Roundtable on Emergency Management for Canadian Christian Denominations and Congregations/Parishes: PHAC-Centre for Emergency Preparedness and Response/CCC-National Advisory Group on Emergency Planning

Faith groups by definition are a source of solace in times of crisis. Faith communities, strengthened by bonds of shared belief, have responded naturally to care for one another in difficult moments throughout history. Recent North American experiences of emergency have raised awareness of the crucial role resilient communities can play in successfully coping with and rebounding from these crisis situations. As plans and networks are forming in order to strengthen communities’ response capabilities, Christian churches in Canada are seeking a way to become an integrated part of this movement to collaboration.

From February 17 to 19, 2009, a national roundtable was held in Toronto, Ontario. The meeting was organized by the Canadian Council of Churches’ (CCC) National Advisory Group on Emergency Planning (NAGEP), together with the Public Health Agency of Canada’s (PHAC) Centre for Emergency Preparedness and Response (CEPR), which also provided some of the funding for the event.

Fifty one people, including representation from Mennonite Church Canada, attended the two and a half-day conference, 49 participants plus a facilitator and recorder. Of these, 8 were government representatives, 1 was a representative of the voluntary sector, 1 was an observer, and 39 represented 18 different churches or faith groups.