Friends on the Move shares the recent travels of Canadian Friends Service Committee in carrying out our peace and social justice work. Our newsletter Quaker Concern comes out three times a year and each edition includes this brief section Friends on the Move.
This section describes our journies to realize our mission. CFSC alleviates suffering and develops transformative and sustainable approaches to human rights, justice, and peace. We act through practical assistance, research, education, and policy dialogues.
Our vision is a world in which dignity, justice, peace, human rights, and harmonious relationships with creation are fostered and upheld.
Quakers seek to experience and answer to that of God in all creation. In living out this experience, CFSC’s values are rooted in the Quaker testimonies of simplicity, peace, integrity, community, equality, and respect for all creation.
In may our government relations representative Sandra Wiens attended Western Half Yearly Meeting in Sorrento, British Columbia. She delivered a talk—Weaving Change: Engaging Friends with CFSC Advocacy—about her work in Ottawa. Jennifer Preston, Jeremy Vander Hoek, and Rachel Singleton-Polster were in Geneva, Switzerland in July for the in-person session of the United Nations Expert Mechanism…
CFSC has been honoured to work consistently with international human rights lawyer, Paul Joffe (pictured in Jenn’s article), who has recently retired after 50 years at the bar. Paul’s extraordinary commitment to the UN Declaration and Indigenous peoples’ human rights is humbling. CFSC staff Jennifer Preston hosted a small retirement dinner for Paul in Montreal.…
This is a special moment because we’re taking your concerns directly to decision makers in a much bigger way. For the first time in our more than 90 year history, we’ve expanded to have a Government Relations Representative, based in Ottawa! Your voice, grounded in our Quaker faith, will reach decision makers more than ever…
CFSC’s Communications Coordinator Matt Legge gave a virtual presentation on the topics of violence and forgiveness to a conflict class organized by Mennonite Central Committee in Saskatchewan. He joined World Beyond War online to facilitate a month-long study of CFSC’s book Are We Done Fighting?. And he recently finished co-facilitating another installment of our popular…
At the end of April and beginning of May, multiple members of CFSC once again participated (virtually) in the two-week sessions of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. The Coalition on the Human Rights of Indigenous Peoples had a joint statement which was presented by Sheryl Lightfoot (you can read the statement at https://QuakerService.ca/UNPFII2022).…
Since our last edition of Quaker Concern two new staff people have joined our small but vibrant team! Kerry Grier, CFSC’s new Peace Program Coordinator, has practiced human rights law in Zimbabwe and been instrumental in founding and leading multiple nonprofits focused on human rights and healthcare. Jeremy Vander Hoek joined CFSC in the role…
Keira Mann started with CFSC as a summer Program Assistant in 2015 and went on to join our small staff team. Keira supported many pieces of CFSC’s work including organizing our online events. She has now gone back to school to study graphic design. We wish Keira all the best in her future career! CFSC…
CFSC staff Nancy Russell facilitated a presentation for Hamilton Monthly Meeting on lived experience in prison during COVID-19 and alternatives to punitive approaches. The session featured guest speakers. Northern Spirit Radio, based out of Wisconsin, hosted CFSC staff Matthew Legge for a wide-ranging conversation on spreading peace. Matt also presented at Atlantic Friends Gathering, to…
None of us have gone anywhere during the pandemic, but we’ve covered great virtual distances in our witness for justice and peace. Jennifer Preston presented on Indigenous peoples’ human rights to Global Affairs Canada in a briefing session for officials going on international placements. She presented to graduate students at New York University on how…
As travel remains impossible, we continue to create virtual opportunities for our many supporters to gather, connect, and learn together. CFSC’s Clerks host a weekly Meeting for Worship via Zoom (contact us for details), and we delivered major online series The Only Way Forward and Are We Done Fighting? discussed in this issue of Quaker…