What a powerful evening

Knox United Church was full.

Full of people. Full of energy. Full of possibility.

It started with the beautiful singing and dancing of our children. A blessing and song from Elder Good Eagle. Then came the roll call. Organization after organization came up to not only demonstrate the power they represent but also why being a part of the Calgary Alliance for the Common Good was important. Then, everyone stood and with some good whooping and hollering years of leadership training and hard work by local leaders culminated in the formal founding of The Calgary Alliance for the Common Good. Congratulations to all the local leaders who made this a reality. 

Now the work of making Calgary a place of compassion has begun. Last night it began where we teach leaders always begin this work, by listening to each other’s stories. What was important was that these leaders didn’t just leave these stories as stories of individuals, they recognized that these were stories that speak to the bigger public issues that our communities faced. Now they will use their collective power to bring these stories to those who have the power to make a difference.

Those in power reacted. Mayor Nenshi gave a rousing endorsement of the Alliance. Councillor Farrell challenged leaders to get engaged at city Hall. MP Kent Hehr spoke of how movements like this lead to lasting change. Chief Crowchild pushed us to think and work together. All of them, said clearly that yes, they will work with us to address the issues that our community faces. Issues of Mental Health, Social Isolation, the Environment and Truth And Reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples.

So now what? How do we take this moment, your commitments and translate it into actions that can result in lasting change?

Catch up to what the Calgary Alliance for the Common Good is up to on their website.