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Authors

Rev. Dr. Amanda Benckhuysen

Amanda W. Benckhuysen is the Director of Safe Church Ministry for the Christian Reformed Church and an ordained pastor in the Christian Reformed Church.  She lives with her husband and two daughters in Grand Rapids, MI.

Ian Strickland

Ian is a former UMC pastor-turned videographer. During his time in church ministry he learned the value of story-telling and participating in community building that seeks to disrupt the powers of oppression and marginalization. He now uses his pastoral gifts to help other people tell their own stories, amplify their voices and grow their influence. Ian lives in California with his wife Kelly, their cat Asher and their golden doodle Liam.

Sara --

Sara (not her real name) works in a neighbourhood resource centre in Canada. She has chosen not to share her name or location to preserve the privacy of the women with whom she works, and to point out the universality of this story--it could have happened in your city, in your neighbourhood.

Carl --

This profile is used for authors for which there may be security concerns around sharing their name.  These authors often work with our mission agency Resonate.

Bert Adema

Bert Adema is the Executive Director of Indian Metis Christian Fellowship (IMCF), in Regina, Saskatchewan. Since 1993, he has encouraged Aboriginal people to claim, develop, use, and celebrate their individual and cultural gifts from the Creator. He collaborates with Aboriginal staff and community members in developing and delivering activities serving the spiritual and social needs of First Nations and Metis people in Regina. Now that their four daughters have moved out of their family home, he and his wife Ruth have started to wonder about what to do with the rest of their lives.

Seth Adema

Seth Adema is a PhD Candidate in the department of history at Wilfred Laurier University, where he studies movements for Aboriginal rights within federal and provincial prisons.  In particular, his studies focus on the introduction of traditional Aboriginal spirituality into prisons between the 1960s and 1990s. Seth lives in Kitchener, Ontario with his wife Emily and daughter Morgan. In his spare time, he plays hockey, rides his mountain bike, goes camping, and tries to read books unrelated to his dissertation.

Rose and Rick Admiraal

Rose and her husband, Pastor Rick Admiraal, live in Pella, IA. They have two children. Eight years ago they planted a church, New Life Prison Community, in the Newton Correctional Facility, where they minister together. Both of them have a heart for the “least of these.” This heart led Rose to become an immigration regional organizer with the Office of Social Justice in the Pella area. She has been working in educating others about the brokenness of our immigration system through adult Sunday School and a book study. Rose hopes that through education people will come to understand the plight of immigrants. 

Hamza Ahmed

Hamza came to the United States from Somalia with his refugee family. He a first generation immigrant who enjoys playing soccer, basketball and hanging with friends. When he feels inspired, he enjoys writing a poem about it and sharing it with close friends.

Priya Andrade

Priya Andrade is a member of the Christian Reformed Church's Canadian Indigenous Ministry Committee (CIMC), a committee of CRC members from across Canada who provide lay leadership to the CRC on Indigenous justice and reconciliation. Priya is a Goan-Canadian mother, emerging artist, and Do Justice columnist. She serves as elder at All Nations CRC in Halifax and strongly believes that our personal welfare is intrinsically intertwined with others, a message she seeks to spread this message through art. Priya intersects her experience on CIMC with her art practice and work with children and youth in Nova Scotia. You can follow her practices on Instagram at @rednsmountain.

Bernadette Arthur

Bernadette Arthur serves as a Race Relations Coordinator for the Canadian office and belongs to a small but powerfully passionate bi-national team of individuals who are committed to the work of racial reconciliation. She is hopeful about making significant strides towards racial reconciliation in Canada, because the promises of God are a "YES" and "AMEN" in Christ Jesus (2 Cor. 1:20) so she can trust that her generation will, by His grace and our obedience, witness movements towards the future reality of diversity and inclusion described in Revelation 7:9. She is a pursuer of God, daughter, sister, friend, auntie, mentor, teacher, and life-long learner. She enjoys listening to live music, especially jazz; reading a good book; eating ethnically diverse foods; and hiking.

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