Values, new horizons, connection and hope – KAIROS regional gatherings
In a world where our news platforms increasingly show us stumbling from one crisis to the next, where personal isolation is an at an all-time high, and it can feel like we’re all alone in our fight for a better world, coming together is our greatest strength.
KAIROS regional gatherings ground us with reminders of our values, expand our horizons with new information, create and strengthen relationships and alliances and grow hope like a flower through the concrete of our world. Three regional gatherings across Canada have offered these shoots and branches of hope to the community.
Opening New Horizons
Who Owes Whom? Turning Our Debt into Hope, the KAIROS Great Lakes-St. Lawrence regional gathering focused on a lesser-known but crucial aspect of the Jubilee campaign, the ecological debt that the Global North owes to Indigenous peoples and the Global South. From Thomas Sankara to Acción Ecológica to the Southern People’s Ecological Debt Creditors Alliance, Beth Lorimer, KAIROS’ Ecological Justice Coordinator, brought marginalized voices to the table. She summarizes decades of work that has led to this clear conclusion: “The moral and ecological arguments are clear. Those who have benefitted most from fossil fuel driven economies owe a climate and ecological debt to those now bearing the greatest impacts.”
Maryo Wahba, Citizens for Public Justice’s Climate Justice Policy Analyst, expanded the point using his homeland, Egypt, as the example. Egypt is severely food and water insecure due to climate change. The country is caught in a vicious cycle of borrowing to meet immediate climate loss and damage needs, experiencing unreasonable servicing fees with no room for climate adaptation and then hit again by climate-based needs that force more borrowing just to stay afloat. Debt justice would allow Egypt to focus its resources on the needs of its people.
A grounding in deep truths of the land came from Sarah Hernandez, Director of Development and Finance at Indigenous Climate Action. With examples from Inuit, Denne, Cree, the Amazon, her own people of the Philippines and more, Sarah named a “systemic theft of land, of people, of culture and of futures and that debt owed is not only financial, it is moral, ecological and spiritual.” Repaying this debt will not be accomplished through “performative partnerships but through direct funding, land back and shared governance.” This is what justice looks like.
Hear the full presentations from Beth, Maryo and Sarah in the Who Owes Whom recording.
Fires, Jubilee and Coal: Making Connections, the KAIROS Prairies North gathering in Regina also looked at ecological justice issues. Joe Elkerton (Chippewas of the Thames First Nation; Indigenous Christian Fellowship) started the day in a good way with stories and a smudge. Pastor Josh Wallace was the morning’s keynote speaker, sharing on the biblical, theological and spiritual dimensions of Jubilee. From the clear directions of Leviticus to the poetic prayers of the Psalmists to the confounding promise of Jesus who says his yoke is easy, Josh helped us to dive into the depths of the spirituality that undergirds our conviction that our Creator wants all people and all creatures and the Earth to thrive in justice and peace.
Later that afternoon we were joined by three speakers, Willard Metzger of Citizens for Public Justice, Peter Prebble of the Saskatchewan Environmental Society and lawyer Glenn Wright, who shared a regional example of environmental injustice in action. In June 2025 the Saskatchewan government announced that it intends to extend coal power generation to 2050, despite previously stating they would discontinue it by 2030, the nationally mandated end date. Our speakers explained why and how they are taking the government to court over this decision. You can learn more about how these advocates are showing up for ecological justice and trying to paydown a little bit of that ecological debt.
All the presentations are available on this recording of the hybrid Prairies North session
The KAIROS BC-Yukon regional gathering took the form of a Story Sharing Circle online. A significant area of learning in this gathering was about the Palestine Land Exercise. Sue Ghattas, KAIROS Vernon, shared about the exercise and her experiences of facilitating it; while Diane Stuart named it as a moving and educational exercise that Kamloops United had hosted. More Palestinian solidarity work included a vigil outside the Member of Parliament’s office in Qualicum Beach, Grandmother’s Against Genocide – a regular public witness, an inter-faith Palestinian embroidery workshop, collaborative art, worship time and more.
Other learning included how to organize a Fair Trade or Global Crafts bazaar, presented by Norma Emerson from Qualicum Beach where they had 800 people through their doors and many new relationships developed with those who are closest to people in need of justice around the world.
Building Connections
Each of these regional gatherings included elements of network development alongside significant learning. While all included stories from various sub-regions or local groups, a unique element of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence gathering was that they took time to pay tribute to long-term volunteers who have passed away or retired from their volunteer work. This gathering was also the only one that invited a member of the national Steering Committee, Rev. Paul Gehrs, to deliver a report on the current and future prospects of KAIROS . Watch the full Network Development Meeting here.
At the KAIROS Prairies North gathering, the time devoted to stories and business provided valuable insights into the work and support systems in the region. . Groups or projects with which you might want to connect include: KAIROS Regina, the Decolonization Group, the Treaty Land Sharing Network, Seniors for Climate Action Now, and Strengthening Voices for a Just Transition. A presentation from the Coordinating Committee invites new committee members. If you are interested in any of these groups, reach out at kairosprairiesnorth@gmail.com. Find these stories in the middle (45:00 – 1:20:00) of the Prairies North recording.
The BC-Yukon Sharing Circle was all about building connections. Two of the presenters, Janet Gray and Susan Draper from Victoria, framed their pictorial presentation in a way that could fit for all of them using Joanna Macy’s Work that Reconnects and moving in a spiral of gratitude, grief, new/ancient connections and going forward in relationship and with action. The peace, climate, refugee, reconciliation and relationship work with Indigenous peoples, and Jubilee debt relief work of the various churches and local groups represented could all fit into this spiral that reminds us of our grounding with the Earth, gives expression to our pain and leads to relationship, action and hope. Some of that growing of relationship and hope happened right there in the Circle, thanks to the leadership of Justin Arseneault.
Watch the KAIROS BC-Yukon Sharing Circle recording here.
News from the National Office
All three gatherings learned about the exciting new Women Peacebuilders at the Nexus of Climate, Conflict and Gender program. Learn more about it by watching this short introductory video. In addition, I shared a few short stories and teasers about each of the KAIROS pillars: Migrant Justice, Indigenous Rights, Ecological Justice and Gender Justice with Global Partners and introductions to some of the new and longer-term staff who coordinate those programs. Follow KAIROS on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, BlueSky, and YouTube to learn more and amplify the voices of partners and advocates.
By Shannon Neufeldt, KAIROS Member Relations and Network Coordinator
