Public Policy and Service Ministries

MOTION 1.1

RELATING TO: Call on all levels of Government in Canada to develop and/or expand affordable supportive housing strategies.

SUBMITTED BY: The Eastern Synod Director of Public Policy and Service Ministries

MOTION: Moved that this synod in Assembly call on all provincial, territorial, federal and municipal governments to develop and/or expand affordable supportive housing strategies that will

• prevent and alleviate homelessness and address the independent living needs of seniors and others facing challenges to independent living; and
• that delegates to this Assembly encourage their congregations and members to support such housing initiatives in their communities

RATIONALE:

• Long term housing instability can create a cycle where people keep moving in and out of shelters, hospitals or correctional facilities … “the use of various emergency services is roughly 10 times more expensive than the provision of housing with support services..”  (All Roads Lead to Home –Region of Waterloo 2007)
• The Federal government’s commitment to ongoing funding for homelessness alleviation and affordable housing ceases on March 31, 2014.
• The importance of housing to stabilize individuals and families is highlighted in the report “The Housing First Model: Immediate Access to Permanent Housing”.  (E. Nick Faldo in Canadian Housing 2008). The Canadian Senate in their December 2009 sub-committee report on Cities, In from the Margins:  A Call to Action on Poverty, Housing and Homelessness makes a number of recommendations to address the housing needs of Canadians
  • By 2016, 16.3% of the Canadian population will be over 65 and by 2025 one in five Canadians will be over 65 (CMHC)
  • People with mental health issues are more vulnerable to homelessness and represent a visible portion of the homeless population.  (CMHC Research Highlight Report  – May 2011)
  • 25% of Canadians over 55 years old want to remain in their present home for as long as possible even if there are changes to their health (Impacts of Aging of the Canadian Population on Housing and Communities – CMHC 2008)
  • As the baby boom population ages more and more seniors will require some supports to live independently in the community or in a supportive housing setting (as opposed to a nursing home).

Rationale has been abridged.

Additional Rationale:

• The waiting list for housing with support continues to grow in most urban centres (Homeless and Housing Umbrella Group – 2011 Report Card)
• Nova Scotia has the largest proportion of older Canadians (28%).

MOTION 1.2

RELATING TO: Calling on the Federal Government to take seriously the issue of poverty in Canada and to develop a Federal Anti-poverty strategy enshrined in legislation.

SUBMITTED BY: The Eastern Synod Director of Public Policy and Service Ministries

MOTION: Moved that this synod in Assembly call on the Federal Government to address the issue of poverty facing many Canadians by

• developing a Federal Anti-poverty strategy enshrined in legislation which includes a commitment for sufficient investment in social security and accountability for results,
• and that delegates to this Assembly acquire and study the document The Dollars and Sense of Solving Poverty in their congregations,
• encourage their congregations and members to advocate for poverty reduction initiatives with their respective Provincial governments.

RATIONALE:

• To-date the federal government has not taken action with regard to a November 24, 2009 motion passed in the House of Commons:  “That with November 24, 2009 marking the 20 anniversary of the 1989 unanimous resolution of the House to eliminate poverty among Canadian children by the year 2000, and not having achieved that goal, be it resolved that the Government of Canada, taking into consideration the Committee’s work in this regard, and respecting provincial and territorial jurisdiction develop an immediate plan to eliminate poverty in Canada for all”
• Poverty continues to affect almost 10% of the Canadian population (3.2 million Canadians living in 2009).  The National Council of Welfare estimates  the public cost of poverty is double what it would take to provide each Canadian family an income above the poverty line (“the Dollars and Sense of Solving Poverty” – Fall 2011).
• The newsletter (Hunger eNews) for the Ontario Association of Food Banks estimates that one in 33 Ontarians goes hungry every month and needs to access food from a food bank or feeding program
• A “Poverty Free Ontario” June 2011 media release indicated that poverty in Ontario had increased from 11.2% of the population in 2007 to 13.1% of the population in 2009
• The United Nations Human Rights Council called on the Government of Canada in 2009 to develop a national strategy to end poverty
• A Canada Without Poverty release in April 2009 indicated that income inequality in Canada continued to increase  – the gap between the rich and poor continues to grow
• Canada 2020 is a non-partisan, progressive centre working to create an environment of social and economic prosperity for Canada and all Canadians.  In their November 2011 publication “The Canada We Want in 2020” poverty is identified as a threat to our social cohesion.  A number of recommendations are made to the federal government on the importance of reducing poverty

Rationale has been abridged.

