Why the Church Cares

I have been following a few different topics that, I believe, have a common intersecting point: re-attachment.  The Canadian government is discussing a newly proposed Bill C-15 to implement UNDRIP.  And the global pandemic has caused further struggles in seeing action to counter climate change.  As the Christian Reformed denomination is working to renew both the relationship to land and Indigenous Peoples I believe we must look to principles of engagement and re-attachment in order to see positive change.  To

When someone is arrested, convicted of a crime and given a sentence of greater than two years, they are given a Federal Prison System Number (FPS #). In some ways they are given a new name, but in other ways their name is taken from them. True of other institutions in our world, people can lose their given identity and become just another number. 

We’ve all responded to the heartbreaks and disappointments of this past year differently. Disappointment has left folks questioning God. Like the driver who ignores the service lights on their dashboard, others have ignored the emotional toll 2020 has brought and continued into their life without adjustments.

I am angry and I am unsure why. I was pleased by the election of Joe Biden’s defeat over the current president. I was concerned many Americans would opt out of the 2020 election, but I was surprised by one of the highest participation of Americans due to early voting and mail-ballots in my lifetime. I was comforted that the election was not close as many pollsters expected which would have caused additional angst in the United States. Still I am angry and I am searching for an answer. 

When people hear about the work I do with survivors, they often want to share with me the latest story they have heard about trafficking. As they share details, it could be about a case or a news story I hadn’t yet heard, and yet elements of it - the targeting, recruiting, grooming or conditioning, and exploitation of victims - tend to follow similar patterns. Despite this, trafficking can look vastly different and take on different forms.

In my work over the years with the Canadian Indigenous Ministry Committee, the word, relationship, has become one of the most important words I’ve learned. Relationship is the beginning of reconciliation practice. How would I define my experience and responsibility towards relationship? 3 things: Self-Inquiry, Community and Curiosity. My relationship with myself and my past - self-inquiry, my relationship with others - community, and my relationship with not knowing - curiosity.

IR is an international student at Calvin University.  She came to Calvin from Honduras and studied Economics and Data Science.  Throughout this interview you’ll hear how proposed legislation around international students along with COVID-19 has affected her.  

This interview is part of our series International Students Speak created to give an inside look at how policies impact real people on the ground.  

Well, it's not often we can say this, but Canadian politics got very interesting over the course of the last weeks. First, a dramatic resignation of Bill Morneau as Finance Minister, then a proroguing (suspension followed by a Throne Speech) of Parliament, and to spice things up even further Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition – currently the Conservative Party of Canada – elected a new leader, the Hon. Erin O’Toole. All of this is happening with the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic which is posing incredible public health and public policy challenges.

The systemic racism and white supremacy trainings I’ve attended are backed with mounds of data. On leaving the last training, I felt emotionally drained and exhausted because the current laws and systems that have oppressed people of color for centuries showed me how much more work we have to do. Feelings of despair came as I stared at systemic mountains of injustice and questioned my work in underserved communities.

It is a primary belief of reformed Christians that God is at work in the world healing that which is broken and calling all Christians to participate in God’s redemption of the world.