Canada

Being salt and light demands two things: we practice purity in the midst of a fallen world and yet we live in proximity to this fallen world. If you don't hold up both truth in tension, you invariably becomes useless and separated from the world God loves. - David Kinnaman

February 22 is National Human Trafficking Awareness Day in Canada. (In the United States, January 11 is dedicated to addressing human trafficking.)

After much advocacy for its existence, members of Parliament unanimously agreed on the motion to adopt the day just last year, making this year the second annual awareness day. Awareness days provide an amplified platform and opportunity to highlight issues of great importance and concern. 

In the beginning of his ministry, Jesus tells his early followers who are poor, who weep, and who experience hunger and thirst (for real food or for right relationship) that they are blessed. He doesn’t say those who help the poor are blessed, or those who give to hungry people are blessed. It is not those who are doing outreach or good deeds, but rather, it is those who are experiencing the injustices firsthand who Jesus calls blessed; it is the poor who Jesus says the kingdom of God belongs to.[1]

Dena Nicolai, chaplain and refugee support mobilizer with the Christian Reformed Churches of British Columbia, shares the simple starting place for much of her engagement with people who have been refugees: joining them for a cup of coffee and saying “tell me how you’re doing.” Dena and Chris also talk about the ministry of sharing in lament, the importance of advocating ‘with’ and rather than ‘for’, and how the advocacy of faith communities and sponsors alongside newcomers changed government policy to provide a more “full” welcome for refugees in Canada.

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.  Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. - Matthew 5: 14-15

“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored?"- Matthew 5:13 

Storm Ana in Malawi 

At least four people have died and dozens are missing after strong winds and heavy downpours wreaked havoc in Malawi and Mozambique as Tropical Storm Ana made landfall on Monday.

How do we move the needle on climate action? According to Dr. Katherine Hayhoe’s new book Saving Us: A Climate Scientist's Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World, the answer starts with meaningful conversations, and requires both the love to speak out and the wisdom to understand our audience. To help believers dig deeper into what these types of conversations look like, the Climate Witness Project hosted a virtual “Climate Huddle” on January 18th, 2022. 

Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world’s grief. Do justly NOW. Love mercy NOW. Walk humbly NOW. You are not obligated to complete the work but neither are you free to abandon it. - The Talmud

Julia Beazley, Director of Public Policy for the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, tells the story of the survivors, church communities, and policy makers who advocated to instate Bill C-36 into law. Chris and Julia also talk about the responsibility to stop treating people in vulnerable circumstances like the problem and address the systemic problems that make people vulnerable. 

All human beings, made in God’s image?  All of them?  Yes, all of them.