Three Anglican priests from British Columbia attended protests and an interfaith service at the World Trade Organization meetings in Seattle late last year.
The actions of Seattle police were criticized by some after tear gas and rubber bullets were employed to push back the masses of people.
Margaret Marquardt, priest at St. Margaret’s Anglican Church in Vancouver and a member of the church’s Eco-Justice Committee, said, “Many of us were there to raise issues about how economic decisions are made, and about who gets involved in making these major decisions.
“I’m very concerned about the environmental codes, labour codes, health care regimes and human rights codes of individual countries. Right now, sovereign nations make decisions about these things. If the WTO keeps heading in the direction it’s going, these decisions will be made by multinational corporations, and all these things will be up for grabs.”
The actions of the trade organization raise questions for Christians, she said: “How are God’s people involved in the decisions that affect our common life? And how do we hold the governing structures of our world accountable to God? … Our gospel calls us to be present in our world, to minister to its needs.”
Rev. Liz Lindsey and Rev. Kay Schmitt were also in Seattle.