Advocacy

You’re more than a consumer. You’re more than a taxpayer. You’re a citizen.

Danielle is the newest member of the Office of Social Justice team. She joins our team this week as the Justice Mobilizing and Advocacy Fellow, a one year position with our office. Danielle comes to us from a background in economic development after attending Messiah College in Pennsylvania where she received a Bachelor of Arts in Economic Development with concentrations in Business and Sustainability.

We are thrilled to have Danielle as part of the team!

Editor's introduction: Omar Khadr, an Afghan-Canadian, is accused of having thrown the grenade that killed American Sergeant Christopher Speer in 2002 when Khadr was 15. He was incarcerated at Guantanamo Bay for ten years. The Government of Canada’s interrogation of Omar at Guantanamo "offend[ed] the most basic Canadian standards [of] the treatment of detained youth suspects," according to a 2010 ruling of the Supreme Court of Canada.

On January 1, 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation issued by President Abraham Lincoln during the civil war, took effect. The news eventually reached Galveston, Texas on June 19th, 1865. The proclamation opened up the way for the unraveling of the institution of slavery in the United States. For generations, African Americans have faithfully celebrated “Juneteenth” as the ultimate day that signifies freedom for them.

Welcome to our Speaking Up for a Faithful Budget series! Want to see other posts? Sign up here to receive them in your inbox and to view previous posts in the series. Next week we’ll be hearing about poverty focused development assistance.

Welcome to our Speaking Up for a Faithful Budget series! Want to see other posts? Sign up here to receive them in your inbox. Next week we’ll be hearing about refugee resettlement.

Welcome to our Advocacy Works series! Want to see other posts? Sign up here to receive them in your inbox or see previous posts in the series.

Welcome to our Advocacy Works series! Want to see other posts? Sign up here to receive them in your inbox. 

Welcome to our Advocacy Works series! Want to see other posts? Sign up here to receive them in your inbox. 

Have you ever thought of advocacy as an act of worship or a step of discipleship? I hadn't. 

So often I feel that I’m not the advocate or the disciple that I wish I was. Although I’ve had numerous classes and spiritual experiences that had potential to lead to flourishing in both realms, the disconnect between a dysfunctional reality and Shalom weighs heavily. What is a person to do?

This week marked one of the most important moments of my year. No, it wasn’t the first day of spring, though that was a highlight. It was the unveiling of Canada's federal budget for 2017.