News from the Northern Spirit Region
Music for Medical Relief in Palestine
Sunday, February 22, 2:00 pm
Spirit of Hope United Church, 7909-82 Ave.
Music for Medical Relief in Palestine is a fundraising concert organized by the Gue Family in support of medical relief in Palestine. The event will take place on Saturday, February 22, at 2:00 p.m. at Spirit of Hope United Church. The concert will include contributions from musicians and poets of all ages, backgrounds, and skill levels. All money raised through this event will be in support of the work of Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) in Gaza and the West Bank.
Community News and Invitations
Music for Medical Relief in Palestine
Sunday, February 22, 2:00 pm
Spirit of Hope United Church, 7909-82 Ave.
Music for Medical Relief in Palestine is a fundraising concert organized by the Gue Family in support of medical relief in Palestine. The event will take place on Saturday, February 22, at 2:00 p.m. at Spirit of Hope United Church. The concert will include contributions from musicians and poets of all ages, backgrounds, and skill levels. All money raised through this event will be in support of the work of Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) in Gaza and the West Bank.
American full communion partners file lawsuit on the religious freedom to help migrants and immigrants
February 11 more than two dozen American faith groups filed a lawsuit against the US government for violation of their religious freedom regarding their practices of serving immigrants and immigrant communities. Click here to read it; it’s as much sermon as legal language. This push includes our full communion partners, the United Church of Christ and the Disciples of Christ; most mainline denominations; the Brethren and the Mennonites; the Unitarians; and Reform Jews.
American author and church historian Dr Diana Butler Bass comments, “Remember: Do not obey in advance. Use your freedoms to their fullest extent. Don’t give up before we’ve pushed back. We do not have to surrender. We have rights.” We continue in prayer as our US siblings in Christ push back against multiple plans to strip Americans and asylum-seekers of their rights.
The Regional Executive and the Affirming Committee have written a letter to the premier and relevant ministers calling for immediate rescinding of Bills 26, 27, and 29. These greatly limit transgender, Two Spirit, and gender diverse children and youth’s access to appropriate medical care, sports, and correct naming, and greatly reduces all students’ access to sexual health education everywhere in Alberta. It is possible that BC and NWT teams travelling to AB for tournaments will also be affected. Please read the letter and download the PDF here.
Action for people and communities of faith on AB bills 26, 27, and 29
This is your invitation to express your concerns about Alberta’s Bills 26, 27, and 29 and their impacts on transgender children, youth, and loved ones. Following the lead of the letter from the Executive and the Affirming Committee, you are invited to write or call in your own response as a person of faith and a community of faith. Click here for resources for letter writing, and links to further resources from Alberta groups.
While this legislation will have less immediate impact on our members in NWT and BC, it’s possible those travelling to AB for health needs and children’s sports will see an impact. And above all, this legislation targets some of the most vulnerable people in Canada. It is a concern for all Canadians.
Questions? Want to discuss this further? That’s welcome too. Please contact the Affirming Committee via staff support Julie Graham, jgraham@united-church.ca and she will pass you on directly to the committee. We don’t post their personal emails for privacy reasons.
