Two Events, related to theme "New Neighbours", recommended by the Manitoba Interfaith Immigration Council

Augustine's Lent theme is "Know your Neighbour, Love your Neighbour".  Today's specific theme was "New Neighbours".  After coffee-time at noon, Carlos Vialard, Manager of Settlement Services for the Manitoba Interfaith Immigration Council, introduced Augustinians to the work of Welcome Place.  Toward the end of this interesting presentation, he shared information about two events ahead:

Bashir Lazhar

By Evelyne de la Chenelière, translated by Morwyn Brebner
March 14 – 24 2013 at the Rachel Browne Theatre

Opening Night is Thursday, March 14, 8 p.m.
RSVP by March 11 - ph. 204-989-2400 or theatrep@mts.net (first come, first served)

Bashir Lazhar is the acclaimed English translation of de la Chenelière’s exquisite, humanistic and topical play about a substitute teacher helping a traumatized middle school class in the wake of his own path through violent upheaval. Dispensing with conventional teaching methods, he tries to prepare his students for an unpredictable world.

Bashir Lazhar is a story concerned with the language of loss, the process of grieving and the things that compel us forward when our world is no longer recognizable. It is a celebration of survival through love.

For more information, follow this link:
theatreprojectsmanitoba/bashir-lazhar

Stories From New Canadians

Sunday, March 17 - 4 p.m. at Cinematheque

These films offer unique stories and perspectives coming from different corners of the world - from Bosnia, Bhutan, Cambodia and Zimbabwe.  The stories range from the experiences of new refugees in Canada, those who have made a life here and why their experience back home had driven them away.

For more information, follow this link:
Stories from New Canadians

WORDS THAT INSPIRE

NEVER DOUBT THAT A SMALL GROUP OF THOUGHTFUL COMMITTED CITIZENS CAN CHANGE THE WORLD. 
INDEED, IT'S THE ONLY THING THAT EVER HAS!

Margaret Mead

posted by Karla W.

Sonnets of the Cross

After posting Bathanti's poem a few days ago, I wanted to know more about his poetry.  Joseph Bathanti's "Sonnets of the Cross" are based on the fourteen Stations of the Cross.  The spirituality embodied in these sonnets is "unconventional and iconoclastic".  Their Christ is a "brilliant laborer with a blazing social conscience and abiding love who is wrongly convicted then executed despite His innocence".  The collection is available from the publisher.


http://www.jacarpress.com/2013/02/

submitted by Gareth N.

Slow Church

Submitted by Gareth N.

I read an article this morning, which connects with our group’s wish to live simply, to live thoughtfully.  I’ve excerpted part of that article here in this post, so that you get a sense of what it’s about.  The article describes how the "Slow Food" movement, which emerged in the 1980's in Italy, has spawned other movements (Slow Cities, Slow Parenting), and now also "Slow Church".

Slow movements are beginning to recover what we have lost in our relentless pursuit of efficiency. Many Christians have been challenged by these Slow movements to consider the ways in which our faith has begun to move too fast as we make sacrifices to the gods of efficiency.

This quest has sparked a renewed interest in the joys of sharing life together in local congregations and has intensified into a growing conversation—rather than a movement—called Slow Church. Slowness itself is not a cardinal virtue of Slow Church, but rather a means of resisting the present-day powers of speed in order to be faithful church communities.

 To read the whole article, follow this link.

http://sojo.net/magazine/2012/12/slow-down-and-know-i-am-god

Jesus Is Stripped of His Garments

I find this poem powerful, especially now, during this season of Lent.  It is published in the March 2013 edition of Sojourners.  Submitted by Gareth N.

Hemorrhaging from the concertina
crown, brass knuckles, scourging, cigarette burns,
lurching the last meter of Golgotha
where He must dangle three hours in urns
of japing ether, He drops His bloody tree.
Executioners rip His clothes away,
cut cards for His keepsake convict jersey.
He's not uttered a word except to pray
for the spike drivers limbering their mauls
to fasten the scripture of agony.
He's ready for the juice, the black hood, spalls
of sniper fire, the hangman's ennui.
Naked upon the whorled slab he lay,
dreaming of the governor's last-second stay.

Joseph Bathanti, the poet laureate of North Carolina, teaches creative writing at Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C. His most recent collection is Sonnets of the Cross (Jacar Press, 2012).

