The World Student Christian Federation (umbrella organisation of worldwide SCMs) is seeking a participant connected with the United Church of Canada for an Inter-Regional Leadership Programme to be held in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Dates are November 30 – December 7 (including travel time).
The focus is the intersection of Migrant & Refugee Rights with Racial Justice, in keeping with WSCF advocacy and theological exploration.
The United Church of Canada will sponsor a student/young adult to attend the programme, so we are looking for a candidate who:
Is a member of the United Church
Has a strong connection with the work of the church
Will be involved in the ongoing work of the WSCF or SCM, especially on advocacy items related to migration, racial justice, and rights of Indigenous Peoples.
We encourage applications from those who identify as Trans or Female, or who are Indigenous or of African descent.
Acknowledging the global phenomena of forced migration as an intrinsic characteristic of today’s globalized world, we aim to highlight the need to develop a nuanced analysis and agenda in advocating for rights of migrants and refugees in general, and the specific issues and agenda of youth migrants in the global discourse on migrant human rights.
SCM’s fall retreat ‘Turning Tables‘ is approaching fast, and we’re pleased to see good registration numbers from young people (18-35).
We have spaces for about 8-10 more people, and with tickets only $40 we’d love to welcome more people to the retreat. We have some funds to support the travel costs of people coming from outside of Ontario.
The retreat is supported by ecumenical bodies (Ecumenical Chaplaincy of UofT, Anglican Diocese of Toronto, and the Southeast & South West Toronto Presbyteries of the United Church), and our participants are from a variety of faith backgrounds including Anglican, Catholic, Mennonite, Reformed and United Church.
Participants will create morning, noon and evening prayer times for the whole group, will participate in workshops and open space conversations, a Sunday worship service and countless informal conversations that will help to guide the SCM`s activities and direction.
Please share this invitation with any likely suspects and ask them to register through Eventbrite.
Thanks to SCM Summer Student Intern Rebecca Bauman for the cat meme!
The Student Christian Movement of Canada was one of over seventy organisations that signed an open letter to demand that the Ontario Government refrain from condemnation of activists working in solidarity with the Palestinian people.
In recent years there has been a backlash against the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement (BDS), which seeks to oppose Israeli corporations that profit from occupation and normalise injustice. This backlash has been seen on campuses, against churches and community groups, and recently in the Ontario Legislature with the defeated Bill 202 that would have described BDS as an anti-Semitic movement.
Agree? Disagree? If you’re a young person with thoughts on the question ‘Should Canada Support BDS?’, enter this Essay Competition for a chance to win $1000! Submission deadline Sept 30.
Looking for experience in organising? Contacts with other SCMers in North America? A window into the international ecumenical movement and your place within it?
Working Groups advance the Federation’s efforts in many areas
The North America region of the World Student Christian Federation (WSCF-NA) is looking for students and young adults to join working groups in the following areas:
Advocacy and Solidarity
Bible and Theology
Communication
Fundraising
Women, Gender and Sexuality
(more details below)
WSCF-NA’s work connects local and national movements with the global Federation through its regional and global strategic plans.
The 2016-2019 WSCF Strategic Plan highlighted Overcoming Violence, Eco-justice, Higher Education, and Identity, Diversity & Dialogue as major themes to be tackled. The main thematic area for WSCF-NA in 2015-2017 has been racial justice and indigenous people’s rights. The 2016-2017 working groups will continue this good work!
Please contact the WSCF-NA office for more information and to join a Working Group: wscfna@gmail.com
This group is a bridge between the global federation and the Student Christian Movements in the U.S. and Canada. We work on diverse issues such as Indigenous and Racial Justice, Immigration and Refugee Response, Climate Change and Ecojustice, Militarization and Colonialism, and Higher Education Access, and Gender Equality. We work with two main focus:
1) The student/young adult body discerns the key issues in the region that are important to advocate for, and the key people to stand with in solidarity. We are then able to organize ways our interaction. This can include writing and disseminating solidarity statements, linking up with advocacy groups that we can work with, creating special programs to increase exposure and education, and providing support for new and existing community-based programs.
2) We work to facilitate the student/young adult body putting the mandates of the global federation into action. This is accomplished through solidarity events, programs and trainings, and providing access to conferences that align with those mandates. As there are broad issues that affect other regions with roots from our two countries, so the working group educates our members, churches and communities of those issues, raising awareness and equipping them to advocate.
