BONO'S REMARKS TO THE NATIONAL PRAYER BREAKFAST

New Date for Welcome Event

Due to circumstances beyond Brian's control, we are planning a Welcome Social / Open House / Information Evening next Wednesday, October 5th at 7pm, hosted by Brian Dijkema, a Redeemer Alumnus, and our Ontario Student Solidarity Organizer.

We will be discussing what OSSL is, its goals at Redeemer, some projects and events for the coming year as well as having a good time eating and drinking.

All are warmly invited to attend; this includes your friends too. Also if you have a knack for cooking and/or baking I think it is safe to say that your talents and food contributions would be greatly appreciated. Snacks and refreshments will be provided even if you are unable to bring a little something.

Brian will send out a reminder email on Monday and will include directions to his house.

A few things to be aware of:

Brian's house is located off campus and if you require his address and contact information please contact us at ossl777@gmail.com If you would like or need a ride from the Redeemer campus or from another location please email us at ossl777@gmail.com and we would be more than happy to arrange a ride for you.

Worldview Conference

The OSSL is able to pay for (and drive) 15 students to attend the ICS Worldview Conference on Saturday, October 1st, 2005. If you would like to attend this conference please register by clicking here (it takes about a minute) and then email us at ossl777@gmail.com so that we can reserve you a spot in a car.

Upcoming Welcome Event!!!

We are planning a Welcome Social / Open House / Information Evening next Friday, September 30th at 7pm, and hosted by Brian Dijkema, a Redeemer Alumnus, and our Ontario Student Solidarity Organizer. We hope to have Ed Bosveld, the Ontario provincial director for the CLAC, as our guest speaker who will introduce us to our club affiliate Solidarity and sponsor CLAC.

All are warmly invited to attend; this includes your friends too. Also if you have a knack for cooking and/or baking I think it is safe to say that your talents and food contributions would be greatly appreciated. Snacks and refreshments will be provided even if you are unable to bring a little something.

A few things to be aware of:

Brian's house is located off campus and if you require his address and contact information please contact us at ossl777@gmail.com If you would like or need a ride from the Redeemer campus or from another location please email us at ossl777@gmail.com and we would be more than happy to arrange a ride for you.

I pray that you all receive this email in good spirits and that you are excited about our social next week!

Go well and Stay well friends.

Front pages of our budget proposal for this year...

2005/2006 Budget Proposal
OSSL (Ontario Student Solidarity Local):
Strategy for Justice

Faculty Advisor: Gideon Strauss(or possibly Harry VanDyke)
Organizer and CLAC liaison: Brian Dijkema

Executive Summary:

VISION
The vision of the OSSL is to promote Christian social principles, justice in the workplace and a Christian approach to vocational issues.

MISSION
The mission of the OSSL is to provide its members with benefits such as, resume development, internships, and job placement; educational opportunities through speakers, workshops and retreats, discussions, conferences and our resource libraries; and to apply such learning through political and social advocacy.

PRINCIPLES

Human Dignity
All humans (regardless of age, health, gender, ethnicity, or religion) are created by God in His own image and so must be treated justly.

Work Ethic
Work is a gift from God for the purpose of cultivating creation in service to others for God’s glory and so must be performed diligently and responsibly.

Sabbath
Rest is also a gift from God for the purpose of refreshing ourselves and specially acknowledging God’s goodness and so must not be neglected.

Peaceful Resolutions
Human interaction is normed by God and so injustices and conflicts must be corrected and resolved through peaceful and legal measures.

Cooperation
Humans were created by God to live in a society and so must work together whenever such cooperation does not violate God-given norms.

Quantitative Summary:

Last year our club, although small and not as active as the year previous, committed itself to a number of different activities both on and off campus:


1. We held a letter writing campaign in support of wrongfully imprisoned Cuban trade unionists.


2. As well as hosting socials, we hosted several film evenings in which we discussed issues of culture clash both internationally and locally; issues of unions, making trade fair, fair wages, and poverty; work, the free-market and justice; arts and culture; and the ways in which individuals and organizations of the media are influenced to shape the social agendas of knowledge and, ultimately, beliefs. You may view our website for more information about these evenings: www.ossl.blogspot.com

3. On three occasions we had the privilege of hosting guest speakers. The first was in October when Alberto and Adolfo, two Mexican Christians committed to the promotion of Christ's lordship over all of life, spoke on the topic of Social Justice and the Reformed worldview in Mexico. The second was a mini fireside chat on the War in Iraq, with Dr. David Koyzis as our guest speaker. Our third speaker was an OSSL sponsored chapel on how to live a confessional lifestyle, led by Paul Morris, lead pastor of the Oakville Meeting House.

