Women's Inter-Church Council of Canada

Disaster In Port-au-Prince

In response to the recent earthquake that has left Haiti’s capital city Port-au-Prince in ruin, the Women’s Inter-Church Council of Canada has contributed to the relief effort. Donations have been forwarded to two organizations already working in Haiti, the Salvation Army and the Mennonite Central Committee. WICC’s donations will be matched by the Canadian Government. Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Haiti as they attempt to recover from this disaster.

'Awakening'

This beautiful painting has been donated to the Women’s Inter-Church Council of Canada to raise funds in support of Native Women’s organizations. WICC has long highlighted and supported our native women and we are delighted to announce a limited edition run of only 950 prints of this painting, signed and numbered by the Artist, David Alexander Risk. We have named this painting 'Awakening'. All proceeds will go to Native Women’s organizations here in Canada.
Your 'Awakening' print will be delivered by courier on acid-free cardboard backing with a full biography of the Artist and shrink-wrapped for safe shipping. The size of the print including a border is 27 x 19.5 inches.
The cost of this print is $125 plus $15 shipping for a total of $140.

About the Artist

Although David Alexander Risk is an Algonquin Park wildlife artist of renown, he began a new style of painting a few years ago in order to honour Canada’s First Nations people who first inhabited the Park. Awakening is the first limited edition print of this different direction in painting style.

Risk uses oil paints, acrylics, water colour, egg tempera, gouache, pen and ink and pencil to achieve the stunning effects he desires. His great love of nature and life is shown in his extraordinary ability to capture the life and realism of his subjects. His discerning eye for critical detail and remarkable realism make his paintings highly praised and sought after by private and corporate collectors. David Risk’s original works and limited edition prints have also been presented and are hanging in such collections as the British Royal Family, a former Prime Minister of Canada, a former Premier of Ontario, as well as entertainer Bob Hope. Risk is happily married and lives with his family near Algonquin Park.

Please think about the value of this art as well as the gift to native women. As with all art, this original investment of $125 has the potential to increase dramatically with time. To order your 'Awakening' print, contact the WICC office at 416-929-5184 or click here.

Olympic Trials: Trafficking and the 2010 Games

The Fall issue of
Riding the Waves features a followup article on modern-day slavery: human sex trafficking. With the Olympic Games fast approaching, experts say thousands of women and children can become vulnerable to this horrific crime against humanity.
To learn more click here.

World Day of Prayer: Get set for World Day of Prayer! Plan now for the annual service, held on the first Friday in March each year (March 5, 2010). Our WDP 2010 webpage includes a number of resources you can download free of charge, as well as information on how to hold a Festival or Preparation Day, or order materials for your community.

Send in your 90th anniversary reports: WICC has been celebrating its 90th anniversary over the past few months, and there have been many celebrations across the county. We would love to receive reports and photos from your event; please send them by e-mail or mail to the WICC office.
It's not too late to be part of our 90th anniversary celebrations. WICC has prepared a special liturgy and DVD, as well as a commemorative pin and bookmark. To order these resources or find more information, visit our 90th Anniversary webpage.

Learn about Budaburam Refugee Camp in Ghana: WICC supported this organization with a project grant this year. Check out our Gifts in Action profile here.

Leaping to proaction: In her President's message, Janet Anstead asks "Why do we need to wait until disaster strikes until we help our sisters and brothers in Christ ". Click here to read more.

Prayer Concerns for 2010: Fellowship of the Least Coin supporters

are invited to use our free monthly Prayer Concerns. The 2010 concerns are available as a free pdf download here. For more information on how you can be part of the FLC, visit our FLC page.

March - Supporting our Sisters in Spirit
Time and time again, statistics show that women who belong to racial minorities are over-represented as victims of violence. In 2004, the Native Women's Association of Canada launched the national Sisters in Spirit campaign to raise public awareness of the more than 500 Indigenous women who have gone missing More… (PDF: 123K)

This article is part of the 2009 monthly Fellowship of the Least Coin commitments to pray for peace, justice and reconciliation. Click here for more information about the FLC.

Download resources on violence against women: Portions of Healing Waters: Churches Working to End Violence against Women can now be downloaded from this page. The excerpts include background information on violence against women, ways to respond to suspected survivors of abuse, as well as worship and Bible study suggestions.

Kelley Aitken, who designed the medallion graphics on this site, is an artist, writer and illustrator. She teaches art to women who have experienced long term poverty. She is the author of a collection of short stories set in Ecuador, Love in a Warm Climate, The Porcupine’s Quill, ‘98, and a co-editor of the anthology First Writes, The Banff Press, ‘05. She lives with her partner in Toronto.