No Longer Idle...now what? Transforming the energy of "IDLE NO MORE" into real change for communities with Wab Kinew

Dynamic speaker, Wab Kinew, exceeded my already high expectations with his hour long presentation sponsored by the University of Winnipeg at the Selkirk Street campus yesterday.

Charting the chronological unfoldling of the grassroots origins of "Idle No More" to the present day lower profile, "less newsworthy" yet significant actions of the movement, Wab demonstrated an unwavering deep devotion to the movement and to teaching others to work towards a timely resolution. Weaving humour into his intelligent and well organized PowerPoint presentation (all the while holding a sacred eagle feather) the time went by very quickly.

Key points were:

 ~"Idle No More", despite support/favour from political parties or other groups needs to remain non-partisan.

~The treaties were created in good faith with the Crown (Governor General) and Federal Government and that is who First Nations leaders want to continue dealing with in matters relating to all treaties.

~The Indian Act should not be abruptly removed (as has been proposed by the Federal Conservatives). A well considered transition to a more inclusive way of living while honouring treaty rights needs to come to pass so as not to inflict further culture shock on recovering generations of First Nations peoples.

~The effect of culture and language loss due to modern forces such as communication technology and media is a roadblock in efforts to heal and reclaim lost culture.

~One proposed solution to find a way out and to begin to heal the multigenerational problems and abuses that have become a consequence of the residential schools was presented. Wab cites teachings from the book, The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg, as being a tool to break the cycle of the many insidious abuses and high suicide rates of his aboriginal brothers and sisters.

i.e. Cue/routine/reward being the basic cycle of emotional pain. Nothing can be done to prevent a cue  from occuring (a trigger which causes the hurt) nor can the need for reward be changed. Only the routine or "habit" can be altered to affect a more positive, life giving individual change in order to create collective change.

Wab shared a small piece on the issue of the residential schools. He told us that the effects from the residential schools have, by some, been likened to the intended goal of the Neutron bomb. This bomb was designed to make all the inhabitants of a place disappear while leaving the land and it's resources intact and untouched. This metaphor served as a stark reminder of the unthinkable human violation that was imposed on First Nations families. One native elder who was present spoke up and said that "they didn't ever really win" and that her mother never gave up remembering..."she died fighting". 

In closing, Wab shared his personal Declaration Of Dedication that outlines his commitment to healthy living (physically, emotionally and spiritually) every day in order to be his personal best. He encourages aboriginal youth to value themselves in the same way. He then sang a wonderful song, first in Ojibway then translated to English...happy and loving, infused with some very articulate rap :)

Four members of our Just Living group attended (Cori, Mike, Amanda and Karla). We were all in agreement that the heartfelt presentation was not only informative, but powerful. 

I felt privileged and was very thankful I was able to attend.

Wab sings/raps his message

Submitted by Karla W.

Augustine UC in the Wpg Sun

Good article in the Sun about Augustine - congrats to the team that's getting the messages up on the board and to Bob for doing the interview with the paper.

http://www.winnipegsun.com/2013/03/06/winnipegs-augustine-united-church-makes-sign-supporting-anti-bullying-bill-18

 

Cheers,

Nancy

Idle No More – a Public Conversation

March 18, 7-9 p.m.
Fort Garry United, 800 Point Road, Winnipeg

Speakers: Adrian Jacobs from Sandy Saulteaux Spiritual Centre and Nigaanwewi James Sinclair, Aboriginal Student Centre, University of Manitoba

All are welcome to listen and question and learn about some of the issues involved.
Co-Sponsored by Fort Garry United and St Paul's Anglican Churches.

Submitted by Bob G.

New Recommended Blog:  Moderator Gary Paterson

Don R. sent an email introducing us to the blog of Gary Paterson, the United Church of Canada's moderator, recommending a recent post titled "Sticks and Stones", which addresses the issue of bullying.  Don adds:  "He raises concerns and tells of his experience making the rounds of the Church on issues such as the one I've forwarded to you.  There have been others since this one, and previous posts are worth a look.  Most of the time his stuff is bang on."  You'll find "Sticks and Stones" by clicking the link found in "Recommended Blogs".  Thank you, Don.

Inspirational quote

Karla W. wanted to share this quote...


Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.


                                                                                        Martin Luther King Jr.      

NEECHI COMMONS GRAND OPENING

March 19

Ready to go!

