"Now, for good friends to cheer us, for seasonal weather to envelop us, for good work to engage us, we give You thanks." - An Evening Prayer Neal Plantinga
In this last year, Cholera spread widely in Malawi in the aftermath of severe flooding which destroyed water and sanitation systems. This past January schools in the cities of Lilongwe and Blantyre were closed to help curb transmission. The government has asked for assistance as it is running low on medical supplies. We pray for health, healing of bodies, infrastructure and ecosystems.
Lord, you know what even sparrows need. So we pray with our Malawian neighbors for the health and healing they need. We pray that choleras transmission would slow and that death from this disease would be stopped.
We pray that students would be able to return to school fully without fear of sickness. We pray for robust healing of sanitation, water, medical supply, education systems.
Two people have been arrested in India for human trafficking, criminal conspiracy, culpable homicide in case of an Indian family who died in -35C weather at the US/Canada border in January 2022. We continue to pray for justice for the family but also for a system that preys on hope for a place to belong.
Lord, this one story of tragedy is one story too many. That people looking for home, opportunity, peace would be seen as targets and disposable breaks our hearts. We know it is a symptom of a broken system. May the loved ones of this family have a measure of peace in this news, but Lord, we need your Spirit to help us and our policy makers imagine real immigration solutions.
In the shadow of Keenan Anderson’s death by police taser at the scene of a traffic collision AND a report about 42% of the world’s wealth being concentrated in 1% of its people, the US has celebrated Martin Luther King again. We, the body of Christ, pray:
For the ways the church cannot even bring itself to name racial injustice in our own midst, rebuke us. For the ways the church, its members distracted and satiated, can ignore what happens to neighbors, startle us awake. For the ways we continue to not see how we might be part of the problem, we will need your continued prompting to repentance and continuous forgiveness.
Jesus, as yet another MLK day is marked, may your ways of peace, justice, righteousness and truth be what marks your church – your body, reconciling.
Where we’ve been satisfied to merely learn or talk about justice, move us continuously to real action.
California has faced storms that have brought high winds, torrential downpours, flooding, and downed trees in many areas.
Lord we pray again and again for those most affected by the unprecedented storms and flooding. As more rain is coming, we pray for those who have lost homes, livelihoods, safety and even their lives.
Protect the children and the elderly, help communities mobilize smoothly. May the grief of the loss not fuel despair but truth-telling and community healing, in Jesus’ name.
The third Sunday in January is Sanctity of Human Life Sunday. Our resources can help your church to honor the day. Synod has encouraged Christian Reformed churches to commemorate the day’s significance (Synod 1981 and Synod 1995). OSJ would like to help churches commemorate the sanctity of human life in ways that are sensitive and mindful of the impact abortion has on society, our churches, and members of our congregations.
If you're in the Hamilton area join Meadowlands Fellowship CRC for a concert featuring Indigenous singer-songwriter Jonathan Maracle. He integrates his Christian faith as a Mohawk follower of Jesus with the traditional sounds of Indigenous music, sharing his journey in reconciling his Mohawk heritage and his Christian faith in a compelling and insightful way. His concerts are an encouraging inspiration for Christians and all who are engaged in reconciliation with the Indigenous community. RSVP for February 11th at 7:30pm
The Reformed family is a diverse family with a diverse range of opinions. Not all perspectives expressed on the blog represent the official positions of the Christian Reformed Church. Learn more about this blog, Reformed doctrines, and our diversity policy on our About page.
In order to steward ministry shares well, commenting isn’t available on Do Justice itself because we engage with comments and dialogue in other spaces. To comment on this post, please visit the Christian Reformed Centre for Public Dialogue’s Facebook page (for Canada-specific articles) or the Office of Social Justice’s Facebook page. Alternatively, please email us. We want to hear from you!
Read more about our comment policy.