Advocacy

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.

Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat—there are a plethora of social media platforms used by stay-at-home moms and celebrities, private citizens and elected officials alike to communicate opinions, beliefs, statements, facts, untruths, popular myths, and more. Then we have regular news sources apart from social media including BBC, CNN, Fox News, CBS, MSNBC, The New York Times, The Blaze—an amalgam of news sources with talking heads and op-ed pieces that launch information, news stories, and soundbites endlessly our way.

I know that my heart is not the only heavy one out there. In the last couple weeks there have been unjust and violent events, and I find myself reeling emotionally, mentally and spiritually. Presidential executive orders which do not jive with our lived out faith to love immigrants and refugees (Leviticus 19:34). A terrorist attack on Muslim worshippers at a mosque in Quebec City. I have been navigating social media, news articles, and political statements all while simultaneously fact-checking and processing through the lens of my own Christian faith.

I am heartbroken, scared, angry, and confused.

What does Mary Crickmore, a CRC missionary in Mali, West Africa, for over 30 years, have in common with Robert Moffat, a 19th century Scotsman who arrived in what is now Botswana, Southern Africa, in 1821 as a missionary from the London Missionary Society?

You might be surprised.

August has arrived! If you’re a church leader, you may be looking for a curriculum for your small group, adult study classes, or youth group.

In the words of Pastor Christy Knetsch, whose congregation in Grand Rapids has recently used several of these curricula,

“The Christian Reformed Church is committed to equipping congregations. I am so glad that we have been able to utilize these resources so that we can ensure that not only the head, but heart and hands are empowered to promote justice in the square inches where God gives us influence.”  

Ali is the newest member of the Office of Social Justice team. She joins our team this week as the Policy Analyst and Advocacy Fellow. Ali comes to us from a background in social work at Spectrum Health after attending Calvin College and receiving a masters in social work from the University of Michigan.

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

I’m a greenhorn when it comes to political action. So when I received a request to promote National Disability Voter Registration Week, I turned to my colleagues at the Office of Social Justice (OSJ) who suggested contacting our local city government to ask them to make a proclamation about Disability Voter Registration Week. Great idea, but I know next to nothing about contacting local government.