Press Releases

Monday, November 16, 2009

Toronto: This Sunday, many United Church members attending church services will be praying for a very particular group of children—children in care.

In August 2009, the United Church’s 40th General Council declared that the theme of this year’s Children’s Sunday, November 22, would focus on the thousands of Canadian children who are currently in the care of child protection agencies.

“Foster children are an invisible population whose challenges are not widely understood,” says Delores Feltmate of the Children and Youth in Crisis Taskforce of the United Church’s Maritime Conference.

The Taskforce initiated the proposal to have this year’s Children’s Sunday focus on children in care as an opportunity to draw the church’s attention not only to the needs of the children but also the caregivers—the foster parents, social workers, and community agencies who work to provide a more secure and stable life for children whose family situations often leave them severely traumatized.

“Canada’s child protection system is desperately in need of care itself,” comments the church’s Moderator, Mardi Tindal. She explains that she hopes that by inviting United Church congregations to focus this Sunday’s worship on children in care, many more people will become aware of the problems that plague the system.

“Children have a right to be nurtured and cared for regardless of their circumstances,” says Tindal. “My hope is that as a result of this focus on children in care, many United Church congregations will hear and respond to the cry for justice from children in their own communities.”

For more information, please contact:

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