So your parish wants to be part of addressing community concerns? Not sure how?
Would you like to join with community organizations such as Reach Clinic or Unions such as the one representing bus drivers or religious folk from various faiths?Tired of coalitions getting together about community issues such as affordable housing or poverty issues and seeing nothing happen? Consider this. Consider training in community organizing with Metro Vancouver Alliance.
The Metro Vancouver Alliance (MVA) is affiliated with the 70 year old Industrial Areas Foundation (I.A.F.) which began out of the meat packing plants in Chicago. Conditions were so bad in those plants that workers got together and joined with others to make necessary changes.
We are building the Metro Vancouver Alliance here in the lower mainland. MVA is an organization of organizations for the common good. We are building a foundation so that we can address community issues from a solid base of relationship between organizations that are members. We do not start with
issues but with relationship. In about a year, we will have a founding assembly with member organizations to begin to set priorities and strategize about directions. For now we are deepening relationship across sectors of our society that don’t often come together.
Membership is open to any desiring to work towards the common good from community, union, religious, educational and small business.
I often think of the gospel from Matthew about building our house on rock and not on sand. We need the strength of the organizations working together so that we can make the long term changes needed in addressing issues of the common good in the lower mainland. This is what it is to be partners with God in building the reign of God on earth. We use our power together for good.
No government money is accepted. This is a non-partisan political organization. Membership is not open to any partisan political body.
To see how some of the other Alliances are functioning in the world, go to the I.A.F website www.industialareasfoundation.org. Also check out the Alliance in Great Britain www.citizensuk.org Citizens U.K. has been engaged in incredible work and Anglican churches are very much part of that work.
Being part of Metro Vancouver Alliance is a way for a parish to have leadership training within the parish by doing a mapping of the surrounding communityas well as a listening campaign among parish members. It is a way of joining with other organizations to use the power we have together to make a difference for the common good in this part of the world that God has given us.
There are upcoming Leadership Institutes with Metro Vancouver Alliance:
Friday, September 27 (7-9pm) and Saturday, September 28 (9:30-3:30pm.) at Gordon Neighbourhood House, 1019 Broughton St. Vancouver.
For details click the link and download the full INFORMATION AND REGISTRATION FLYER. For additional information check out the MVA Vancouver website and to register for these upcoming courses email metrovancouveralliance@hotmail.com
The Eco-Justice Unit of the Diocese of New Westminster is a member of MVA and I welcome anyone to be in touch with me to talk more about MVA. Contact The Rev. Margaret Marquardt , Chair of The Eco-Justice Unit of the diocese.