ACTING IN GOOD FAITH... ACF PARTNERSHIPS FOR FAITH AND SOCIAL JUSTICE + OTHER RECENT GRANTS

July 2007

Acting in Good Faith…

ACF Partnerships for Faith and Social Justice

Canada’s social conscience has traditionally been well served by the work of many progressive faith leaders and their communities.   They are part of a long legacy of committed faith-based activists who see the struggle for wider social and economic justice as fundamentally rooted in their basic values and beliefs.  A strong faith, in fact, played an important role in Joseph E. Atkinson’s life, where “Social Gospel” ideas drove the Star publisher’s quest for many of the “radical” social reforms that we benefit from today.

Today, many faith communities continue to play a critical role in fostering social justice at the local, provincial, national and international levels.  Through the “Here and Now: Feed the Needy” grants, ACF has supported just a sampling of the many local faith-based programs that do their part to mitigate the shortcomings of social policy: food relief, emergency shelter, transitional housing, and spiritual sustenance.  These are often the unsung last lines of defence against utter destitution. 

Beyond the calling to address the direct needs of their neighbours, many exemplary initiatives continue to articulate a faith-based perspective on the importance of strengthened social and economic policies.  The Interfaith Social Assistance Reform Coalition (ISARC), Kairos, Citizens for Public Justice, and Faith and the Common Good are just a few examples of the many relentless efforts by faith constituencies to stand side-by-side with the socially excluded and to lend weight to those voices which are too often forgotten in the policy-making process. 

To sustain and revitalize this kind of work, inter-faith alliances that reflect the growing diversity in Canada and that find common ground on social justice are crucial. There is much to learn and to gain from more opportunities to expand the scope of the dialogue about faith and social justice.

In this context, ACF has recently provided a multi-year grant to ISARC as support to not only advance the efforts of faith movements to participate more actively and effectively in the public policy sphere, but to also do it from the stand point of an “inclusion lens,” thereby engaging with groups that have not been traditionally at the forefront of interfaith work. 

Ontario's ISARC has been a leader in bringing together diverse faith communities - mainly Christian, but also Jewish, Unitarian, Muslim and Buddhist - to act for fairness and justice for marginalized peoples. 

We look forward to ISARC’s continued efforts to build these relationships and to nourish meaningful dialogues as a means to raising the voice of faith communities in the achievement of a more inclusive society.

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Other Recent Grants...

 

Filmmaker Andree Cazabon, to produce Six Within, a documentary series that will spotlight issues facing children and youth in government care and inspire change for the betterment of young people’s lives across Canada.

 

The North-South Partnership for Children in Remote First Nation Communities, to support a unique and developing partnership, established in collaboration with First Nation Chiefs, Elders, youth and community members living in remote communities in northwestern Ontario and caring individuals and voluntary organizations based in ‘southern’ Ontario.

 

Community Social Planning Council of Toronto, to support the launch of the Community Social Services Initiative, to highlight the significance of community social services and community based agencies in meeting the needs of everyday Ontarians.