“It’s important because my personal belief and the belief of the Kairos organization is that we need to be looking after the world and God’s creation,” Wilson told The Catholic Register.
Wilson is co-chairing a Kairos meeting for people in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence region which will look at the theological, political and practical implications of climate change Oct. 12-14. Ian Thomson, Kairos’ ecological justice and corporate social responsibility expert, will be the keynote speaker for two days of discussion about climate change, greenhouse gases, energy consumption and lifestyle choices. Faith and the Common Good founder Ted Reeve will talk about the theological perspective behind such projects as Greening Sacred Spaces, the program that helps churches reduce their energy use. Other speakers will explain how they’ve moved off the grid, using only as much power as they can generate themselves.
{sidebar id=1} The “Just Power — Sustainable Energy for Today” theme of the conference will preview a year’s worth of campaigning by the 11 church bodies on the Kairos board. Catholics are represented in Kairos by the Canadian Religious Conference, the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace.
Wilson said ordinary people in the pews Sunday mornings are looking for ways to be involved in environmental issues.
“The people who attend (the October conference) will be going back to their own community and maybe changing their own personal way of living, to try to be more conscious of the environment and energy issues,” she said. “Our Christian beliefs are that we’re supposed to take care of each other and take care of the world. It’s as simple as that, really.”
The Kairos conference will take place at the Mount Mary Immaculate Retreat Centre in Ancaster. For information call Gail Lorimer at (905) 634-7654 or e-mail Wilson at ah_wilson@sympatico.ca.
Kairos is organizing other annual meetings across the country as the 2008 campaign rolls out this fall:
- In Fort Qu’Appelle, Sask., Kairos members of the Prairies North region will be focused on uranium mining and its affects on the environment Sept. 28 - 30 at the Calling Lakes Retreat Centre. Contact Dick Peters at dickpet@sasktel.net or (306) 697-3354 for information.
- Atlantic region Kairos members will gather at the Tatamagouche Retreat Centre in Tatamagouche, Nova Scotia. Contact Bev McDonald at pharmin@eastlink.ca or (902) 425-4734.
- Cambrian-Agassiz region members in Manitoba, Nunavut and northwestern Ontario will meet Oct. 12-14 at Aulneau Renewal Centre in St. Boniface, Man. Contact Debby Coombs at DCoombs@westman.wave.ca or (204) 726-0008.
- British Columbia and Yukon members are scheduled into the Sorrento Retreat Centre in Sorrento, B.C. Oct. 19-21. Contact Susan Draper at graceful@shaw.ca or check out the regional group’s web site at www.bckairos.org.