News from the Pews

When we turn on the TV or read the news online and in papers these days, we often find stories of injustices and violence in our own communities and around the world. With the brokenness around us, we long to hear more stories of hope, reconciliation, and redemption. Over the years I have read a few memorable books that have reminded me of the power of human spirit and displays of courage, compassion, strength, forgiveness, and resilience in the midst of tragedy and injustices.

“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.”
Proverbs 31:8-9

There is great work going on across the country to speak up and defend the rights for those who are being trafficked and exploited. For some, speaking up has meant asking the government (both federally and provincially) to “speak up” and dedicate resources to defend the rights of exploited children, women, and men.

I have had a pair of moosehide moccasins for five years now that I absolutely love. I love them because they remind me of how I have had the way I look at the Earth and how the way I approach Creation care has been changed by my Indigenous friends and neighbours. I love my moccasins because they remind me of a wise older First Nations woman I met at an Indigenous cultural center at the beginning of my own journey of discovering what reconciled relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people look like.

I realized that for many or most of these participants this sharing circle was the first time they had the space to really tell their story or cry out for answers. 

When I was growing up, my preferred diet earned me the nickname, “Papa’s little carnivore.” Years later I married someone with a similar palate: my Iowa-bred husband loves marinated chops, smoked turkey, pork tenderloin, and Pella bologna. For him, growing up, a meal without meat was just a snack.

I didn’t have a clue how to grill a pork chop when we were first married (I still don’t), so we went through a lot of chicken and ground beef. A meal would look the same in December as it did in June, and I didn’t think twice about it.

One Inuit leader said "we are human barometers of climate change."

An ancient Chinese proverb states: “Whoever defines the terms wins the argument.” I used to quote this proverb when I was teaching logic courses as a member of the philosophy department at a college in Chicago. The proverb is true. If you let me define the terms of discussion about any hot-button social issue, then I most likely will win the debate.

Recently I was at a family gathering and beheld a precious moment as my elderly mother held a newly born great-grandson in her arms…an age difference of 89 years. Although the baby received all the attention it was not lost on a few of us that mom also deserved our honour in that moment.   

When my wife was pregnant with our third daughter, the ultrasound showed a hole in the baby’s heart. We were told there was a high risk the baby will have Down Syndrome. We were stressed out and fearful. We were grieved. We cried and we prayed. Fear of the unknown and the grief that our child might not be “normal” gripped us. But through it all, we relied on God’s strength and grace to carry us through our fears and griefs. We prepared ourselves for the worst. We read pretty much every book from the library on Down Syndrome.

The CRCNA is resolutely pro-life, which includes opposing the practice of abortion. Pro-life people are not in agreement over whether defunding Planned Parenthood is the answer. Will defunding this organization actually reduce abortions?