• It is a process of reflection and recommitment, linked to the Canadian Ecumenical Jubilee Initiative.

• It is an invitation for a church or group to declare itself a Jubilee community.

• It requires a community to commit to one local and one or more national or global actions that live out the spirit of Jubilee.

• It can be completed anytime up to May 31, 2001.

• It should be sent, when completed, to the Canadian Ecumenical Jubilee Initiative office, to the Prime Minister and to your Member of Parliament.

• Sending completed pledges to the Canadian Ecumenical Jubilee Initiative office ensures that new Jubilee communities are posted on the Jubilee website and receive the Jubilee Newsletter.

At the beginning of the new millennium, in a time of unprecedented suffering as well as possibility, we join with people the world over who have been inspired by the powerful vision of Jubilee. Hebrew scriptures (Leviticus 25) describe Jubilee as a new beginning, proclaimed every 50 years, when debts are cancelled, captives are released, the land is given rest, and wealth is redistributed. It is a time for restoring balance and justice between people and for renewing the earth itself.

Jesus of Nazareth also defined his ministry and gospel message by proclaiming Jubilee. At the beginning of his ministry he read from the prophetic text of Isaiah, declaring that he was anointed by the Spirit "to bring good news to the poor, ... to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour" (Luke 4:18-19). These words of Jesus offer both challenge and hope to our broken world.

We now make the following pledge for our community in order to give witness to this hope and challenge. And we celebrate the signs of this hope wherever people are joining together in the Spirit of Jubilee.

We believe in the abundance of God's creation and our responsibility to nurture and share it. We are convinced that the gross inequalities which we see in our country and our world are neither necessary nor inevitable. Growing and persistent inequalities destroy human community and lead to suffering, conflict, and ecological harm.

We believe that God calls us to restore community by mending the harm caused when many are deprived of their just share. We choose to live out the biblical vision of Jubilee, echoed in Jesus' preaching and teaching, that calls for a regular redistribution of wealth. As we heed this challenge, our eyes are opened to the great social debt owed to people whose land, labour and resources have been stolen, exploited, and undervalued. Reminded of the call to nurture the integrity of creation, we also recognize our debt to the earth itself.

At this moment in history, we are inspired by the Jubilee hope that wealth can be directed toward the common good of humanity within a renewed creation. And we celebrate the signs of a new beginning that we see in communities, churches, faith groups, organizations, and people's movements across the globe which are seeking the redistribution of wealth in the spirit of Jubilee.

Responding in faith to God's call to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with our God (Micah 6:8), we declare that we, (insert the name of your community here)  are a Jubilee community. We commit ourselves to learning about, supporting, and practicing Jubilee in our lives, our communities, our country, and our world.

Following the movement of the Spirit as we discern it, we acknowledge the challenge to live out Jubilee. We name the following steps towards meeting this challenge in our local community at the beginning of a new millennium (write in your community's local commitments, see pledge process for details):

• _____________________________

• _____________________________

• _____________________________

• _____________________________

We further commit ourselves to deepening our participation in one or more of the following global or national action(s) of Canadian churches and their partners: (Identify which national and/or global action(s) your group will be involved in.)

• Right Relations with Aboriginal Peoples—Land Rights Campaign: This education campaign includes a petition that joins with the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples and the UN Human Rights Committee in calling on the federal government to act immediately to establish an independent commission with the mandate to implement Canadian Aboriginal land, treaty and inherent rights. It also includes an action in the fall calling upon the Canadian government to effectively regulate Canadian corporations and the Export Development Corporation in their activities both here and abroad so that they comply with human rights agreements including those with Aboriginal peoples, uphold environmental standards, and undertake genuine consultation.

• Right Relations with the Earth—Climate Change Campaign: This campaign calls upon the federal and provincial governments to take effective steps to limit human-induced climate change and to ratify the Kyoto Protocol. As well, it calls upon Imperial Oil to end its opposition to ratification of this international agreement to reduce domestic greenhouse gas emissions. Along with this postcard campaign, workshops will be conducted for both church members and church building administrators to learn about the steps they can take to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.

• Right Relations with the Global South—The Jubilee Debt Campaign Continues: While we have seen significant movement by the federal government due to the continuing pressure of the Jubilee debt campaign, important goals still elude us. Our partners in the global South seek the end of debt that is oppressing their peoples. CEJI launches "a campaign of persistence" with renewed demands: immediately and unconditionally cancel debts of poor countries, assess and cancel illegitimate debts of all developing countries and end structural adjustment. Actions next year will include education through popular theatre--The Debt Circus, continued lobbying by the grassroots, and a national day of "presence" in January 2001.

• Or another campaign in the Jubilee spirit you might name: __________________

(For further information on the above campaigns, follow the hyperlinks indicated on the Land Rights, Debt Campaigns.)

This pledge was made on:

Date:

Name and location of group or church:

Denomination (if applicable):

Contact name: 

Address: 

Upon completion, please send a copy of your pledge to the Jubilee Initiative Office, to the Prime Minister, and to your Member of Parliament (House of Commons, Ottawa, ON, K1P 0A6). See the pledge process for more details.