Why the Church Cares

When people hear about the work I do with survivors, they often want to share with me the latest story they have heard about trafficking. As they share details, it could be about a case or a news story I hadn’t yet heard, and yet elements of it - the targeting, recruiting, grooming or conditioning, and exploitation of victims - tend to follow similar patterns. Despite this, trafficking can look vastly different and take on different forms.

In my work over the years with the Canadian Indigenous Ministry Committee, the word, relationship, has become one of the most important words I’ve learned. Relationship is the beginning of reconciliation practice. How would I define my experience and responsibility towards relationship? 3 things: Self-Inquiry, Community and Curiosity. My relationship with myself and my past - self-inquiry, my relationship with others - community, and my relationship with not knowing - curiosity.

IR is an international student at Calvin University.  She came to Calvin from Honduras and studied Economics and Data Science.  Throughout this interview you’ll hear how proposed legislation around international students along with COVID-19 has affected her.  

This interview is part of our series International Students Speak created to give an inside look at how policies impact real people on the ground.  

Well, it's not often we can say this, but Canadian politics got very interesting over the course of the last weeks. First, a dramatic resignation of Bill Morneau as Finance Minister, then a proroguing (suspension followed by a Throne Speech) of Parliament, and to spice things up even further Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition – currently the Conservative Party of Canada – elected a new leader, the Hon. Erin O’Toole. All of this is happening with the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic which is posing incredible public health and public policy challenges.

The systemic racism and white supremacy trainings I’ve attended are backed with mounds of data. On leaving the last training, I felt emotionally drained and exhausted because the current laws and systems that have oppressed people of color for centuries showed me how much more work we have to do. Feelings of despair came as I stared at systemic mountains of injustice and questioned my work in underserved communities.

It is a primary belief of reformed Christians that God is at work in the world healing that which is broken and calling all Christians to participate in God’s redemption of the world.

For a comprehensive list of all the immigration changes from Executive Orders issues during the coronavirus pandemic, see this list. 

6/1: The Supreme Court rules that immigrants who are at risk of being tortured upon deportation to their home country can challenge deportations in federal appeals court. 

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, gardening is the biggest bang for your buck when it comes to creation care. With the whole world turning upside down because of COVID-19 many have become acutely aware of what gardeners have known for ages…  Gardening helps you join with God in providing for yourself, caring for creation and for your neighbour, reducing waste, staying healthy physically and mentally and provides endless metaphors for the spiritual life.

Have you ever been asked that weird ice-breaker question: if you could have a superpower what would it be? My answer would be super-weakness. Let me explain. I have always wondered why Superhero movies are so popular lately. To be honest I was over the fad back when the first X-Men movie came out. So I did a bit of research. Out of the many theories out there, I came to this conclusion: superheroes are a metaphor of our lives and they personify our ultimate hopes.

The theme of this year’s annual advocacy summit for Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) is Equal in God’s Eyes: Human Rights and Dignity for all in Israel/Palestine. For some, this statement will seem obvious. Of course, all of God’s human creation is created equally and in the image of God. We recall the words of the Hebrew Scriptures in the book of Genesis,

“So God created humankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” (1:27).