Additional Rationale:

• The Canadian Senate in their December 2009 sub-committee “Report on Cities, In from the Margins:  A call to Action on Poverty, Housing and Homelessness”  outlines numerous recommendations that the federal government should take to address poverty
• Provincial Governments including Ontario have adopted Poverty Reduction Strategies.  However many of the actions require the support of the federal government
• Many of our congregations are involved in services and programs to help the poor in our communities. A commitment from both the federal and provincial governments to take action and make poverty reduction a priority would help support these efforts.
• The National Council of Welfare outlines a four part strategy to address poverty:

1. There needs to be a Canada-wide strategy for solving poverty including a long term vision; coordination of efforts; accountability; measure on progress and sufficient resources
2. A sustained investment plan to build human capacity
3. A consistent design framework to ensure Canadians get the most impact out of different policies and programs
4. An open forum for conversation and action  (The Dollars and Sense of Solving Poverty – Fall 2011)

MOTION 1.3

RELATING TO: A response to the work of The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) and the ELCIC’s commitment to diversity

SUBMITTED BY: The Eastern Synod Director of Public Policy and Service Ministries

MOTION: Moved that, in light of the ongoing work of The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) and the ELCIC’s commitment to diversity, the Synod Assembly calls on the Eastern Synod to form a volunteer, ad hoc committee that will invite and help shepherd the congregations of the Eastern Synod in

• confession and repentance of both our current racist attitudes and actions and the part we played in support of the policy of assimilation that denied the integrity of Aboriginal cultures and thereby created and perpetuated the residential school tragedy
• committing ourselves to working toward reconciliation and decolonizing the dominant culture
• planning to engage in on-going learning, reflection, and discussion based in scripture, the work of the TRC and related resources in order to uncover attitudes that are still present in our selves, church and society that were at the root of the residential schools;

• after the process of confession, repentance, self-learning, and reflection to humbly respond to invitations from communities that experience the debilitating effects of racism and with communities that live with privilege, to find ways to journey together, confronting the reality of racism.

The tasks of this committee will include:

To begin to discern the context of the Eastern Synod in relation to diversity, racism, culture, and right relationships with First Nations Peoples

• To look in depth at the issues of diversity, racism, culture and right relationships
• To devise and commend processes for this work
• To engage others in the Synod and beyond in gathering resources (written, experiential, video, workshop, and training)
• To help the Eastern Synod to identify and celebrate the ways this process is life giving and helps us to live our faith.

RATIONALE: On Friday, February 24, 2012 The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC), released its interim report together with a new historical publication, They Came for the Children: Canada, Aboriginal Peoples, and Residential Schools. The report together with the excellent historical publication provide a wonderful opportunity for God’s people to rediscover the truth about the treatment of First Nations Peoples in Canada and through this education, move toward reconciliation.

Out of the TRC has also come the recognition that most of the people who ran the residential schools were “faithful, well meaning people who thought they were doing the will of God”.  God’s people today need to ask, “What about the faithful well meaning people who think they are doing the will of God today”?

There were attitudes and cultural beliefs at the root of residential schools. One of the challenges of the TRC is to do the difficult work of uncovering which of those attitudes still exist and continue to shape us today.

The Eastern Synod of the ELCIC is committed to being “In Mission for Others.”  This calls us to be a diverse church. To truly engage such diversity means more than having a variety of skin colours in our congregations. We are called to do the work of understanding our own culture and intentionally living in right relationship across cultures.

Even though we, as Lutheran Christians, did not run residential schools, we must recognize that we had a part in the residential school reality and that we continue to be shaped by the attitudes that led to the residential schools.

Rationale has been abridged.

Additional Rationale and Resources:

See http://www.trc.ca/websites/trcinstitution/index.php?p=3

Resources:

There are a growing number of resources (written, workshop, training, video, and other) that can be helpful in this process. As a beginning point, and to help introduce the need for an invitation into this process small number of Canadian resources are suggested as a starting point:

Unsettling the Settler Within:
Indian Residential Schools, Truth Telling, and Reconciliation in Canada

by Paulette Regan:

UBC Press

http://www.ubcpress.ca/search/title_book.asp?BookID=299172936

A powerful and compassionate call to action, Unsettling the Settler Within inspires with its thoughtful and personal account of Regan’s own journey, and offers all Canadians — Indigenous and non-Indigenous policymakers, politicians, teachers, and students — a new way of approaching the critical task of healing the wounds left by the residential school system.

