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News from the Field

Learn from people on the forefront of justice work. Find out more about global and local injustices, the work being done to combat them, and the restored relationships that result.

Reduce, Reuse, Reimagine Plastic Jesus

Everywhere we look in our culture you will find plastic. One place where you will not find plastic, however, is in the Bible.

Plastics, first created in 1907, began global production in the 1950s. Over the next 70 years, annual production increased nearly 230-fold to 460 million tons in 2019. This growth spurt birthed single-use plastics, now one of the most urgent environmental threats. These plastics, too often buried in landfills or dumped untreated in our water sources, have become emblematic of our culture's convenience obsession.

Three Kinds of Love

A Valentine’s Day Meditation Inflected by Liberation Theology

Mars Hill Gospel for a Confusing World

While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. …  Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious.  For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you (Acts 17:16-23, NIV) 

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Babies and Injustice: A story of Christmas

Although the story of Herod killing all the boy babies under two in Bethlehem is a post Christmas story, it is associated with it. The joy of birth comes after the immediate pain of childbirth. Joy mixed with grief is a clear juxtaposition in seminal life experiences. Jesus was born into this world as a baby in order to lay down his life as an adult in a grievous crucifixion. The joy and hope of new life and the pain and grief of a knowing mother was Mary’s experience.

Saint Georgina

For many Christians around the world, the day after Halloween was not just a day to recuperate from children’s sugar highs and pick up discarded candy wrappers from the sidewalk.  No, it was All Saints Day - the day in the church calendar to remember all those disciples - living and dead - whose lives inspire us to live more faithful, more loving, more Jesus-shaped lives.  

A Just Resource Extraction Theory?

I have struggled with recent vocational changes in an effort to feel comfortable with who I am and how I make my livelihood. And it is more complex and challenging than I have ever given much thought to before. As I approach mid-life and look back at my experiences, I do see that my decisions include making difficult choices, certain compromises and justifications.

Reflections on 100 Years of Mission Work in Nigeria

Like a significant number of people in the CRCNA, I spent time serving with Resonate Global Mission (then Christian Reformed World Missions) in Nigeria.

My husband Gil and I left as seminary interns in January 1998. We were among the last who lived and worked in a remote, rural village. My family left 19 years ago, but in my current role with Resonate, I had the opportunity to go back for a ministry strategy evaluation.

Managing Multifaceted Moods: Depression, Anxiety, Disability, and Life in the Church

In this blog, I’ve written a great deal about the embodiment of equity within the Church for believers with disabilities. I’ve written about some of my experiences of physical and intellectual disability, my relationships to work and housing, healing, oppression, and inclusive language, and how Scripture can help us relate as a community to all those topics. These are good things!

When Love and Brokenness Collide

It’s eviction day, and the neighbours are celebrating. 

For months, a derelict house at the end of our block has been rented by a struggling group of people for whom one glance reveals lives characterized by hardship. Their arrival shepherded a spirit of underlying unease into our normally peaceful street, through loud nighttime arguing, ongoing substance abuse, and suspected petty criminality. When a sheriff arrived this morning to force their departure and board up the house, abundant relief flowed from home to home.

Underside the Mountain: Listening to a City’s Marginalized

While at a church planting conference in Montreal, I was able to explore the city for a day. I visited some drop-ins for those experiencing homelessness and, while eating lunch, I met a man. He was a true Montrealer whose family was from Ecuador. His head was adorned with long, curly hair; his body was adorned with style. He wanted to give me a tour of the city while on his bottle-picking route. I decided to take him up on his offer. We walked together for the day and I was able to experience the city from a powerful perspective – its hidden underside. 

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