National news

 — Mar. 31, 200631 mars 2006

Two groups of Canadians from several churches have raised over $100,000 in five years for AIDS projects in Africa by making craft angels. The groups, based in Ottawa and Victoria, are linked to two Roman Catholic parishes, each named Holy Cross. Groups of twenty to thirty people that include a range of ages and religious denominations gather on a bi-weekly basis to create the 10 cm-high angels, made of such simple materials as wood and scraps of fabric. Sold for $5, the angels benefit projects such as an ecumenical community-development organization in Lusaka that includes an orphanage for children who have lost parents to AIDS, founded by an Anglican priest from Great Britain, Revd Pierre Dil. Other projects that have benefited have been in Malawi and South Africa, including a hospital, another orphanage and a gardening project. More information is available at [www.wolfweb.ca/angels]. (Anglican Journal)

An interfaith letter issued through the Canadian Council of Churches has been signed by fifteen faith leaders (Roman Catholic, Jewish, Sikh, Hindu, Orthodox and Protestant) called on Canada’s political leaders to do more to resolve the crisis in Darfur which has forced 1.2 million people from their homes and killed as many as 50,000 in raids on villages and farms in the last year. Such interfaith letters are rare and precedent setting for the council, said CCC general secretary Revd Dr Karen Hamilton. The churches and faith communities have all sent money and other resources to assist refugees in Sudan’s western province and across the border from Darfur in Chad. The Darfur situation has the potential to destabilize the entire region, said the UN‘s High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres. The Darfur conflict is mostly separate from the civil war between north and south in Sudan, where a peace agreement is now being concluded. However, there are parallels including the possible presence of oil in Darfur region and bitter local resentments over central government powers. (Prairie Messenger)

Posted: Mar. 31, 2006 • Permanent link: ecumenism.net/?p=217
Categories: CCEIn this article: Centre Canadien d’œcuménisme
Transmis : 31 mars 2006 • Lien permanente : ecumenism.net/?p=217
Catégorie : CCEDans cet article : Centre Canadien d’œcuménisme


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