Mamow-Be-Mo-Tay-Tah (Let Us Walk Together)

2009 Canadian Ecumenical Anti-Racism Network

Canadian Council of Churches

www.councilofchurches.ca

This resource is designed to help Canadians engage with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission on Indian Residential Schools and better understand the legacies of colonization that Aboriginal peoples live with today.

Cracking Open White Identity Towards Transformation

2012 Canadian Ecumenical Anti-Racism Network

Canadian Council of Churches

www.councilofchurches.ca

This resource includes tools for examining, engaging, and challenging White privilege. Among those tools are powerful personal stories, scriptural and theological reflection, and suggested reflection activities. It is suitable for use by an individual, small group, congregation, or across an institution or organization.

MOTION 1.4

RELATING TO: Resolution Calling for Enlightened National Environmental Leadership and Action

SUBMITTED BY: The Eastern Synod Director of Public Policy and Service Ministries

MOTION: Moved that the Eastern Synod Declare that, out of respect for all of creation and accepting our responsibility as stewards of creation, call for a vision and policies for the future of our country and our planet that

• acknowledge that Canada’s Environmental Footprint — industrial, institutional, and individual —  exceeds the planet’s capability to sustain it,
• acknowledge that, according to the vast majority of climate scientists, global warming is caused by humans and is having an increasingly devastating effect on the planet’s ecosystem, its flora and fauna, and on vulnerable human populations,
• move us from dependence on oil, gas, and coal to clean, sustainable energy sources such as solar, wind, tidal, and geothermal, in the process creates jobs,
• eliminate the current federal tax subsidies of over $1 billion annually to oil and gas companies allocating those funds for environmentally responsible policies,
  • through public education campaigns and financial incentives encourage conservation of energy by industry, government, public and private institutions, and individuals.

Finally, we direct our Bishop, the Rev. Dr. Michael Pryse, to

• write to our Prime Minister, conveying these declarations and calls for action,
• write to Eastern Synod congregations encouraging them to continue the greening of their homes, their buildings and their use of the planet’s limited resources, and
• through proclamation and education to keep us ever mindful of the care for the creation that the Creator has entrusted to us.

RATIONALE

The rationale underlying this motion falls in a number of areas.  These are some.

BIBLE, THEOLOGY, ACTIONS, EXAMPLES

Planet In Peril: God’s Earth/God’s People, by Jana Kelly and Harold Remus (commissioned by the ELCIC National Office)

CONTENTS:  1.  Paradigm Shifts: Climate Change/Global Warming, by Jana Kelly and Harold Remus,  p. 3.   2.   Planet in Peril – How Perilous is the Peril? by Jana Kelly, p. 4.   3.  “Planet” –  What’s In A Name and How Did We Get Here from There? by Harold Remus, p. 6.   4.  The Greening of Theology:  Ecotheology by Harold Remus, p. 8.  5.  “The Strange New World Within the Bible” – What Does the Bible Say About God’s Earth? by Harold Remus,  p. 10.   6.  Greening Sacred Spaces:  Faith in Action by Jana Kelly, p. 15.  7.  “I believe . . . .” by Jana Kelly and Harold Remus, p. 17.  References, pp. 18, 20.  Three Case Studies, p.24.  http://elcic.ca/Stewardship/Stewardship-of-creation/documents/PlanetInPerilStewardshipOfCreationInitiative.pdf

Rationale has been abridged.

Additional Rationale and Resources:

CLIMATE CHANGE IS CAUSED BY HUMANS; URGENCY OF ACTION

Game Over for the Climate

By James Hansen, Director, NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies   /  May 9, 2012

“Global warming isn’t a prediction. It is happening. . . . Every major national science academy in the world has reported that global warming is real, caused mostly by humans, and requires urgent action. The cost of acting goes far higher the longer we wait — we can’t wait any longer to avoid the worst and be judged immoral by coming generations.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/10/opinion/game-over-for-the-climate.html?hp&pagewanted

American Physical Society [the professional society of U.S. physicists]

Adopted by Council on November 18, 2007:

“Emissions of greenhouse gases from human activities are changing the atmosphere in ways that affect the

Earth’s climate. Greenhouse gases include carbon dioxide as well as methane, nitrous oxide and other gases.

They are emitted from fossil fuel combustion and a range of industrial and agricultural processes.

