SOCIAL ACTION

The Unitarian commitment to social action is contained in three principles:

• The inherent worth and dignity of every person
• Justice, equity and compassion in human relations
• The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all

Action based on these principles starts at home and then spreads outwards.

Pastoral Care

During every service there is a time for people to express joys and concerns. The congregation is informed about new concerns and challenges at this time. The congregation has two pastoral care co-ordinators, Jenny Leach and John Berry, who contact church members who are in the hospital or who have restricted mobility. Please contact Jenny at 905-684-0841 or John at 905-327-3051.

Social Responsibility

The second aspect of Unitarian social action is captutred is under the area of Social Responsibility where Unitarians modify their own behavior or take direct action in a socially responsible way.

Sexual and Gender Diversity Committee

The Sexual and Gender Diversity Committee seeks to uphold Unitarian Universalist principles in order to assist and support the safe and equitable inclusion of sexual and gender minorities and their supporters in the Unitarian Congregation of Niagara by offering education, representation and community outreach.

For more information of the current initiatives and past achievements see the Sexual and Gender Diversity web pages §.

Please contact Joan Wiley at 905-685-3692.

Out of the Cold

The Unitarian Congregation of Niagara is at it again. Next winter we are planning to expand our commitment and participation in the Out of the Cold program in St. Catharines. For more information contact Hilde Wheeler. If you are unfamiliar with the Out of the Cold program, read below.

Background on Out of the Cold

Background of UCN and Out of the Cold

On January 30, 2009, volunteers from our congregation provided and served a meal for approximately 80 people. We repeated this on January 22, 2010, with about 140 people served this time. We are grateful that our congregation is able to provide, in a small way, for those less fortunate individuals.

Social Justice

The third aspect of Unitarian social action is the Canadian Unitarians for Social Justice organization. The Canadian Unitarians for Social Justice attempts to change the behavior of government bodies. It is affiiated with but distinct from the CUC. This allows the Canadian Unitarians for Social Justice to lobby governments without jeopardizing the CUC's charitable status. Marie Belliveau is the CUSJ co-ordinator. Please contact Marie at 905-704-0189.

Social Action Issues

Freshwater Preservation

The Victoria Times Colonist reports that, "RAVEN (Respecting Aboriginal Values and Environmental Needs) is a charitable organization that provides financial resources to assist Aboriginal Nations within Canada in lawfully forcing industrial development to be reconciled with their traditional ways of life..."

"(They have) produced a documentary film, Blue Gold, the Tsilhqot'in Fight for Teztan Biny (Fish Lake)... The film looks at Taseko Mines Ltd.'s proposed 'Prosperity' mine that would see Fish Lake (Teztan Biny), Little Fish Lake (Naba) and the surrounding area destroyed as they gain access to the gold and copper reserves in the earth."

"Recent changes in the Fisheries Act allow for the destruction of freshwater bodies in Canada. Once added to Schedule 2, lakes and rivers lose the protections of the Fisheries Act and are allowed to be used as toxic dumpsites for metal mining corporations."

To watch the 40-minute video 'Blue Gold, the Tsilhqot'in Fight for Teztan Biny (Fish Lake)' on-line, go to this link § .

The Victoria Times Colonist article is at this link § .

The Council of Canadians encourages you to sign the on-line petition § to defend Teztan Biny.

Federal Budget

This is a budget summary § by the Union CUPE and as such could be biased towards the present budget. The Social Action Chair is providing this because it does give a comprehensive picture of what the budget will mean to the average Canadian. There is no intention to sway anyone's opinions toward the CUPE point of view and the only intent is to distribute information.

Bottled Water

March 22 is International Water Day! UCN Night at the Movies ran "Blue Gold:The Water Wars" Friday, March 19th and I am excited to add the "Polaris" film "The Story of Bottled Water" to our website for your viewing. Just go to this link § to view the film. I have a lot of material on WATER and would be pleased to pass it along if anyone is interested, just ask me. Marie Belliveau

GM Food

Please read the press release below, from the Canadian Biotechnology Action Network (CBAN) cban.ca

Canada at the UN Codex meeting on GM food labeling: Negotiations continue, U.S. increasingly isolated

Congratulations! Your action worked!

Thanks to your letters, the Canadian government delegation to the UN Codex meeting last week did not boldly ally itself with the U.S. position against GM food labeling. The U.S. failed in their attempts to stop the negotiations.

The Canadian government did not speak up to support the nonsensical position from the U.S. that GM foods are no different from foods produced through conventional methods. Though not yet actively supporting a positive position on GM labeling, Canada did not obstruct the meeting and the U.S. was not able to put an end to the negotiations. Out of the over 50 countries at the negotiations, the U.S. was only supported in its position by Mexico, Costa Rica, and Argentina.

