Press Releases

July 21, 2009

Toronto: With less than three weeks until the opening of the 40th General Council, all eyes have been focused on news reports detailing the current wildfire emergency in Kelowna, British Columbia.

Over the past 48 hours, General Secretary Nora Sanders and other General Council staff responsible for planning General Council have been in touch with the co-chairs of the Local Arrangements Committee and with the University of British Columbia–Okanagan.

All indications are that, despite the additional stress of coping with the wildfires, plans for General Council are moving ahead as scheduled.

In terms of proximity to the fires, which are centred in the area of West Kelowna, the university is located at the opposite end of the community. The campus also has very few trees. Currently the university’s facilities are not being used as an emergency centre or to house people who have been evacuated from their homes. However, at the campus and in the entire broader area, the smell of smoke is very noticeable.

In addition to continuing to monitor the situation in Kelowna, the General Council Office has forwarded e-mail messages of concern and solidarity to United Church congregations in the communities affected by the wildfires. We have assured them that we are holding them in our prayers.

• Mary-Frances Denis
  Program Coordinator, Media and Public Relations
  Tel: 416-231-7680 ext. 2016
  Toll-free: 1-800-268-3781 ext. 2016
  E-mail: Mary-Frances Denis