Soon, (if they haven’t already) canvassers will be coming to your front door to discuss their candidate with you. These interactions are a great opportunity to seek justice and speak hope in the public sphere.
When we’re not prepared it can be difficult to know what we should be asking these candidates, especially in the area of justice. This is why we’ve called on friends of the Centre for Public Dialogue to welcome you to their front doors this election season to share the topics and questions they will be bringing up when candidates come calling. It is our hope that these videos will prompt your own preparation!
Explicitly expressing gratitude can be a surprising way for Christians to be a salt and light
In his video, Centre for Public Dialogue Director Mike Hogeterp addresses the three current portfolios of the Centre with questions focused on Climate Change, Refugee Justice and Indigenous Reconciliation.
Mike encourages us not to approach the election season with a default of political cynicism and criticism, but rather with gratitude. “I encourage you to start your conversations very simply with saying thanks - thanks for running and taking on the sacred responsibility of public leadership - know that I’ll be praying for you!” Explicitly expressing gratitude can be a surprising way for Christians to be a salt and light to those at our doors. “In many years of doing this work I’ve met more political leaders and public servants than I can count - Most of them are thoughtful people who have a noble commitment to public service who work hard - very hard” says Mike.
All of these are big questions and are bound to start some conversations - and those conversations are the seeds of hope, justice and bearing witness. Stay tuned for more election resources, and by all means feel free to reach out to our team if you have questions, or want support on how to talk about a justice that’s not addressed in our videos. Thanks for meeting us at the front door.
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