Codex recommendations on GM labeling could protect developing countries from challenges brought through the World Trade Organization.

The U.S. was trying to put an end to the UN Codex negotiations on GM labeling but the negotiations will continue. There will be an important Codex meeting in May 2011 in Quebec City - and we must continue to pressure the Minister of Health. The Canadian Biotechnology Action Network (CBAN) will continue to take action and monitor this issue, as well as collaborate with U.S. groups. Please see below from Consumers Union in the U.S.

Press Release: Consumers Union Calls on U.S. to Support Genetically Modified Food Labeling Agreement

U.S. Stands Nearly Alone in Opposition at Recent International Meeting

Yonkers, NY Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports, today called on the Obama Administration to endorse a compromise on guidelines for labeling of genetically modified (GM)/genetically engineered (GE) food, that was supported by the overwhelming majority of nations during international negotiations last week in Canada. Consumers Union again expressed serious concerns that the current U.S. position in opposition to the compromise on GE/GM labeling could create major problems in the long term for U.S. and foreign producers who want to label their products as free of GM/GE ingredients.

At a meeting that concluded last Friday in Quebec of the Codex Committee on Food Labeling (CCFL), an arm of Codex Alimentarius, the United Nations food standards agency, the U.S. fought for a guideline that Codex would not suggest or imply that GM/GE foods are in any way different from other foods. The U.S. also refused to agree to comprise language stating that Codex recognizes that each country can adopt different approaches regarding labeling of GM/GE foods. However the U.S. failed to rally support for its views. Out of the approximately 50 countries present for the discussion, the U.S. was supported in its position by only three other countries: Mexico, Costa Rica, and Argentina. The CCFL Chair decided that the guideline should be mediated in the near future in Brussels, with Ghana chairing the meeting, so that the countries would could try and reach a consensus.

The U.S. opposes any draft Codex guideline that explicitly recognizes that there are differences between GE/GM food and non-GE/GM, or that states that countries can adopt different approaches to labeling of GE food, in line with existing Codex guidance. The U.S. position states that mandatory labeling of food as GE is likely to create the impression that the labeled food is in some way different and would therefore be false, misleading or deceptive.

The current U.S. position could potentially create significant problems for food producers in the U.S., and worldwide, who wish to indicate that their products contain no GE ingredients, as well as for countries that require labels on GE/GM food, said Dr. Michael Hansen, senior scientist at Consumers Union, and the lead spokesperson for the 220-member Consumers International at the meeting. The U.S. government clearly recognizes that there are differences between GE and non-GE food. USDA organic rules specifically state that GE seed cannot be used in organic production. The FDA has also taken the position that within the U.S., voluntary labeling as to whether or not a product contains GE ingredients is permissible. It is unclear why the U.S. has taken a contrary position on GM/GE food at Codex.

Prior to the meeting, Consumers Union and more than 80 farmers, public health, environmental, and organic food organizations sent a letter to Michael R. Taylor, Deputy Commissioner for Food at the FDA, and to Kathleen Merrigan, Deputy Secretary at the USDA, expressing serious concerns with the U.S. position. FDA and USDA are the lead agencies representing the U.S. government at Codex. A copy of the letter can be found online:http://www.consumersunion.org/pdf/Codex-comm-ltr-0410.pdf. In addition, more than 111,000 concerned citizens signed a petition, urging officials to change their position. A recent Consumers Union poll found that two-thirds of consumers would be concerned if they thought that GE/GM ingredients were in organic food.

Environmental Stewardship

The seventh Unitarian article is "Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part". Respect for the enviroment and our ecological connectedness starts at the church and our homes and extends to ecologocical communities that we impact.

Climate Change Day of Action October 24, 2009

The Unitarian Congregation of Niagara participated in Climate Change Day. The congregation has experimented with paperless services. Also the congregation has an electronic newsletter system in place.

The congregation has registered with 350.org and is now proudly diplayed on the world map showing projects around the word. Clicking on the following link to the 350.org website will bring up initatives in the Niagara area §. Please be patient while the orange circles are drawn as the orange circles correspond to initiatives. Zooming down to the St. Catharine's area will display our congregation. Zooming out will display eastern Canada then the world. Over 140 countries participated in this event.

Gardeners' Group

The Gardener's group is inactive now and will rise again next spring.

In 2009 the congregation developed a cross-over program combining ecological action and social action. In the "Gardeners-Helping-Gardners" iniative the congregation members volunteered to help gardners with their spring garden cleanup and preparation. The idea was to help garden lovers who were physically unable to perform the physically demanding spring garden work. In the past, the St. Catharines Horticultural Society had helped the Unitarian Congregation of Niagara with its garden. This year the Horticultural Society identified gardners with special circumstances who had gardens that were beyond their physical means. The pilot project targeted five experienced and knowlegdable gardeners in St. Catharines who need help.