Canadian Friends of Sabeel (CFOS)
Following a successful Conference in Ottawa in November 1998, a group of Canadians from across the country pledged to form a national Friends of Sabeel group. Currently a chapter of Friends of Sabeel North America (FOS-NA), we have our own national steering committee and are working towards becoming a more independent Canadian group. The steering committee has completed several projects, including the publication of Truth and Reconciliation: Voices for Peace in the Holy Land, a book and study guide based on the sponsored conference held in Ottawa in 1998, and the production of the video Stuck with the Truth, based on the 2001 Solidarity Visit in Jerusalem. In addition, CFOS coordinates other projects focussed on education and advocacy, such as the sponsorship and co-sponsorship of speaking tours and conferences, meetings with government officials, solidarity visits and networking with Canadian churches and other groups working for a just peace.
In the fall of 1999, members in Toronto held a second conference in Canada, thereby inspiring a local group of Canadian Friends of Sabeel (CFOS) to be formed there. More recently, local groups have also formed in Hamilton and London, Ontario. The Ottawa group continues to remain active, and other groups are beginning to take shape all across the country.
While remaining a chapter of FOS-NA, CFOS has a national structure of its own. Local groups are represented on the national steering committee of CFOS, which in turn is represented on the steering committee of FOS-NA. This structure allows two-way communication between the local groups, CFOS, FOS-NA and Jerusalem, and encourages input and ideas from everyone. CFOS strives to do meaningful work across the country and with FOS-NA in partnership with Jerusalem.
Vision Statement of Canadian Friends of Sabeel
Canadian Friends of Sabeel (CFOS) is a national support network for Sabeel, Ecumenical Center for Liberation Theology in Jerusalem. Sabeel strives to promote a more accurate international awareness regarding the identity, presence, and witness of Palestinian Christians and the wider Palestinian community, as well as their contemporary concerns. It encourages individuals and groups from around the world to work for a just, comprehensive, and enduring peace informed by truth and empowered by prayer and action. In response, CFOS empowers, enables and equips its members to realize Sabeel's ministry through education, advocacy and solidarity in Canada. CFOS fosters collaboration with other Canadian groups and is part of Friends of Sabeel - North America (FOS-NA).