocese. For instance, the Greater St. Catharines’ Social Justice Committee, hosted a 6-week series on food security. It included an evening on advocating for income security to allow people the dignity to purchase their food instead of operating food banks. That night, many participants identified that letter-writing and calling their elected officials was new to them, and they now had done it for the first time! "
The Anglican communion has a long and deep commitment to social justice and outreach. The approach is balanced in that we first respond to the immediate need and then turn our attention to the broader issue that created the need.
If you believe in justice and in the power of us acting together out of our response to God’s call to love our neighbour — please give today.
Support for the Anglican Diocese of Niagara’s Justice & Outreach work ignites engagement in:
- Climate Justice Niagara
- Human Trafficking Justice Niagara
- Truth and Reconciliation
- Poverty Elimination
- Anti-Racism
- LGBTQ Inclusion
- PWRDF
- Parishes deepening their commitment to advocacy and outreach
Stewarding your resources of time, skills, and finances is good and right. We are also called to work at the justice level, advocating and learning as we work to change the situations requiring our outreach and charity. Social justice and community engagement lead us to ask deeper questions like, “What needs changing in the system to address the needs of people accessing our weekly parish food bank?”
As Darren Walker, President of the Ford Foundation in an interview alluded to, generosity is insufficient, and we must seek justice.
Social justice calls us to create, with God’s help, a loving world where we are active in building right relationships throughout creation. This is the work of a faith community, “to do justice,” as the prophet Micah said.
The work to do justice is done in a multitude of ways: a group of Anglicans meeting with their Member of Provincial Parliament to express concern about social assistance rates in Ontario; taking part in a letter-writing campaign about the climate crisis; signing a petition that calls on the federal government to broaden immigration status to include better protection for migrant farmworkers.
To receive more information about Justice & Outreach please contact Deirdre Pike, Program Consultant, Justice & Outreach at 905-527-1316 x470 or deirdre.pike@niagaraanglican.ca.
Recommended resources:
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