Grace Justice Group

It has been said that “Peace and Justice are like the two wings of the bird, who cannot fly with one.” So it’s no great surprise that our Grace Peace Group has brought forth a Grace Justice Group. There were a few things that happened together to precipitate this.

• Laur’s, Anita’s, and Jan’s visit to Toronto for a peace group and seeing the homeless folks there and the folks who care for them.
• Pastor Darrell’s and Jan’s meeting with Councillor and Deputy Mayor Bill Phillips – who told us that the number one problem in our region is homelessness / addiction / mental-health / poverty. (They are all linked together.)
• Ongoing conversations with folks who work and volunteer in the Queenston area – the Westview Centre for Women, The Ozanam Centre (St. Catharines Soup Kitchen,) Positive Living, and St. Vincent de Paul.
• And – centrally – Jesus’s requirement in Matthew 25: 44-45 – that we care for the marginalized and outcasts in our society. When we love and serve these neighbours, we love and serve Jesus.

Our group – composed mostly of people from the Peace Group – hopes to hold two seminars a year and reach out to our 60 politicians twice a year - with a letter and a gift that symbolizes our requests.
 
Our first seminar will be about friends trapped in homelessness / addiction / mental health / poverty. Other seminars and outreaches to area politicians may be about refugees and migrants, the elderly and long term care, and children and reading.