4. An OSSL representative, along with our CLAC liaison, an ICS chapter member, international CLAC representatives, and some Cuban contacts traveled to Ottawa to stand before the parliamentary Sub-Committee on Human Rights International Development to try and persuade the Canadian government to reassess and change the current policy towards the human rights situation in Cuba. For a formal report on this occurrence please inquire about the Solidarity Update newsletter.


This year, OSSL has approximately 50 students on its email list and there is a potential for recruiting more students to become ACTIVE through word of mouth and different events that the club hopes to host both on and off campus this year. The board of OSSL would like to develop thoughtful and creative strategies for seeking justice, dignity and respect for workers; to develop a Christian perspective on social action for justice in the workplace; to organize events and “happenings”; to abolish apathy and indifference; and to speak out against oppressive labour practices – wherever they are perpetrated. This year is dedicated to concrete action and responsibility in light of our vision to connect our ideas with the reality in which we live. We believe that we are called to be justice seekers just as other activist clubs at various universities believe, however, we believe further that ultimately it is our Christian duty to fight for and raise awareness about oppressed people of God's creation. We would like to thank-you Senate for your financial considerations this academic year!
-Posted by Andrea Hensen

This year OSSL wishes to: Proposal
•Host movie nights

•Organize letter writing campaigns

•Design club t-shirts to serve the identity of the club

•Host an information and beginning of the year welcome social as well as monthly socials and/or guest speakers

•Sponsor a Cuban Cultural Festival (featuring Cuban food, music, and artists), in an effort to raise awareness about political and social justice concerns in places such as Cuba and Columbia for the potential of a protest(s) put on by CLAC

•Sponsor a retreat in the area with guest speakers from CINO (Culture Is Not Optional) to discuss fair trade, the Worker Rights Consortium , and their magazine Catapult ; CPJ (Citizens for Public Justice) and their publication of the Catalyst; and WRF (Work Research Foundation) and their publication of Comment

•Sponsor a forum in conjunction with the WYA (World Youth Alliance ) on Human Dignity

•Sponsor a group of students to attend the Worldview Conference at the ICS (Institute for Christian Studies) in October

•Sponsor a group of students to attend the Jubilee Conference in Pittsburgh hosted by the CCO ( the Coalition for Christian Outreach)

•As we are an allied organisation with the WYA (World Youth Alliance), we have been invited to New York to participate in a basic workshop which would introduce students to the human rights, diplomacy, and cultural aspects of the WYA, with a specific discussion of one of the US commissions or conferences.

WRC for Redeemer!!!

Greetings Everyone,

Brian has brought to our attention the WRC, Worker Right's Consortium, which is a non-profit organization created by college and university administrations, students and labor rights experts in order to assist in the enforcement of manufacturing Codes of Conduct adopted by colleges and universities. We both thought it a good idea to find out how Redeemer can be one of those Universities on their list which support such efforts...even Mac is on their list.

The following are links to important documents that are important to be aware of

The Responsibility to Protect - Report of the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty

Canada's International Policy Statement

U.N. reform report to General Assembly

Cuban Justice

As many of you know, and we'll be discussing at this morning's meeting at Redeemer, CLAC Solidarity has been working very hard on behalf of several political prisoners in Cuba. 75 men were rounded up in a matter of hours, 9 of whom were working for nothing more than to organize and independent trade union. This activity is something you and I simply take for granted, but in a totalitarian regime like Cuba, the work comes with great risk. Today, March 18 2005, is the second anniversary, to the day, of that event. The United States invaded Iraq on March 16 and the Castro regime used the distraction of the world to make the arrests. It was several weeks before the attention of the world was refocused on other matters and the arrests came to light. By that time, all had been tried in one-day trials and sentenced to terms ranging from 8 to 26 years.

As you go through your daily activities remember the prisoners.

-Posted by Allan R. Horton Ontario Provincial Solidarity Organizer Christian Labour Association of Canada