You are invited to the Grand Opening of Winnipeg's Neechi Commons on Tuesday, March 19, 2013.  The ribbon cutting ceremony starts at 9:00 a.m.  Information about other special events on Grand Opening day will follow.  In the meantime, a phased opening of the beautiful new facility at 865 Main Street is now in progress.  The grocery, produce, bakery and catering departments are now open to the general public, with further inventory and new sections of the community business complex being added daily.  The restaurant opens this Wednesday and the meats section is expected to open by the end of the week.  Current store hours are Monday to Saturday, 9 am to 6 pm; and Sunday, 10 am to 5 pm. 

Submitted by Mike M.

SHIFT CHANGE: THE MOVIE

There's a lot happening this week!!  The Social Purchasing Portal has promoted this film premiere on their facebook site.  It's showing at the Gas Station Tuesday evening (March 6), right across from Augustine.  As the folks at SSP claim:  You won't want to miss it!

Gas Station Theatre; Tuesday evening; 7 p.m.;  Free Admission

Here's more information about the film:

"SHIFT CHANGE is a documentary film by veteran award-winning filmmakers Melissa Young and Mark Dworkin. It tells the little known stories of employee owned businesses [in the USA and Spain] that compete successfully in today’s economy while providing secure, dignified jobs in democratic workplaces.

With the long decline in US manufacturing and today’s economic crisis, millions have been thrown out of work, and many are losing their homes. The usual economic solutions are not working, so some citizens and public officials are ready to think outside of the box, to reinvent our failing economy in order to restore long term community stability and a more egalitarian way of life.

There is growing interest in firms that are owned and managed by their workers. Such firms tend to be more profitable and innovative, and more committed to the communities where they are based. Yet the public has little knowledge of their success, and the promise they offer for a better life."

CHASING ICE: The movie

On the weekend, we saw a trailer for the movie "Chasing Ice" at Cinematheque.  It will be showing at Cinematheque on March 20 and 21 at 7 p.m..  It looks very good.  Rotten Tomatoes gives the documentary a 95%.  We plan to see it, and are open to seeing it on either evening.  Submitted by Kathleen V and Gareth N.

SYNOPSIS

In the spring of 2005, acclaimed environmental photographer James Balog headed to the Arctic on a tricky assignment for National Geographic: to capture images to help tell the story of the Earth’s changing climate. Even with a scientific upbringing, Balog had been a skeptic about climate change. But that first trip north opened his eyes to the biggest story in human history and sparked a challenge within him that would put his career and his very well-being at risk.

Chasing Ice is the story of one man’s mission to change the tide of history by gathering undeniable evidence of our changing planet. Within months of that first trip to Iceland, the photographer conceived the boldest expedition of his life: The Extreme Ice Survey. With a band of young adventurers in tow, Balog began deploying revolutionary time-lapse cameras across the brutal Arctic to capture a multi-year record of the world’s changing glaciers.

As the debate polarizes America and the intensity of natural disasters ramps up globally, Balog finds himself at the end of his tether. Battling untested technology in subzero conditions, he comes face to face with his own mortality. It takes years for Balog to see the fruits of his labor. His hauntingly beautiful videos compress years into seconds and capture ancient mountains of ice in motion as they disappear at a breathtaking rate. Chasing Ice depicts a photographer trying to deliver evidence and hope to our carbon-powered planet.

Find the movie website at  Chasing Ice, The Movie 

Here's an excerpt from an NPR review:

Chasing Ice acknowledges the political resistance to climate-change data with montages of comments from news-channel talk shows. This is one of the conventional aspects of Orlowski's stylistically unadventurous movies. There's also an overbearing, derivative score that culminates with an end-credit song performed, unnecessarily, by Scarlett Johansson and Joshua Bell.

What sustains the film are neither words nor music but spectacular images of places few people have ever seen. They're in a region Balog calls "insanely, ridiculously beautiful," a phrase that Orlowski's images fully justify. The movie also includes some of Balog's still photographs, placed in context to show how the photographer works.

The documentary's climax, however, was shot during an event that Balog didn't see with his own eyes. It's a landscape-altering "calving" during which a melting glacier suddenly cracks, shimmies and collapses, as if being swallowed from inside. As Orlowski and two patient EIS team members watch, the likely future of the polar regions transpires in real time.

In Hollywood these days, such epic transformations are rendered with computers and called "morphing." Offering a lesson both to filmmakers and climate-change deniers, Chasing Ice demonstrates how much more powerful it is to capture the real thing.

Living to Consume or Consuming to Live

This event has been promoted by Karla W. and Corie E., as well as Nancy R..  Perhaps a group from Just Living will want to attend together.