“The evidence is incontrovertible: Global warming is occurring.

“If no mitigating actions are taken, significant disruptions in the Earth’s physical and ecological systems, social systems, security and human health are likely to occur. We must reduce emissions of greenhouse gases beginning now.

“Because the complexity of the climate makes accurate prediction difficult, the APS urges an enhanced effort to understand the effects of human activity on the Earth’s climate, and to provide the technological options for meeting the climate challenge in the near and longer terms. The APS also urges governments, universities, national laboratories and its membership to support policies and actions that will reduce the emission of greenhouse gases.”

http://www.aps.org/policy/statements/07_1.cfm (which includes a 2010 commentary on the statement)

CLIMATE CHANGE AFFECTS AND IS AFFECTED BY POPULATION AND LIFESTYLES

World Population / Over Population

“The world population is the sum total of all living humans on Earth. As of today, it is estimated to number 7.022 billion [this number is automatically updated every day] by the United States Census Bureau (USCB). The USCB estimates that the world population exceeded 7 billion on March 12, 2012.. . . According to a separate estimate by the United Nations Population Fund, it reached this milestone on October 31, 2011.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_populationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_population

How Much of the Earth’s Resources Does Canada, Canadians, Africans Consume?

“Ecological Footprint : A measure of how much area of  biologically productive land and water an individual, population or activity requires to produce all the resources it consumes and to absorb the waste it generates, using prevailing technology and resource management practices.”

http://www.footprintnetwork.org/en/index.php/GFN/page/glossary/

“The world’s population demands the resources of 1.5 Earths annually.”  (The Footprint of Africans, who contribute little to global warming, is about 1.1.)

http://bobdinetzdesign.com/project/E60A63/global-footprint-network

“Canada has the world’s 8th largest ecological footprint per capita, according to WWF’s  [World Wildlife Fund’s] Living Planet Report 2012. . . .  If the entire world lived like Canadians do, it would take 3.5 Earths to support the demand. . . .”

http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story/2012/05/15/world-wildlife-fund-report-canada.html

Human overpopulation is the #1 threat to animals worldwide

By Doris Lin

“Human overpopulation is an animal rights issue as well as an environmental issue and a human rights issue. Human activities, including mining, transportation, pollution, agriculture, development, and logging, take habitat away from wild animals as well as kill animals directly. These activities also contribute to climate change, which threatens even the most remote wild habitats on this planet and our own survival.

“Overpopulation occurs when a population has exceeded its carrying capacity. Carrying capacity is the maximum number of individuals of a species that can exist in a habitat indefinitely without threatening other species in that habitat. It would be difficult to argue that humans are not threatening other species.

“Paul Ehrlich and Anne Ehrlich, authors of  ‘The Population Explosion,’ explain:

The entire planet and virtually every nation is already vastly overpopulated. Africa is overpopulated now because, among other indications, its soils and forests are rapidly being depleted—and that implies that its carrying capacity for human beings will be lower in the future than it is now. The United States is overpopulated because it is depleting its soil and water resources and contributing mightily to the destruction of global environmental systems. Europe, Japan, the Soviet Union, and other rich nations are overpopulated because of their massive contributions to the carbon dioxide buildup in the atmosphere, among many other reasons.

“More than 80% of the world’s old growth forests have been destroyed, wetlands are being drained for real estate development, and demands for biofuels take much-needed arable land away from crop production.”. . . .

“Consuming less may be a way for us to live within the carrying capacity of the planet, but as Paul Ehrlich and Anne Ehrlich explain, ‘Overpopulation is defined by the animals that occupy the turf, behaving as they naturally behave, not by a hypothetical group that might be substituted for them.’ We should not use the hope or the plan to reduce our consumption as an argument that humans are not overpopulated.”

MOTION 3.1

RELATING TO: A Substitute Motion to replace R & C 1.5 A Call to Non-Violence

MOTION: Moved that the Eastern Synod in convention declare its support for the historic Lutheran position that, while violence is sometimes tragically necessary in pursing justice in the world, it is always preferred that non-violent solutions be sought in situations of conflict.

Therefore we commit ourselves

• To use non-violent communication in our interactions with one another;
• To encourage our communities to pursue restorative practices in instances of violence in social life;
• To encourage governments and those who protest government actions and policies to engage one another honestly and non-violently;
• T encourage the government of Canada to pursue, and to encourage other nations to pursue, non-violent solutions to international conflicts through the United Nations and other multilateral and bilateral organizations

We also commit ourselves to encourage and support those whose vocation includes the pursut of justice and peace, mediation, conflict resolution, restorative practices, diplomacy, peace-keeping and peace-making.

