Sunday, March 25th 2007 marks the 200th anniversary of the ending of the slave trade in the British Empire. The abolition law brought to an official end the forced transportation of millions of Africans from their homeland, across the Middle Passage, to the Americas. Canada was part of the British Empire and participated in the practice of slavery. Slavery's impact continues at the same time as modern forms of slavery are appearing. The struggle is far from over. Enslaved Africans and people of faith led the movement to abolish the slave trade. But the modern form of racism which developed to justify the enslavement of Africans remains a reality in too many of our churches and societies. People of faith need to commit anew to addressing the racism in our churches, our country and our world. The Canadian Ecumenical Anti Racism Network (CEARN) invites churches to commemorate this anniversary by participating in the ongoing journey we must take towards healing, reconciliation and the transformation of our relationships.

Le dimanche 25 mars 2007 marque le bicentenaire de la fin de la traite des esclaves dans l'Empire britannique. La loi sur l'abolition mettait officiellement un point final au transport forcé de millions d'Africains arrachés à leur pays pour être expatriés vers les Amériques via le Passage du milieu. Le Canada, alors membre de l'Empire britannique, a pratiqué lui aussi l'esclavage. L'impact de l'esclavage persiste, tandis qu'on assiste à l'émergence de formes modernes d'esclavage. La lutte est loin d'être terminée. Des Africains réduits en esclavage et des personnes de foi ont pris la tête du mouvement en faveur de l'abolition de la traite des esclaves, mais la version moderne du racisme, qui tente de justifier l'esclavage des Africains, demeure une réalité dans de trop nombreuses Églises et sociétés. Il faut que les gens de foi s'engagent à nouveau dans la lutte contre le racisme dans nos Églises, dans notre pays, dans le monde entier. Le Réseau œcuménique canadien contre le racisme (ROCCR) invite les Églises à souligner cet anniversaire en s'engageant elles aussi sur le chemin de la guérison, de la réconciliation et de la transformation de nos relations. Nous vous offrons à titre de ressource cette pochette documentaire sur la justice raciale.

Hot off the press! We have a new weblog to announce. Starting immediately, a new blog entitled "Reconciliation & unity" will be available on the Ecumenism in Canada site. Written by Fr. Bernard de Margerie, the blog is intended as place to share ideas and inspiration about the ecumenical mission of the church. Bernard was the founding director of the Prairie Centre for Ecumenism in 1984, and has been actively engaged in local ecumenism in Canada since the call of the Second Vatican Council in 1959. In recent years, Bernard has been working on the development of resources for ecumenical prayer.

The annual World Day of Prayer will be observed on March 2, the first Friday of March. The 2007 theme -- United Under God's Tent -- has been prepared by women from Paraguay. Worship services are planned around the world. In Saskatoon, the following services are scheduled:

• 2 p.m. at Calvin Goforth Presbyterian Church, Sommerfeld & 3rd Street • 2 p.m. at Knox United Church, 838 Spadina Crescent East • 7 p.m. at Parkview Presbyterian Church, 821 Avenue E North • 2 p.m. at St. James Anglican Church, 607 Dufferin Avenue • 7:30 p.m. at St. Paul's United, Egbert & 104th Street • 2 p.m. at Wildwood Mennonite Church, 1502 Acadia Drive

Additional services will be held at Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish, Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, and St. Volodymr Parish. The service times are unknown, please contact these parishes for details.

The World Day of Prayer is a worldwide movement of Christian women of many traditions who come together to observe a common day of prayer each year, and who, in many countries, have a continuing relationship in prayer and service. Through the World Day of Prayer, women affirm that prayer and action are inseparable and that both have immeasurable influence in the world.

Further information about the World Day of Prayer can be found on the website of the Women's Inter-Church Council of Canada (WICC).

Nous avons un nouveau weblog à annoncer. Commençant immédiatement, un nouveau blog intitulé « Réconciliation et unité » seront disponibles sur le site web « œcuménisme au Canada ». Écrit par l'abbé Bernard de Margerie, le blog est prévu comme endroit pour partager des idées et l'inspiration au sujet de la mission œcuménique de l'église. Bernard était le directeur de fondation du Prairie Centre for Ecumenism en 1984, et a été activement engagé dans l'œcuménisme local au Canada puisque l'appel du deuxième Conseil de Vatican en 1959. Ces dernières années, Bernard avait travaillé au développement des ressources pour la prière œcuménique.

The Nobel Peace Prize nominee, Dr. Helen Caldicott, MD, will speak in Saskatoon on Wednesday, March 7th at 7:30 p.m. at Third Avenue United Church. Her lecture is entitled "Nuclear Power is Not the Answer to Climate Change."

