The Rev. Canon Richard Gillett, an author and social justice advocate, will speak on fair trade and other global issues May 14 at St. George Episcopal Church in Maple Valley

A member of the Church Council of Greater Seattle’s board of directors, Gillett is a longtime activist and writer in the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles and a former member of the clergy staff at All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena, Calif. He is the author of “The New Globalization: Reclaiming the Lost Ground of our Christian Social Tradition” and “Human Enterprise: A Christian Perspective on Work.”

Gillett’s appearance next week in Maple Valley is scheduled for 7 p.m. St. George is at 24219 Witte Road SE.

Gillett and his wife moved to Seattle last August from Pasadena. In the diocese of Los Angeles, he was a canon of the Cathedral Center and minister for social justice.

In 1997, Gillett played a role in the passage of a living-wage ordinance in the city of Los Angeles. He has also been active in subsequent struggles for hotel workers, grocery workers, janitors and security guards.

“These struggles are related to the ongoing forces of economic globalization and need to be seen in that context by the religious community,” said Gillett.

He said he hopes his writing will “serve as a springboard for discussion and action at the parish level.”

Gillett lived and worked as a priest in Puerto Rico for nine years. He directed the Puerto Rico Industrial Mission in San Juan.