The World Day of Prayer service offering is a prayer gesture of sharing our resources with women and children around the world. There is no small offering, but a spirituality that integrates prayer and action. We all have something to offer. In 2021, the Women’s Inter-Church of Council dedicated $60,000 to 16 World Day of… Read more »
Restorative Justice: Taking Action Against Gender Violence
WICC has continually supported grassroots organizations fighting violence against women through prayer, grants and resources. Violence against women happens in all cultures and religions, in all ethnic and racial communities, at every age, and in every income group. Statistics reported by the Canadian government and Department of Justice over the last ten years consistently echo… Read more »
WICC is Committed to Healing in Indigenous Communities via Awakening Grants
Would you like to be part of this healing process? Together, we can help fund work that supports Indigenous women in the following areas: Addressing gender-based violence Economic justice Health Cultural education Child welfare Advocacy Anti-racism Peace Projects will promote these values Cooperation Self-sufficiency The growth of Indigenous languages and cultures Awareness of underlying causes of… Read more »
WICC Board Continues to Zoom and Flourish
Our meeting on June 18-19, 2021 was very meaningful and productive. Highlights included the worship and prayer times together. We previewed the World Day of Prayer (WDP) service for 2022 written by the women of England, Wales and Northern Ireland (EWNI) and the Fellowship of the Least Coin ingathering service for fall 2021. “For I… Read more »
Summer Exercise – some thoughts on health, physical activity, and religion
With summer weather increasing across Canada, and COVID-19 restrictions lessening, more and more people are getting outside. Gardens are being planted and weeded, and walks are longer. It’s a perfect time to consider the relationship between health and physical activity. It is good to think about the factors that will keep us healthy throughout our… Read more »
Police and Racism
Two years ago, “Reclaiming Power and Place: The Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls” was released in two volumes. One year ago, Chantel Moore, a young woman from the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation, was shot by a police officer in Edmundston, New Brunswick after being called to her… Read more »
Father’s Day and Christianity
“Father’s Day” honours fathers and fatherhood as well as the influence of fathers in society. In Catholic countries of Europe, it has been celebrated on 19 March as Saint Joseph’s Day since the Middle Ages. The first celebration of “Father’s Day” in America took place at a YMCA in Spokane, Washington on June 19, 1910. Sonora Smart Dodd, a Christian woman born… Read more »
Canadian Council of Churches and the Women’s Inter-Church Council of Canada
The Canadian Council of Churches (CCC) recently welcomed WICC as an Affiliate member at their Governing Board meetings. CCC is the broadest and most inclusive ecumenical body with representatives from over 25 Christian denominations and Affiliate groups. Rev. Steph McClellan, WICC President, and Cath MacKeil, WICC Executive Director, were blessed to attend CCC meetings in… Read more »
Words of Comfort
Some years ago, I was on a flight during which there were turbulences. It was a bit unsettling so I began to pray. As I prayed, I remembered the scripture (Matthew 8:23-27) when Jesus and his disciples went into a boat. As Jesus slept, a storm swept over the boat, the disciples woke Jesus, asking… Read more »
The Women’s Inter-Church Council of Canada (WICC)
In the 1900’s, a dream spread through Canada: growing Christ’s kingdom through prayer, fostering unity, and having a voice in social justice. Various denominations were already passionate about prayer and justice, but in 1918 Bessie McMurchy invited them to gather for what would become the Women’s Inter-Church Council of Canada. In 2021, members of the… Read more »