Dr. Caldicott has been the subject of three films, including the Oscar winner "If You Love This Planet". She is also the author of many books including "War In Heaven: The Militarization of Outer Space," "Nuclear Madness: What You Can Do" and "The New Nuclear Danger."

Come and hear about this controversial global issue from an internationally acclaimed physician, author and public speaker. Contact: Marion: 306-373-0309; Inter-Church Uranium Committee: www.icucec.org ; email .

Dr Caldicott will also be presenting a lecture entitled "Reason & Nuclear Power" on Tuesday, March 6th at 7:00 p.m. in the Education Auditorium at the University of Regina. For more information: phone 306-585-4117; or see www.uregina.ca/spr.

Co-sponsors include: Saskatchewan Eco Network; Social Policy Research Unit, University of Regina; Department of Religious Studies & Anthropology, University of Saskatchewan; Project Ploughshares; Coalition for a Clean Green Saskatchewan; Saskatoon Peace Coalition; Veterans Against Nuclear Arms; and the Inter-church Uranium Committee Educational Cooperative.

There are numerous innovative resources available on the internet. Today we encourage you to explore RJ City, a website that seeks to be "an adventurous and perhaps audacious attempt to imagine a city of 1,000,000 responding as restoratively as possible to all crimes, all victims and all offenders." RJ is shorthand for restorative justice, an approach to justice that seeks to restore the relationships broken by criminal behaviour. "Restorative justice is a broad term which encompasses a growing social movement to institutionalize peaceful approaches to harm, problem-solving and violations of legal and human rights." [Wikipedia] Numerous examples of restorative justice are described on this website, and elsewhere on the internet. Perhaps the most familiar form to Canadians is the use of Aboriginal sentencing circles.

Stop Aggression! Peace Teach-In is being held in Saskatoon on March 17th at St. Thomas More College (University of Saskatchewan) from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The keynote speaker is writer and activist, Professor Michael Mandel (Osgoode Hall Law School, York University). Workshops include: Michael Mandel 'The War between Israel and Palestine'; David Orchard 'Illegal wars, illegal weapons: Vietnam to Afghanistan'; TBA 'How aggression destroys development'; John Parry 'How agression destroys peacekeeping'; Marion Penna 'Depleted uranium: the Saskatchewan connection'; and Mike Fornssler 'Propaganda: a must see'.

The cost to attend is $10 (fully waged) or $5 (students, seniors, low income). Bring your own lunch. Co-sponsors: Saskatoon Peace Coalition: United Nations Association of Canada – Saskatoon; St. Thomas More College Campus Ministry; Citizens Concerned About Free Trade. Call 306-653-5636. Download the poster. (PDF)

March 17, 2007 is a pan-Canadian day of action for peace on the fourth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. Visit the Canadian Peace Alliance website for events across the country.

The St. Thomas More Just Youth group is hosting a Solidarity and Justice Coffeehouse on Friday, March 23 at 7 p.m. in the STM Cafeteria (1437 College Drive). The cost is $5.00 per person and all proceeds will go to Development and Peace. Come enjoy this wonderful evening of world music and entertainment!

The coffeehouse is sponsored by Just Youth along with the Newman Centre, St. Thomas More College, and the University of Saskatchewan Discrimination and Harassment Prevention Services Office. Just Youth is a student-led Development and Peace group. It organizes education campaigns and activities on campus, and encourages students to become involved in local justice initiatives.

[Ottawa-CCCB] His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI named Bishop Richard Smith as Archbishop of Edmonton. Since his episcopal ordination in June 2002, he has served as Bishop of Pembroke. The Edmonton see has been vacant since Archbishop Thomas Collins was appointed Archbishop of Toronto. The Archdiocese of Edmonton has a population of 333,000 Catholics in 137 parishes and missions served by 75 diocesan priests, 87 religious priests, two permanent deacons and 379 religious Brothers and Sisters as well as 52 lay pastoral workers.

[CECC • Ottawa] Le pape Benoît XVI a nommé Mgr Richard Smith archevêque d'Edmonton. Au moment de sa nomination et depuis son ordination épiscopale en juin 2002, il était évêque de Pembroke. Le siège épiscopal d'Edmonton était vacant depuis le départ de Mgr Thomas Collins qui, en décembre dernier, a été nommé archevêque de Toronto. L'archidiocèse d'Edmonton compte 75 prêtres diocésains, 87 prêtres religieux, deux diacres permanents, 379 religieux et religieuses, et 52 agents de pastorale laïcs au service d'une population de plus de 333 000 catholiques répartis dans 137 paroisses et missions.