On Sunday the U.S.-supported, Saudi-led coalition reportedly bombed a residential area in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa, killing at least 11 and injuring dozens more. According to local medical officials, most of those killed were young children after the Saudi airstrikes hit a Yemeni school. Reports of the Saudi-led coalition’s continued bombing of Yemen come days after the U.S. House voted to send a Yemen War Powers resolution to President Trump, though the president is expected to veto the measure.
God, forgive us for our apathy and complicity in death when our tax dollars fund violence across the globe. Be near to the mourning and broken hearted, for you remind us that those who mourn will be comforted. We pray that violence would cease in Yemen and that, as peacemakers, we might work to transform weapons into plowshares.
The Departments of Homeland Security and Labor have announced plans to issue up to 30,000 additional H-2B visas through Sept. 30, the end of the federal fiscal year. Congress has generally capped the number of visas, which businesses compete for, at 66,000. H-2B visas provide legal status for immigrants in temporary, non-farm jobs with landscaping companies, restaurants, hotels, amusement parks, and other industries. The government’s move to expand the H-2B program appears inconsistent with the Trump administration’s repeated message that the country is full and immigrants should return to their country of origin.
Thank you, God, for wise policy that provides work to those who need it and opportunities to put food on the table. And Lord, we pray for clarity and purpose in immigration policy that would create a system that is just and humane for all.
A month after Cyclone Idai swept in from the Indian Ocean, taking the lives of over 750 people across southern Africa, Mozambique is dealing with the aftermath of severe flooding. Floodwaters that left a large part of central Mozambique under water are draining away, revealing a severe loss of crops and thus lack of food for the months ahead. Low-lying rice fields and maize crops lay mangled and ruined, leaving subsistence farmers without the crops they need to feed their families and communities. More than 715,000 hectares (1.7 million acres) of crop fields flooded, according to an update released Sunday by Mozambique's disaster management agency.
Like our sin, Lord, the effects of this disaster are being felt far and wide. Our hearts collectively mourn both the loss of life in southern Africa and the ongoing suffering from the loss of crops. Just as you promise in the coming of your Kingdom, we pray boldly for a refining and restoring of the land, and ask for timely aid to meet the needs of your children.
Last week an unredacted version of an investigative report into the death of a 33-year-old man at Dorchester Penitentiary, New Brunswick, was sent to the family of the deceased. For 13 months, the family had believed their son, Matthew Hines, had died as a result of a seizure, but the new report shows that Hines was pepper-sprayed at least four times by correctional officers and that he suffocated as a result of the spray. Correctional Service Canada (CSC) gave the family a copy of the board of investigation report, detailing an internal investigation conducted into Hines's death. In an earlier copy of the report to the family, parts were redacted. CSC had blacked out details of how a correctional service manager directed a staff member and an inmate to clean up blood before the Royal Canadian Mountain Police arrived on scene.
We’re wounded and confused, God, when life is taken and power is abused. God, we pray that those involved in this abuse of power and subsequent cover-up would be brought to justice. And for the family now grappling with this trauma in a new way, we only ask your presence and mercy. Come, Lord Jesus.
“There is no place of despair or defeat that our Lord and King cannot pull you out of.” As we move through the Lenten season toward its culmination with Easter, read Chantel Varnado’s reflection on pain, hope, and resurrection.
Have you ever asked, “What could I or my congregation possibly do about climate change?” If so, you’re not alone, and over the past year CRC congregations across the U.S. and Canada have been coming together to find an answer in the Climate Witness Project.
We're hiring a new Communications Team Coordinator! This person leads communications strategy and implementation for the Office of Social Justice, Centre for Public Dialogue, and Canadian Indigenous Ministry Committee. (Including editing this blog!) We’re excited to welcome the next person who will pour their God-given communications talents into encouraging the Christian Reformed Church in Canada to lean deeper into our calling to seek justice, peace, and reconciliation. This position is based in Burlington, Ontario.
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