MCC Canada is currently running a campaign called Mining Justice. There can be serious implications to our resource extraction methods and practices both here, at home, and around the world. The goal of Mining Justice is to learn more, and to discern ways of responding to the issues surrounding mining, mining companies and their actions: environmental impacts, the conflicts and displacement, the spiritual impact, etc. This Lenten season you are invited to join this journey of reflection and learning, seeking ways to respond as individuals, as families and households, as churches, as communities. What might we fast from so that we might gain more awareness of the numerous places our lives intersect with products and resources that fuel the injustices resulting from resource extraction?
In our busy world, Lent provides us with an opportunity to reflect upon our patterns, to pray more deeply, experience sorrow for what we've done and failed to do, and to be generous to those in need. Too often, however, this focus on ourselves fails to move us beyond our own individual, comfortable worlds - it becomes little more than an exercise in self-improvement. We give up sweets (hoping the by-product is a few less pounds), we decide to give to charity or live more green (to relieve some of our guilt for excessive living and consumption), etc. Even if the things we choose to fast from or add to our daily lives seem noble on the surface, we feel prideful and self-righteous about our relative success in becoming a “better person”. The uncomfortable truth is that sometimes even our well-intentioned desires to make a difference are self-fulfilling.
So where does that leave us? Certainly not without hope, for our efforts are not necessarily in vain. In fact, our personal, individual choices CAN make a difference in the lives of others, but it’s important we step back and take a long view of the journey ahead of us. There is no shortage of issues or causes to add to the list - there are always more items and issues that demand our attention and concern. But this is why we find hope and peace in the calling to find our source, our purpose, our vocation, in God. Nurturing our spirits with prayer, fasting and discipline, we stay close to God’s heart. We live in hope knowing our efforts can be used by God in a new creation. It is a journey, a process. We may not even see clearly our final destination - it is a practice of faith. You are welcome to use these Lenten materials as tools to aid your reflection and prayer, increase your mindful awareness, and nurture meaningful relationships in your life. You are invited to join this journey, and learn more about Mining Justice along the way.
- If you wear jewellery (e.g. wedding bands, earrings, etc), go unadorned for the week. Collect all gold, silver, precious gems & stones and place them somewhere you will see them.
- Watch the videos Goldmine and La Mina
- Research mining companies in Manitoba, or your province or country - Who are they? Where do they mine? What are their mining practices?
- If you have investments (RRSPs, CPP, etc) are any of them in (or connected to) mining or Resource extraction? Article: RRSP Season: Investing for the Common Good
- Read the case studies on San Marcos, Guatemala and San Andres, Honduras
- Read Matthew 6:19-21: What are your treasures? To what do you assign value? What is the real cost of our earthly treasures?
For further Reading & Reflection:
- Try going without hot water for the day (or week!).
- Turn down the heat! Adjust your thermostat one or two degrees cooler, and put on an extra sweater.
- Take the bus, carpool, walk, or cycle.
- Gather with others and reflect on the following quote:
More than anything else, fossil fuel has allowed us to stop being neighbors to each other, both literally - we move ever farther into ever emptier suburbs - and figuratively - we depend less and less on each other for anything real. (The SUV, with its almost invariably single passenger, is the symbol of this trend).
- Bill McKibben, “Hot and Bothered: Facing Up to Global Warming,” in The Christian Century Magazine, July 11, 2006.
- Consider any upcoming vacation or travel plans - Can you travel by train or bus? Can you stay closer to home? Calculate your CO2 emissions (keeping in mind carbon dioxide is only one of the pollutant gasses released when we burn fossil fuels).
CO2 pounds per passenger per mile[1]:
Bike or Walk 0.00
Mass transit (¾ full) 0.26
Carpool (3 people, 21.5 mpg) 0.37
Intercity train (U.S. average occupancy) 0.45
Economy car (solo driver, 40 mpg) 0.59
Mass transit (¼ full) 0.75
Jet (U.S. average occupancy) 0.97
Average car (solo driver, 21.5 mpg) 1.10
Sport utility vehicle (solo driver, 15 mpg) 1.57
- Consider the past week: What does our need/addiction to gas and oil mean for the earth and its inhabitants? How are we practicing good stewardship of the gifts we have been given?
For further Reading & Reflection:
Prayers:
God, you are our Sustainer and Redeemer. Forgive us when our dependence and addiction to oil and gas fuels further abuse of your creation. Give us strength to reform our perspectives of needs and wants, so that, with your grace, our lifestyles might be transformed to truly reflect your love for all creation. May we live more mindfully, so that all might live more abundantly.
Amen.
Dear Lord, You too walked on this Earth.
We thank you for taking on flesh like ours.
But we struggle with the reality of our walk.
Our North American footprint is large and heavy.
We know there is a connection with our way of living
and the oppression of other people in the world.
We don’t want this to be so. Our lives are filled with many good things.
Parting with them is hard, for they give us comfort and security.
Forgive us for having our securities so rooted in things rather than in your love.
We seek repentance. We desire change.
Grant us wisdom to live in your joy by living with less.
May we be participants with you in restoration.
