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Best Practices

Find new writings and thinkers, get advice on cultivating just relationships, practice reflection, and hone your skills. Watch for upcoming events and conferences that will do the same.

Jesus Will Disturb for OUR Peace

“For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15 by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace”  Ephesians 2:14-15

Map Your Neighbourhood

Creation care during COVID-19. What a weird time. On the one hand people are recognizing the importance of getting outside and enjoying creation. On the other hand the amount of personal protection equipment and other disposable stuff in the attempt to stay away from germs is frightening. If you are someone who wants to seriously follow your calling to care for creation it can be a bit confusing. But when things are confusing I think the best thing to do is get back to the basics.

Rugged Relationships and a Restorative Church

In our society of increasingly complex webs of relationships, systems of governments and institutions -- shalom, or the way things are supposed to be -- seems increasingly more challenging to envision. There has never been as much history as there is in the present.

The Top 5 Reasons the Christian Reformed Church Cares about Immigration

In a world with a litany of societal injustices, it’s fair to ask why the Christian Reformed Church in North America (CRC) - through the help of the Office of Social Justice (OSJ) - focuses so much energy on supporting churches to understand and work towards just immigration policies. There are certainly plenty of justice concerns we could choose to focus on, so why immigration? 

A Tale of Two Wives Part II: Scenes of System Racism and the Original Wife

In the first post of this tale, I used a metaphor from Pastor Norton Lages to describe systemic racism: “Canadian culture treats other cultures like an abusive husband who sends his wife to counselling expecting her to change.” 

White Privilege and Andragogy

There is a topic central to the work of racial equity which has caused people to either turn toward the work of equity or to turn away from the work of equity.  That topic is white privilege.  Upon hearing the premise of white privilege many people respond with a “eureka” moment of understanding while many others turn their faces away in offense.  If we are to make progress in the work of racial equity, learning what white privilege is and how to effectively communicate it will be helpful.

Divide and Conquer

For me, the ancient proverb, ‘divide and conquer’ has taken on a new meaning. It has surpassed being a formal military tactical strategy of how to win. Every nation had a choice about how to fight the new invisible enemy: Coronavirus. We are still participating in this invisible world war called the pandemic. To fight the enemy, we have to literally hide. Our weapons are new phrases and terminology to soothe our wounded humanness: self-isolate, bubble, physical and social distance.

Ten Questions for Coping with COVID

How have you been coping with the changes brought about by COVID? As someone with a penchant for melancholy I knew that I was going to have to do something to keep from travelling down a negative spiral and stay positive and healthy. Early on I came across a facebook post with 6 questions to ask yourself in quarantine. 

This is Going to Hurt

I felt stupid and scared this week, and I took it out on a well-meaning white guy. 

Here’s what happened: I was working as part of a team to plan a high-profile event for local pastors to speak out against racism. It was collaborative (which is hard), it was high-stakes (everybody’s a critic), and it was not being led by white people (translation: I was not in control).

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Upholding Treaties During a Pandemic

It is time for Canadians to know that First Nations people have held up their end of the treaties.

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