Recently, an Honorary Elder within The Elders, wrote a letter for the United Church of Canada, as it gathers for its triennial General Council in August 2015 in Newfoundland. In the letter, Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu encourages the UCC to “join with other denominations around the globe who have decided to boycott and divest from companies that benefit from the occupation.” He refers to the Israeli government’s occupation of Palestine, an occupation that is illegal according to international law. He writes from a first-person stance and knowledge that political apartheid can be ended, as it was in South Africa. Tutu encourages the UCC to continue with the Unsettling Goods campaign (click here).

To read Tutu’s letter, click here. To read the press release by the United Network for a Just Peace in Palestine and Israel (UNJPPI), click here.

With each day, we grow increasingly aware that we, collectively, are interdependent on and with this planet we call home. We could carry on with ‘business as usual’ and feel powerless as we move from crisis to crisis. Or, we could act with hope; we have opportunities to act with intention to shape a great transformation (for more click here and here). We could listen to elders in our local, regional, and global lives. They are stepping up, like David Suzuki when he says to himself, ” ‘it’s time to admit you’re an elder and start getting on with doing what elders should be doing, which is speaking out without fear of being fired’ ” (as he was quoted in a recent review of Suzuki’s book, Letters to My Grandchildren; click here). Globally, the Elders, founded by Nelson Mandela in 2007, are “independent global leaders working together for peace and human rights” (click here). Our elders have experienced and witnessed much in their lives, including long-time effort toward various types of justice.

This summer, let’s listen to their voices…to inform our intentions… and actions… as the United Church of Canada during the General Council and beyond, in local and global communities…