The working group meets via Skype every first Monday of the month at 7pm Eastern time, with the understanding that should programming or other special meetings conflict with that time, we would move the meeting time to the following Monday. This meeting time is revised at the beginning of every academic semester to make sure we are accommodating to our student members.
Bible, Theology and Innovative Working Group encourages students to find good news in the scriptures, and to think critically about how the Bible speaks to our modern-day context. The Bible and Theology Program engages the region in its call to be God’s agents in addressing the world’s current challenges such as war, poverty, economic injustice and the threat to our planet. During this academic year, the Working group will be providing worship and reflection material for the upcoming WSCF-NA events and soliciting input from our ecumenical partners with prayers, liturgical ideas, theological verbatims.
TheCommunication Working Group is looking for people who are interested or experienced in communication. Members of this committee will help in determining guidelines for communication strategies in the work of the World Student Christian Federation-North America and in implementing communication tools to make the work of WSCF visible and palatable to students, young adults, partners and donors. You will help with the website, database, social media, e-newsletter, branding strategies and crowd funding.
TheFundraising Working Group develops concepts for educating and promoting fundraising techniques within the WSCF-North American Region. Fundraising programs such as the Give One be One (GOBO), seasonal teller-funding, and grant writing are sources of outreach to donors. While providing fundraising training to the WSCF North American Regional Committee and other members of the WSCF, the Working Group envisions fundraising strategies and efforts to contribute to the WSCF core budget and programming.
TheWomen, Gender & Sexuality Working Group facilitates the region work on women’s issues and issues related to sexual minorities and people oppressed and marginalized on the basis of gender, sexual orientation and the hegemony of the gender binary. The Working Group supports North American SCMs as they engage with related issues. In the 2016/17 academic year we will be focusing on two major projects: the preparations for an intergenerational, interfaith conference on faith and feminism (date TBD); and helping the Student Christian Movement of Canada to refresh and update its ecumenical resources on feminism and LGBTQ+ issues. A variety of roles and time commitments are available.
The SCM’s local units are the heart of the Movement. We are so fortunate to have a cadre of coordinators who share their passions and skills. Local units offer programming designed for the specific context and capacity they work in, but they all share the SCM’s committments to anti-oppressive practice and creative, liberatory, inclusive spirituality in the radical Christian tradition.
SCM is currently looking for communities interested in developing their own SCM Canada chapter. If you are a student and/or youth interested in helping co-ordinate a chapter in your community, email us at info@scmcanada.org
SCM Toronto – Esther
Esther is an alumna both of York and U of T, who first connected with SCM while helping to organize the Cahoots Festival. She has a background in counselling psychology, but is most passionate about justice-seeking Christian communities – intentional and unintentional.
She is a member of the Jeremiah Community and The Dale in Toronto’s Parkdale neighbourhood, where she has taken on roles from dishwashing to peacemaking to preaching. She enjoys singing, contemplative prayer, community kitchens, and creative actions for justice and peace.
You can reach her at esther@scmcanada.org. Don’t hesitate to get in touch if you’d like to meet or share ideas!
SCM Ryerson – Divy
Divy is a graduate of the Ryerson University’s Arts and Cotnemporary Studies Program. They are currently transitioning out of this position to make way for a new Coordinator as they move into the SCM National Coordinator position.
She enjoys watching her tree frogs Brioche and Pancake as well as running her online market Shop Divy.
If you would like to talk to her about joining a Ryerson SCM Bible study, you can reach her at divy@scmcanada.org.
For Matthew Morales, a U of T Mississauga student, finding the Student Christian Movement at U of T came at the perfect time: “I found out about the SCM in a time of uncertainty. I had been processing what it meant to hold together doubts about my faith, the misgivings of my, then, church congregation, and what it meant to live a life that sought out peace. I had been trying to do it alone.”
This winter Matthew started attending the weekly SCM contextual Bible study, “Scripture – Community – Meal”, facilitated by the ECUT chaplains. The questions and conversations around biblical text and its connection to our lives were deeply meaningful. For example, the discussion on Luke 8: 43-48, the story of the woman who was bleeding for 12 years and healed after touching Jesus’ cloak, focused on what healing and self-care means and the visibility/invisibility of pain and disability in our own lives and world. Even on the snowiest days, students travelled as far as Mississauga and Thornhill and as near as Kensington Market to attend – a testament to community and to spiritual growth! Supporting SCM is in ECUT’S mandate, and includes supporting rallies, pub nights, and Cahoots!, the SCM Festival.
