During the days Nov. 3 to 7, the Church in Mission Unit of the United Church of Canada invited members to celebrate and learn about many love and justice ministries of our church, in an online gathering. There were worship times, workshops and ‘booths’ of partners to share work of the church.
One of those partners was the Asian Rural Institute in Japan. With their permission, UCRMN shares their mission statement and an introductory video. As we think about the Ridgetown Campus of the University of Guelph, so we have the opportunity to witness another form of rural learning.
ARI Mission Statement: “The mission of the Asian Rural Institute is to build an environmentally healthy, just and peaceful world, in which each person can live to his or her fullest potential. This mission is rooted in the love of Jesus Christ. To carry out this mission, we nurture and train rural leaders for a life of sharing. Leaders, both women and men, who live and work in grassroots rural communities primarily in Asia, Africa and the Pacific, form a community of learning each year together with staff and other residents. Through community-based learning we study the best ways for rural people to share and enhance local resources and abilities for the common good. We present a challenge to ourselves and to the whole world in our approach to food and life. ARI’s work is supported by many funding organizations and Churches.
This support makes our training program accessible to rural leaders from grassroots regions across the world. Be it in farming, education, gender equality or climate action-ARI graduates and their communities achieve remarkable progress. In over 57 countries, our spirit of sharing life inspires them to find better solutions for peace, wealth, and people’s livelihoods. Not only do we welcome the recommendation of organizations that the United Church of Canada partners with for the training program, we also encourage and look forward to welcome volunteers who are willing to support our mission!”
You can contact the ARI via email: info@ari-edu.org – contact Kathy Froede, Ecumenical Relations staff at ARI or visit their website: www.ari-edu.org
We invite you to view a video of theirs on YouTube called Restoring Rural Life.