News from the Field

Though born and raised in West Michigan, my career over the past six years has taken me to remote areas throughout Southeast Asia. In Cambodia and Myanmar I have seen firsthand how government corruption, especially related to deals to extract valuable natural resources, falls hardest on the poorest and most vulnerable communities.

Rest can be an act of defiance against our culture of consumption, disconnection, and manufactured dissatisfaction. The idols of individualism, consumption, and achievement tell us: buy more! Be more! Do it all! They are unrelenting masters.

But the God who calls us to seek justice, the God who walks with us through the valley of the shadow of death, also makes us lie down in green pastures. The God who calls us is good.

Interpreting Scripture can be messy. But I’ve become almost certain of at least two things: Scripture can be twisted and abused to justify hateful and unholy ends; and a good interpretation of Scripture builds up the twin loves of God and neighbor.

“Sustainability” might be a modern term, but it’s an ancient value. Parents were reminding children to turn out the lights generations before Al Gore’s Inconvenient Truth. Elders have long taught youth not to take more than is needed, to live in harmony with one’s surroundings, to protect the soil from wind and water erosion, and to protect creatures so they can continue to reproduce.

There’s an enthralling visual presented in the book of Revelation, when at last God’s chosen people have gathered together: “I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’” (Revelation 7:9-10).

You’re more than a consumer. You’re more than a taxpayer. You’re a citizen.

“Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” – Galatians 6:2 (NIV)

Danielle is the newest member of the Office of Social Justice team. She joins our team this week as the Justice Mobilizing and Advocacy Fellow, a one year position with our office. Danielle comes to us from a background in economic development after attending Messiah College in Pennsylvania where she received a Bachelor of Arts in Economic Development with concentrations in Business and Sustainability.

We are thrilled to have Danielle as part of the team!

As I listened, the truth became clear to me: These are not issues. They are people. 

Editor's introduction: Omar Khadr, an Afghan-Canadian, is accused of having thrown the grenade that killed American Sergeant Christopher Speer in 2002 when Khadr was 15. He was incarcerated at Guantanamo Bay for ten years. The Government of Canada’s interrogation of Omar at Guantanamo "offend[ed] the most basic Canadian standards [of] the treatment of detained youth suspects," according to a 2010 ruling of the Supreme Court of Canada.