We therefore request Synod Council and the Director of Public Policy and Service Ministries to identify or develop resources to help congregations study and work toward restorative practices and just peace in the world, and to respond to violence in the home, at work and at school, and in that perpetrated against creation.

RATIONALE:

Violence in all its forms – in the home, in our communities, in international relations, and in our stewardship with the natural world – represents of of the chief contemporary threats to life and well-being on our planet.

1. Physically violent  behaviour in marital relations and in parenting, including spousal abuse and spanking, only reinforces the perception that might is right,
2. Although the early Christian attitude to military service is complex (W.H.C. Frend, The Rise of Christianity {London, 1984], pp. 420-21), many early Christians during the first four centuries followed Jesus’ teaching literally—do not respond to violence with violence but, rather, love your enemies, do good to them and bless them (Luke 6:27-36; similarly Matt. 5:39-42, 44-48)—by refusing to serve in the military. Prominent Christian voices were raised in support of them. Hippolytus of Rome (died ca. 236) wrote: “A soldier of the civil authority must be taught no to kill other humans and to refuse to do so if he is commended, and to refuse to take an oath; if he us unwilling to comply, he must be rejected [for baptism]. A military commander or civic magistrate that wears the purple must resign or be rejected. If a catechumen or a believer sees to become a soldier they must be rejected, for they have despised God.”St. Martin of Tours (died 397)—after whom Martin Luther was named—was a roman army officer and an early convert to Christian faith. He gave up his commission and was baptized, having difficulty (says Lutheran scholar Philip Pfatteicher) “proving that he was not a coward.” St. Martin is listed among the Commemorations in the calendar of Roman Catholic, Anglican and Methodist Churches and also in Evangelical Lutheran Worship (p. 17). Not insignificantly, the Day of his yearly commemoration is November 11. Lutheran Christians in modern times have largely forgotten this history.
3. St. Augustine of Hippo (died 430) proposed a set of standards by which warfare could be judged justifiable. Even by his so-called “just war” standards, modern warfare, with its sophisticated weaponry and its ultimate nuclear weapons of mass destruction, are simply too devastating for Christians to justify: the good” they might hope to accomplish is far outweighed by the consequences of their use, whether those are pulverised cities or mass killing (in Vietnam 85% of all casualties were civilians) or destruction of the environment. Augustine’s standards have been summarized as follows A. Extremity: Is this war truly a last resort? Have all diplomatic and economic and political avenues to avoid war been exhausted? B. Legality: Has this war been legally authorized? To be justifiable a war must not be simply a vigilante adventure. C. Winnability: Can this war actually be won? Mutual suicidal violence cannot be justified. D. Proportionality: Will the violence, loss of life, destruction, and dislocation caused by this war be less than the violence, loss of life, destruction and dislocation that the war is attempting to correct? E. Discrimination: A war must not endanger civilian populations.
4. In passing this motion, our Synod would be following the example and witness of St. Martin of Tours, Gandhi, Albert Schweitzers’s “Reverence for Life,” and Martin Luther King, Jr.

MOTION 3.3

RELATING TO: A motion regarding healthcare funding for refugee claimants

MOTION: Moved that this Synod in Assembly direct the Bishop to write to the Prime Minister of Canada and express our concern to their MPs at the cuts in refugee health coverage announced by the federal government. Further, we ask the National Bishop to explore issuing a public statement together with other faith leaders condemning the federal government’s decision and joining those in the medical community and other faith communities to call for the reinstatement of full health care coverage to the refugee claimants. We also encourage congregations and members of the ELCIC to express their concern and call for reinstatement of full health coverage to refugee claimants.

RATIONALE:

The Lutheran church internationally is in the unique position of having a highly significant role in refugee care: Director of CLWR, Robert Granke, has told us that the LWF is second only to the International Red Cross in providing care to refugees internationally. As a result, the Lutheran church is able to speak from a position of considerable experience in the area of refugee health.

Those who have applied for asylum as refugees are by their very nature in need of particular support, both to their physical and mental health. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a psychiatric disorder that does not disappear over time, rather becomes latent and can re-emerge even in senior years if untreated. The side-effects of PTSD include aggression and substance dependency and have been shown to have a continued impact on the family.