Simple Living - a website

Here's an interesting website, not very extensive, but points to some of the issues we've been discussing, and connects with our wish to live faithfully and simply.

http://www.simpleliving.org/Home_Page.html

UPDATE YOUR STATUS

Writer in Residence "Distinguished Lecture for 2013" (University of Winnipeg)

submitted by Kathleen V.

NO LONGER IDLE ... NOW WHAT? with Wab Kinew

This event is on the Selkirk Avenue University of Wpg. campus.  Submitted by Mike M.

Urban and Inner-City Studies

WAB KINEW

                 Director of Indigenous Inclusion at the University of Winnipeg

“No longer idle…now what? Transforming the energy of “Idle No More” into real change for communities.

Free Coffee and Lunch Will be Provided

Students and Community Members are Welcome – Please Plan to Attend!

  When:  Wednesday, March 6, 2013

    Time:  12:00 – 1:00 p.m.

 Where:  University of Winnipeg Department of Urban and          

                Inner-City Studies North End Campus

                Lower Level, 527 Selkirk Avenue.

BILL 18

Kathleen and Gareth have been in touch with their MLA about supporting Bill 18, the legislation designed to protect students from bullying.  Eventually the process of the bill becoming law will go through some stages, including public hearings.  Below is the response from Rob Altemeyer, MLA for Wolseley.  Perhaps others in Just Living will want to register to be heard as well.  Patrick W. (Rainbow Resource Ministry) has already expressed interest in doing so.

Thank you very much for your important email, wonderful to hear from both of you on this.  I of course completely support Bill 18 and the safer learning environment it will create for all students in our province.  Diversity is to be celebrated, not feared!  When this Bill reaches the "Committee" stage sometime this spring, members of the public can make presentations directly to the MLAs sitting on the committee - would you be interested in being contacted about this when the time comes?

Many thanks once again,

Rob Altemeyer
MLA - Wolseley

RETURNING PARADIGMS

Here's some info on a day-long symposium at the U of M about Idle No More, next Friday. Looks interesting.  Submitted by Nancy R.

The University of Manitoba Native Studies Graduate Students' Association invites you to an all-day Idle No More symposium:

RETURNING PARADIGMS
10am - 5pm Friday March 8th. University Centre (UC), 2nd floor Multi-Purpose Room.

• Hourly Featured Presentations with open Q & A.
• Free and public welcome, come for an hour or two or stay for the day, as you please.
• Refreshments provided

40 MIN/TALK + 20 MIN/ Q & A

#1 10am - 11am INTRODUCTION TO IDLE NO MORE: DECOLONIZATION IN CONTEXT

• Helen Agger (Grad PhD, U of M) & Judy Da Silva (Grassy Narrows FN, Treaty 3)

#2 11am - 12pm WHAT ARE THE TREATIES? WHAT IS THE INDIAN ACT?

• Ryan Duplassie (Grad Phd, U of M) & Charles Wagamese (White Dog FN, Treaty 3)

ROUND DANCE 12:15 - 12:45 pm @ outside Migizii Agamik

#3 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm ANISHINAABE WOMEN SPEAK ON TRADITIONAL GOVERNANCE AND THE IMPACTS OF THE INDIAN ACT ON WOMEN IN THE ANISHINAABE NATION AND IN CANADA

• Shavon and Theresa Sinclair (Hollow Water FN, Treaty 5)

#4 2:00 - to 3:00 pm -- WHAT IS OMNIBUS BILL C-45? WHAT ARE THE CONCERNS?

• Emily Grafton (Grad PhD, U of M)

#5 3:00 - 4:00 pm -- MYTH-BUSTERS: Facts About Aboriginal Taxation, Housing, and Education.

• Paul Murphy (Grad PhD, U of M)

#6 4:00 - 5:00 pm -- BRIDGE-BUILDING STRATEGIES AND IMPERATIVES -- SETTLERS, NEW CANADIANS, and ABORIGINAL PEOPLES

• Alon Weinberg (Grad M.A., U of M) & Charles Wagamese (White Dog FN, Treaty 3)

Manitoba's Bill 18 is legislation being brought forward by the provincial gov't to combat bullying in schools (public and private).  One of the provisions is to require high schools to facilitate the creation of GSA's (Gay Straight Alliance groups), when requested by students.  While a number of Christian private schools have complained loudly that their religious freedoms are being violated, other religious groups have taken a supportive position toward the bill.  Here's Augustine United Church's response, as represented by our church's sign.