By Michael LeBlanc, Development and Peace – Caritas Canada Animator for Saskatchewan-Keewatin-Le Pas
[This Jan. 27, 2023 edition of The Caragana online bulletin is re-published with permission.]
I am always excited to start new things — a fresh start to the new year, watching (or playing) the first game of a sports season, or the first time I open a bag of coffee beans — it’s all so fresh and full of life!
Development and Peace is turning over a new leaf, too. We are starting our new campaign, Create Hope: Stand for the Land, which will run until December of this year. Create Hope is the theme for the next five years at Development and Peace.
The theme comes from Pope Francis’ message to popular movements: “I like to call you this: social poets. Because you have the ability and the courage to create hope where there appears to be only waste and exclusion. Poetry means creativity, and you create hope.”
The first campaign under the Create Hope banner will be “Stand for the Land”, and as mentioned, this theme will follow us all year.
This Lent, we will begin our journey with Raquel Soto and Elvin Hernández, two land defenders committed to protecting their lands, culture, & way of life. Read more about their journeys in D&P’s mini-magazine (LINK).
What can you do? You can plan to come to your local workshop (see below) but don’t forget to order your resources today for your parish at https://www.devp.org/en/order-lent/
Resources:
- Poster — Order 1 or 2 and place it in your parish’s bulletin board and/or parish office!
- Mini-magazine — The highlight of the materials, this magazine takes you from 0-60 mph in terms of knowledge and awareness for Development and Peace. This is a key resource for educating curious newcomers about D&P while also giving highlights and key updates for our campaign. (Plus it features a quote from our region’s own Norman Lipinski on the back cover! See if you can find Norm in the Online version (LINK).
- Create Hope Prayer card — This prayer came out of the Orientation Assembly last spring and will be with us for the next 5 years Create Hope campaign. Within reason, make sure to order as many as you need.
Online resources to come:
Find online resources at www.devp.org/en/campaign/stand-for-the-land/resources (specific links to come shortly)
- Solidarity Calendar
- Way of the Cross
- Symbols of Solidarity
- Three-minute short talk
- Prayers of the Faithful
- Faith-based reflections
- Weekly reflections
- Parish bulletin announcements
- Family bulletin
Mark your calendars:
(Subject to change pending weather and location confirmation.)
- Monday, Feb. 2, 7-9 p.m. — Saskatoon Workshop held at Saint Anne Parish, 217 Lenore Drive
- Sunday, Feb. 5, 2-4 p.m. — North Battleford Workshop
- Saturday, Feb. 11, 1-4 p.m. — Regina Workshop
- Sunday, Feb. 12, Time TBD — Swift Current Workshop
- Monday, Feb. 13, 7-9 p.m. — Online, Saskatchewan-wide workshop: Click here to register.
- Saturday, Feb.y 25, National Campaign Launch.: Sign up online here (Meet the “face” of our campaign, Raquel herself, who will call in)
- Sunday, February 26, 2-4 PM — Prince Albert Workshop
- Special event: Thursday, February 16, 6-7:30 PM — Unearthing Solidarity: Global Voices on Mining Justice. Register here.
Wherever and however you are able to bring this campaign to your parish or school, I would love to hear from you. Please reach out at any time: Mike LeBlanc, Animator SK-KLP, Development and Peace-Caritas Canada: (306) 205-2334 or mleblanc@devp.org
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