Join us for a four-week special series exploring the stories, fears, and ideologies beneath Alberta’s upcoming referendum questions. In response to political division, rising separatist sentiment, public exhaustion, and escalating attacks on democratic institutions and vulnerable communities, these conversations are about power, belonging, truth, and the fight for a future being stripped away one right, one policy, and one act of indifference at a time, whether we choose to pay attention or not.
Doors open at 6 pm, Recordings will start at 6:30 pm - grab a coffee and join us for the conversation.
Podcast features: Rev. Bill Weaver, Ricardo De Menezes, Rev. Joanne Anquist
Space is limited, please let us know that you are coming.
Join us for one or all of these special podcasts (you will be asked which ones you want to attend during registration):
August 14
August 21
August 28
September 4
Here is some more information on what will be covered each week.
Aug 14: “The Gospel According to Alberta”
Before Albertans answer ten referendum questions, they are being asked to accept a story: Alberta is prosperous but exploited, generous but mistreated, threatened by outsiders and restrained by Ottawa. This episode examines that political gospel, the grievances that give it power, and the people who may be sacrificed to its promise of provincial salvation.
Aug 21: “Who Is My Neighbour?”
Alberta’s referendum immigration questions ask who may come, who may work, who receives public support and who must prove political membership. Behind those proposals lies a deeper question: when hospitals, classrooms and housing are strained, do we build greater capacity, restrict belonging, or ask people with the least power to bear the cost?
Aug 28: “Give Us a King”
Four referendum questions present greater provincial power as freedom from courts, federal conditions, and institutions capable of saying no. The promise is simple: give Alberta the strength to fight its battles and clear the obstacles from its path. Our scriptural tradition reminds us that power invited to protect can also begin to take … shared authority, accountability, public trust, and protections we only notice once they are gone. Perhaps the harder democratic act is accepting restraint, even when it keeps us from always getting what we want.
Sept 4: “Whose Land?”
Alberta’s separation question is framed as a choice between remaining in Canada and beginning the path toward leaving it, but Alberta does not stand on relationally empty ground. Treaty binds us within living relationships of mutual obligation that cannot be set aside simply because a majority believes it has the power to do so. Before asking whether Alberta can choose a different future, we must ask what faithfulness requires of the relationships already holding us together, and what we risk breaking when distance is mistaken for freedom.
This program is a part of Soul Cellar, to learn more about it please visit our webpage.
To learn more about Prepared to Drown, please visit their website.
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