Coordinator

Click here for Social Ministry Main Page and Info

What does a Social Ministry Coordinator do?

The role is to "raise awareness of the root causes of social needs and
injustices, and encourage actions of compassion, advocacy, and
social change, guided by a vision rooted in the gospel."

Download the Report to the Conference Conventions, fall 2009,
which describes last year's activities.

Rev Renita Falkenstern (in the north) or Rev Ryan Andersen (in the south) can come to your congregation to speak about several topics, such as:

An ELCIC Approach to Social Justice:

How do we as a church work for social justice? How do we move
beyond charity; what does it mean for us to carry out the biblical
call to "do justice"? We currently work with several partner organizations
that enable us to be a compassionate church at work in the world,
responding to needs both locally and globally, and striving for
long-term solutions. Some of these organizations are CLWR, Kairos, and local
projects that address Canadian poverty.

Or - to give a sermon that gives an overview
of the variety of work that we support, in a biblical context.

Stewardship of Creation:

Our church is getting greener! Would you like to see your congregation getting
involved? The ELCIC's Stewardship of Creation Initiative is an opportunity for
all congregations to become more "green". There are a variety of ways that
congregations can participate and become accredited. This presentation will
help get you started. It also incorportates the current Kairos campaign materials
to "Re-Energize...time for a carbon Sabbath".

Social Ministry Committees:

The Social Ministry Coordinator can meet with your Social
Ministry/Justice committee to discuss ways to
approach issues and projects both in your congregation
and your community. Methods that work /
Moving beyond charity: what does "Justice" mean / etc.
depending on your specific interests.

Bottled Water: A Healthy Alternative??

Water is a sacred gift, necessary for all life.
But in the wake of a global freshwater crisis,
privatization of water supplies and access to water
has become a life-or-death issue for the poor in many
countries. We are all becoming accustomed to buying
bottled water. What are the implications of this, and
what are other environmental and health concerns?
(The prior focus of a national Kairos ecumenical campaign.)

The SMC can provide information about grants that are
available to congregations for projects that address poverty
and hunger locally - what could your congregation do?

To receive occasional emails with information on upcoming
events, resources, etc. contact Pastor Renita or Pastor Ryan - and please share
your events and ideas too.

send an email to Pastor Renita Falkenstern at

rfalkenstern "at" elcic.ca

or Pastor Ryan Andersen

PastorRyan "at" adventlutheran.ca

but first change the "at" to @

These email addresses are written in this manner in an attempt to reduce spam.

This position has been created to assist and uphold the
philosophy of the Committee for Church and Society:

“We are guided by a vision rooted in the gospel, and we will
strive to raise awareness of the root causes of social needs
and injustices and encourage actions of compassion, advocacy,
and social change. We will work through a process of
action/reflection to:

1) encourage and enable local grass roots level initiatives for
social concern and action, and

2) enable people/groups to be aware of the links and parallels
between local and broader communities.”