As Matthew says, “The SCM has been and is a safe place for me in all the layers of my identity. It’s where I’ve met friends who listened to my grievings as I listened to theirs. And in the midst of it all, the SCM has helped me remember the heart of God rooted in love, peace and justice.”
If you are a theology student or just graduated from a theological institute and have not been ordained yet, you might be interested in attending Face to Face, a program organized by the Council for World Mission from September 2nd to October 15th.
The students will spend six weeks in India (in Kolkata and in Hyderabad) where participants will be looking at the issues of the many poor and the many faiths. Of particular interest this year will be a Re-Reading the Bible consultation with scholars from across the globe joining in the program.
If you are interested in applying, please email wscfna@gmail.com for information and the application form.
For the third year in a row, the Student Christian Movement helped to host the Cahoots festival – a gathering of faith, justice and do-it-yourself culture for artists, activists and allies.
We are proud to name the Women’s Inter-Church Council of Canada as one of our supportive bodies. For the second time, WICC awarded a grant for the festival to help us keep our tickets as affordable as possible, and also connected us with one of our 2016 speakers, Rev. Janet Anstead.
WICC is part of the broad ecumenical movement that birthed groups like the SCM, and provide spaces for us to come together in our diversity and work together for the common good. Over the years they have funded thousands of projects in Canada and overseas, and we are excited to have them as partners.
Meanwhile, the Cahoots festival organising groups are starting to think about next year, including seeking a location closer to our friends in Ottawa, Montreal and Kingston. If you’re interested in helping to organise any aspect of the festival, email us!
WSCF has published a compilation of student essays and prayers entitled Towards a Global, Christian Movement for Eco-Justice. The book highlights the interconnectedness of ecological justice and human rights, as environmental destruction is often most devastating to those living in poverty. Contributions include prayers of lament and thanksgiving, stories from specific communities facing injustices, personal reflections, and calls for action. The book is available from SCM Canada for a recommended $10 donation.
Seeking Contributors – Racial Justice and Indigenous Peoples Rights
On a similar note, the WSCF-North America is seeking young adults, students, and partners interested in contributing a chapter, article, or reflection for a new book on racial justice and indigenous people’s rights.
Interested parties should send their piece in a Word document for edits by August 31st. Please share this information with your passionate writer friends. Specifications are outlined here.
For more information, contact Luciano Kovacs (WSCF Executive for North America, Program Director for Advocacy & Solidarity) at wscfna@gmail.com.
On Thursday, July 7, 2016, SCM joined a contingent walking 1700 steps to Queen’s Park to present a 35,000 signature petition. In solidarity with the Free Grassy campaign, the petitions call for Premier Wynne to commit to cleaning up the English-Wabigoon river system that flows through the Grassy Narrows First Nation.
At Queen’s Park the canoe is filled with petition pages for delivery
The petition was organised by Leadnow, and the march included speakers from Council of Canadians and unions. The march of 1700 steps signified the 1700 km that youth from Grassy Narrows travelled for June’s River Run to make the same demand. The petition pages filled a canoe that led the procession and drew lots of attention!
Over forty years ago, the river was polluted when the Dryden paper mill dumped nine tons of liquid mercury. The mercury continues to contaminate the water and the fish, causing sickness and death within the community, and despite years of Grassy Narrows’ residents and supporters demanding action, Ontario has failed to take action.
Canoe and Banner make their way through Toronto streets
SCM has been involved in supporting the biennial River Run organized by Free Grassy, and marched in solidarity with youth and elders from Grassy Narrows this June, arranging a prayer gathering ahead of the march to rally support.
The World Student Christian Federation (umbrella organisation of worldwide SCMs) is seeking a participant connected with the United Church of Canada for an Inter-Regional Leadership Programme to be held in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Dates are November 30 – December 7 (including travel time).
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cknowledging the global phenomena of forced migration as an intrinsic characteristic of today’s globalized world, we aim to highlight the need to develop a nuanced analysis and agenda in advocating for rights of migrants and refugees in general, and the specific issues and agenda of youth migrants in the global discourse on migrant human rights.
