You knew we were a special corner of the internet… But there’s more to it that many people realize!

In 2019 we began using our powers for the forces of good… Raising money for refugee and development work through Flaming Chalice International by turning some of our best jokes into a gift sale.

This year, Canada Post is on strike, so the only product we are able to offer is our Holiday PDF Kit. We’re also publicizing the direct donation link for FCI (which can issue a tax receipt in either Canada or the United States).

So…. Why Flaming Chalice International? Are they… Funny?

They are not, funny. Nope. But they are exceptional.

I (Liz, the founder of UUHS) have been involved in refugee and international aid for most of my life.  I have learned that it’s incredibly hard to spend money wisely in a whole other culture.  I began working with Mwibutsa (FCI’s founder) before the charity was founded--just helping with projects as they arose.  I was struck, again and again, by how wisely he was able to spend the money that I and members of our community entrusted to his care.  When he eventually formed a Canadian charity, I offered to sit on its Board (and have been there ever since).

I am the only Canadian-born person on that Board.  The rest of the group is people who were born in the communities we serve.  This results in incredibly careful spending, low administrative cost, and very effective programs.

It also results in a massive fundraising challenge.  An all-Canadian-born-Board would have more fundraising connections.  Add to that the challenge of fundraising for long term development projects that are not in the news cycle (and are in a whole other continent) and FCI’s excellent work is chronically underfunded.

This is why I am hoping you will consider a donation (or a purchase) to support Flaming Chalice International.  The UU Hysterical Society, strangely, is a major part of their funding.  Which is weird, because they are a serious charity doing serious work… But it’s also lovely.

Will you join me in supporting them, either by purchasing our funny pdf kit, or by making a direct (tax deductible) donation?

There is, of course, a LOT more to this story…

The how-did-this-connection-start story starts awful, but it ends well, I promise. Really well.

In the fall of 2015, I opened Facebook and my heart sank.

My friend had been thrown in prison, on the other side of the world.

Without thinking I read the story out to my partner, and when I looked up my 12 year old kid was staring at me, with his face in shock. He knew Mwibutsa (Fulgence) as well—they’d hung out together on Mwibutsa’s last visit to Canada.

“But he didn’t do anything”, Eric said. Because he lived in a world where people only got punished when they did something wrong.

Rev Mwibutsa (Fulgence) and people from in and around the Unitarian Church in Burundi had been documenting human rights abuses in the pro democracy protests. That’s not doing something wrong. That’s doing something right.

A day or two later, Eric published a website, helping coordinate efforts to get Mwibutsa released—there was a Facebook group, people were writing letters, and Tet Gallardo (of this group!) started a petition that gathered thousands of signatures. Eric figured what he could do was create a hub for all the pieces.

I watched what he was doing with mixed feelings. I was proud of him for getting involved. And I had this sinking feeling in my gut because I was pretty sure this wouldn’t end well.

It did end well.

These photos were taken in 2019, during the first FCI fundraiser. Eric, myself, and Mwibutsa (Fulgence)--now safe in Canada with his wife and son--now work alongside UUHS group members every November to raise funds for those that Mwibutsa was forced to leave behind.

I wish I could tell me from seven years ago, wondering if all the fuss had any chance of working, that sometimes you win one.

Sometimes you win BIG.

Post script: So, one of the reasons I’m cautious about telling this story is because, well… It’s a story about learning to fight injustice that is very focussed on my family and not on the person experiencing the injustice. It’s true that this is where the connection started, but it’s not the whole story. Here are those same events, from Fulgence’s perspective.

Interested in learning more about FCI’s role in Mirth and Dignity? Check out “How Mirth and Dignity got its name”, or start the story right at the beginning with “Wait, What’s the Connection between Mirth and Dignity and Flaming Chalice International?” or go straight to those rivetting governance tips with “Learning from FCI” and “Not my potatoes”.

Interested in learning more about FCI’s work? Check out “The Not-a-Church we helped build”, or check out FCI’s website. We particularly recommend this story about Mwibutsa’s mother. It’s really beautiful.

This page has been updated to reflect Rev. Fulgence Ndagijimana’s new name: Rev. Mwibutsa (Fulgence) Ndagijimana.