Back to the Base!

No this is not a call to retreat. It is rather a part of the rhythm of community leadership, including community organizing.

When you are in any form of leadership, it is easy to get caught up in the urgent and it is equally easy to get caught up in what captures headlines and what captures attention. This looks different in different communities. In your institution it might be a public talk, an interview, a marquee program, a sermon or negotiation. What captures headlines in community organizing is often when we take action or have victories – like what happened over the summer, with our founding and during our November budget campaign. The urgent – well that never stops.

The reality is that to have those public and moments be successful and sustainable, it is essential to ensure that the base of our work is strong. In community organizing this base involves having strong member institutions with strong core teams, developing leaders, strong relationships between our leaders, clarity about our values and focus and a strong financial base. This also includes addressing conflicts which are always present when working with people. Focusing on strengthening this base will be a part of our work over the next couple of months. We will have a leadership retreat. I will be meeting with our leaders. We are restarting our core team training and will be launching our annual money campaign.

I would also invite you to reflect. What is the base of your community, of your organization and of your leadership? Is it your relationship with members? Is it being aligned with your values? Is it having your finances in order? Identifying and developing new leaders? – What is the foundation in your context that everything else depends on?

This base work is work that rarely grabs headlines. Without it, no organization can last, or do work that not only captures headlines but transforms communities.

Interfaith Harmony Week

The Calgary Alliance for the Common Good is proud to work with our member, the Calgary Interfaith Council, to sponsor Calgary’s Interfaith Harmony Week. This week is a chance for Calgarians to build relationships across our faith diversity and discover the richness this brings.

There will be several events happening:

Open Ceremony/Interfaith Breakfast – Interfaith Reflections On Gratitude

Monday February 3rd at 8:00am – Beth Tzedec Congregation – 1325 Glenmore Trail SW
Register by January 27th at https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/interfaith-breakfastopening-ceremonies-un-world-interfaith-harmony-week-tickets-85450726423 – A donation of $10 is encouraged.

Celebration Dinner – Expressing Gratitude through Music and Dialogue

Thursday February 6th at 6:30 pm – Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints – 2021 17th Ave SW
Register at: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/celebration-dinner-calgary-un-world-interfaith-harmony-week-tickets-85314797857 – A donation of $20 is requested.

Mental Health – Community Helper Training

How can we be equipped to better respond to the mental health challenges in our communities? This training will provide skills people need.

The Calgary Alliance for the Common Good is exploring how we can equip our members to better respond to the Mental Health Challenges of our Communities. We are trialing two mental health training programs. The first one we are trying is the Community Helpers Program provided by Alberta Health Services. This training focuses on understanding mental health, how we can respond to people with mental health challenges and focuses on some of the key soft skills.

At the end of February, we will also trial the Mental Health First Aid course which has more of a focus on the clinical aspects of Mental Health support.

Please Register at: https://mental_health_community_helpers.eventbrite.ca
When: Friday, January 31, 2020 at 7pm-9pm – Saturday, February 01, 9am-4pm
Where: St. Andrews Anglican Church 1611 St Andrews Pl NW Calgary, AB T2N 3Y4
Google map and directions

Upcoming Meetings

Mental Health Team – Monday, February 3rd at 7:00pm at St. Andrews Anglican, 1611 St Andrews Pl NW Calgary, AB T2N 3Y4

Reconciliation Team – Tuesday, January 14th at 6:00pm at the Central Library Room 0-13

Social Isolation Team – Tuesday, January 28th at 7:00pm at Christ Church Anglican, 3602 8th St SW Calgary, AB T2T 3A7

Leaders Retreat/Strategy Team – Thursday, January 30th at 9:00am – 4:30 pm at the Anatolian Turkish Islamic Centre of Calgary 2937 19 Street NE Calgary, AB T2E 7A2

Other Upcoming Events

Documentary premiere
The amount of older people experiencing homelessness is rapidly rising in numbers, yet those people remain largely misunderstood and invisible.

Beyond Housing, a 30-minute documentary, asks who are the people behind the statistics, and what are their stories?

Presented by the O’Brien Institute for Public Health and the Faculty of Social Work at the University of Calgary, Beyond Housing: “We’re not ready for the shelf” will premiere in Calgary on January 27. A panel discussion with the filmmaker, researchers and people with lived experience will follow the film.

When: Monday, January 27, 2020
Where: Patricia A. Whelan Performance Hall, Central Library
Agenda 6:45 pm | Doors open 7:15 pm | Film premiere 8 pm | Panel discussion 9 pm | Event concludes

Register at: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/beyond-housing-were-not-ready-for-the-shelf-documentary-premiere-tickets-80145598643