MCC.
Crisis in Ukraine
Political tensions are high as the threat of Russian military action against Ukraine rises. There are currently more than 100,000 Russian troops deployed on Ukraine’s border.
Conflict between Russia and Ukraine has been ongoing since late 2013, with Russia annexing the Crimea peninsula in March 2014.
MCC has worked in Ukraine since our beginnings in 1920, opening soup kitchens to provide relief to thousands of starving families. Our current projects include relief, peace, health and education.
Since the beginning of the conflict in eastern Ukraine, MCC has worked with partners to assist internally displaced people (IDPs) and to build peace. The UNHCR reports there are some 1.8 million IDPs and conflict-affected people in Ukraine.
Those who want to support the Ukraine emergency response can do so by clicking here.
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Take the sting out of winter’s chill by joining The Great Winter Warm-up: At Home. Throughout the month of February, compassionate people like you are giving the gift of warm comforters to those in need.
Last year, countless volunteers generously gave their time and talents to create more than 4,300 comforters from their homes.
While we’d love to tie comforters together in person, this year again we’re asking people to stay safe and participate from home instead.
That doesn’t mean you can’t still stay connected. You can host a virtual comforter-making party over a video call with friends and family or send them a digital valentine when you donate towards the cost of comforter supplies.
Thanks to caring people like you, thousands of our global neighbours received a comforter last year. Together we can share warmth, comfort and a tangible message of God’s love with those in need.
For more information on how to participate, click here.
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Peace and Justice Student Seminar
The MCC Peace & Justice Student Seminar is an opportunity for young adults to meet MCC staff, engage with parliamentarians and civil society actors, and hear from experts in a variety of contexts about how they are building bridges to create a more sustainable future for all.
The virtual seminar is on February 22-24, 2022, and costs $20 to attend.
For more information and to register, click here.
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Remembering Diedrich Neufeld
We are remembering with gratitude the life of Diedrich Neufeld who passed away in January in Ottawa. Diedrich served MCC Alberta as Executive Director from 1991-1996. His life was lived in service to church and community, and he is remembered for his generosity of spirit. We offer our prayers to his wife Anne and her family.
CMU.
How Financial Aid Can Reduce Tuition Costs – A parent seminar discussing how students can use institutional awards, external awards, government funding such as loans and non-repayable grants, and RESPS to cover tuition costs. February 10, 7:30 PM. Click here.
Xplore: At the Intersection of Faith and Life – A coninuing education enrichment program, Xplore offers courses that investigate dimensions of the Christian faith, our world, and life in it. All without any assignments or examinations! Xplore happens in a six-week block, with online courses offered Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday mornings, beginning March 1. Click here.
Canadian School of Peacebuilding, June 6-10; 13-17 – Registration is now open for courses taught by local, national and international peacebuilders to serve practitioners, professionals, activists, students, non-governmental organizations, and faith-based groups. Click here.
The Edmonton area has recently witnessed a growing number of acts of intimidation and hate towards people who are black. These have often been motivated by both racism and religious bigotry together. Sadly, we know such racism exists even within faith communities themselves.
As two larger faith traditions, both Muslims and Christians have spiritual wisdom and resources within our communities that ought to compel us to speak up and act against this disturbing trend. Our faith spaces, in particular, should be safe spaces for all people – those of African descent, and every other racialized community. Yet we must admit the truth that sometimes they are not.
The first week of February marks the beginning of both Black History Month and World Interfaith Harmony Week. This is an ideal time to come together in interfaith and anti-racist solidarity. Hosted by The Green Room and The Anglican Diocese of Edmonton, join us online on Feb. 5 (10:00am-12:00pm) as local Muslim and Christian leaders and anti-racism activists address “Faith Spaces, Safe Spaces: Interfaith Reflections on Anti-Black Racism”.
Register for the free online event here.
Free Virtual Conference – A Love Letter to Men
A Love Letter to Men: A Celebration of Men and Mental Health is an inaugural online forum dedicated to exploring and facilitating discussion around issues relating to men’s mental health.
From the website:
“We have created a virtual space to allow a discussion on issues related to the mental well being of men in our society. Our objective is to bring together men, and the women who love them, from all walks of life to discuss the full spectrum of mental health and its impacts on society. We will provide resources, share best practices, and invite community insights on where there are currently gaps in support for men’s mental health and well-being as well as how these gaps could be addressed…(read more)”
A Love Letter to Men takes place from February 7 – 10, 2022 is free to attend. For more information and to register, click here.
Discernment is a gift and an art by which we make both daily and major life-changing choices. Through prayer and practice we can better attune ourselves to the invitation and guidance of the Spirit. We can then not simply make more healthy decisions but find more grace-filled rhythms to live in relationship to others, ourselves, the world, and the Divine. This three-part workshop will offer ways to understand and enter more deeply into discernment as an intention, a process, and a way of life.
Register at www.providencerenewal.ca 780-701-1854
Faith Nostbakken, PhD, is an experienced spiritual director and retreat facilitator rostered at the Providence Renewal Centre. She is an ordained deacon and ecumenical officer of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada and a graduate of Newman Theological College (MTS). She has previously guided individuals and groups through the understanding and practice of discernment. For more about Faith see www.faithnostbakken.ca