Advocacy

In day to day life, I experience what I call “extreme empathy,” meaning that at times I feel the pain of others very deeply—almost as if it’s my own. Because of this extreme empathy, often when I look at the world around me, I am overwhelmed by the pain and sorrow that is seemingly everywhere. I want to fix it all and feel completely insufficient to make even the slightest difference or improvement. The ironic reality is that if I allowed myself to stay in those moments of despair, I would neglect to do the very thing I long to do: seek justice.

Enjoy this look back at the top Do Justice articles written in 2020 (ranked by top pageviews).  It was a big year for us to be reading and praying about justice and you’ll see themes of this year in all of our top articles.  It is our hope and prayer that these articles blessed you and moved you to new action.

Yes, many of us are still stuck at home. Most states have received government mandates regarding COVID19 restrictions including prohibitions of indoor gatherings, limited outside visits, closed bars and restaurants with limited takeaway opportunities, and other limitations on worship, sports, and community functions. Yet as we honor current recommendations to socially distance, there remain plenty of opportunities to engage constructively in our communities and to advocate for justice and equality in our own back yards! 

“For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15 by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace”  Ephesians 2:14-15

Merry Christmas from the Center for Public Dialogue and the Office of Social Justice as you reflect on joy during the fourth week of advent. 

Poet Malcolm Guite writes, “Christmas sets the centre at the edge/and from this day our world is re-aligned/a tiny seed unfolding in the womb/becomes the source from which we all unfold/and flower into being.  We are healed.”*

 Once it is gone, it is gone. If a child breaks a toy or if you inadvertently burn a letter to you from your grandmother, it is gone. It doesn’t come back.

The world has a very special asset, located in Alaska, that might face that same plight. The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is a breathtaking parcel of God’s creation. It has unique wilderness qualities and ecological integrity. 

This week may you be filled with shalom as you reflect on the peace advent candle.  “The Lord gives his people strength. The Lord blesses them with peace.”  - Psalm 29:11

I was recently invited as a guest speaker for a webinar with ecumenical partners, to share some information on global forced displacement and migration.

I write this the morning after an election in a country not my own.  

An election in a country not my own, and yet this moment feels fraught even for me.  So much depends on the votes counted, for those citizens casting votes and for those watching and listening elsewhere.

Hondurans huddled in cold valleys south of the Mexican border whose welcome is in part determined by the immigration policy of a country not my own.

During my five-week internship with the Centre for Public Dialogue, I had the opportunity to create lesson plans to be used by independent schools in B.C., Alberta, and Ontario. These lesson plans included the history of Residential Schools, and the reality of  current inequalities in schools on-reserves. I researched to learn more about the beautiful things Indigenous communities offer, the experiences they endured and the current inequalities they are facing.