- Tape down your light switches, unplug your appliances! Try to reduce (or eliminate completely) any use of electricity today (or for a period of time you choose to designate).
- Write a letter to your MP or Manitoba Hydro! Invite their response to concerns about Northern Hydro development, and urge them to conduct a comprehensive environmental assessment of the northern hydro system.
- Article: Hydro - At Whose Expense?
- Read the one-page info-sheet: Healing Hydro Relationships
- Quote for reflection:
"The earth does not belong to man; man belongs to the earth...We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children." ~Chief Seattle
For Further Reading & Reflection:
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- Make a personal commitment to be coltan-free regularly throughout the week (e.g. no laptops, cellphones, MP3s from 7-10 pm each evening)
- Read the article: The Resource Curse Revised: Conflict & Coltan in the Congo
- Replace the time you would have normally spent “virtually connecting” with real encounters or no-tech projects
- Trace your cellphone, laptop, or MP3’s coltan back as far as possible (suggestion: start with a call to the manufacturer)
- Quote for reflection:
"So, friends, every day do something that won’t compute." ~Wendell Berry
- Consider repairing or upgrading existing cellphones or laptops whenever possible. If not possible, look into recycling options.
For further Reading & Reflection:
- Use only water carried in from an outside tap for the day, or buy water. How did this limit/change your use? How do we take our unlimited access to water for granted? How would we respond if our tap water became unsafe to drink or use?
- Eat only local foods for the day/week. What is available? What did you learn? Who did you meet? Where in your community can you go to get more information about local food security?
- Calculate what percentage of your income you spend on water, and compare to someone in a different country.
- Reflect on Matthew 6:11 - Give us this day our daily bread. The average food on our dinner tables travels 1,300 miles. The average food footprint of someone living in Canada or the United States is 5.2 acres, while the world average is 1.9 acres. Do we have more than our share of daily bread?
- Make plans to grow your own food this summer - even if it is just one tomato plant in a pot or some fresh herbs on a windowsill.
- Read Psalm 65:9-13
- Prayer:
Oh God, we thank you for being the source of life.
Repeatedly through your Word and through your creation,
You have shown us the importance of food and water.
Both of these are gracious gifts. We give you thanks.
You ask us to share food and water with all - even our enemies.
We confess that our sharing is meager in comparison with our abundance.
Teach us to be good stewards of both the gift of food and the gift of water.
We pray for wisdom to know how we can be better partners in sharing these gifts
with all our neighbours near and far. We desire a greater equity.
May you be glorified as we care for these gifts. Amen.[3]
For further Reading & Reflection
- Look at a map of your province or country. How much of it is surface water? In what ways to you use or enjoy this resource?
- Get a copy of MCC’s cookbook Simply in Season.
- With others, discuss the advantages and/or disadvantages of a more localized, sustainable agricultural food system.
- Visit: www.kairoscanada.org/en/ecojustice/water
- Learn more about Bill C-300 (MCC Position Statement)
- Dialogue with people holding differing perspectives. Look for common ground and the common good.
- Advocate for better legislation, encourage the Canadian government to sign the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People, invest to build the common good, affirm mining companies that operate in just and community-friendly ways.
- Pray: The Lord’s Prayer
- Fast: Choose one or two items from the past few weeks that held meaning for you or your community.
- Confess: Pray for forgiveness for the things we have done, continue to do, or have failed to do.
- Celebrate!! God forgives us, works through us, and gives us Life.
[2] Luke Gascho, Creation Care: Keepers of the Earth (MMA, Goshen, Ind., 2008), 99.
[3] Luke Gascho, Creation Care: Keepers of the Earth (MMA, Goshen, Ind., 2008), 111.
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LENTEN CALENDAR
Mennonite Central Committee Manitoba (MCCM), with the assistance of the Winnipeg Foundation (WF), has undertaken a feasibility/business plan for a social enterprise that would lessen the environmental impact and the economic waste of certain building materials in the Winnipeg area, while at the same time providing a venue for clients of MCC’s social justice programs to work on their employment development path. The Reclaimed Building Supplies (RBS) Centre would be a new retail social enterprise venture due to begin operations in mid 2010. The enterprise is a non-profit retail outlet for select used building material.
MCC Manitoba's Material Resource Activity Centres serve as collection and distribution points for MCC's Material Aid program as well as hosting tours, work groups and volunteers of all ages. The Centres are located in Plum Coulee and Winnipeg.
The Youth Service and Education program engages youth and young adults in creative activities and issues dialogue. It works at connecting faith, peace and justice through Youth Nights and service and learning opportunities like Urban Plunge.
The Winkler MCC Family Services provides a variety of services to Low German Mennonites in southern Manitoba including assistance with documentation and employment.
The Voices for Non-Violence program serves as a resource to faith communities and individuals, promoting positive family life and empowering individuals and group to respond effectively to domestic violence and abuse.
The MCC Manitoba Service program places service workers with local organization to work with them as they provide services that effect change and build healthy communities. Service workers may come from Manitoba, Canada or the USA, or from anywhere around the world.
MCC Manitoba's Refugee Assistance program works to promote refugee sponsorship by churches in Manitoba and works with other groups to address the needs of newcomers and refugees.
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