Canada

In November we held a conference here in Truro, Nova Scotia called “Spark!”. It was a new take on an old conference – we’ve held a Day of Encouragement event here every two years for a long time, providing an opportunity for the CRC churches in the Maritimes to gather for a day of learning and fellowship. When I was asked to write about it for Do Justice, my first thought was, “this wasn’t specifically a ‘justice’ conference…” But the more I reflect, the more I feel that the themes of justice and mission and the future of the church are all intertwined.

Advent is a journey towards Bethlehem.  May we let ourselves be drawn by the light of God made man.  - Pope Francis 

Fire Kills Workers in India

A fire broke out at a factory in India's capital New Delhi early on Sunday morning. At least 43 people have been reported dead. Many of the victims were asleep in beds in the factory, resting between shifts, when the fire began. Most of the victims were Muslim migrant workers who came from the Eastern state of Bihar, earning as little as $2.10 a day making a variety of garments.

In the fall, we gifted our outgoing Board Chair with a snow globe featuring the nativity scene with Mary, Joseph and Jesus. As the present was unwrapped, someone around the table – reflecting on the nature of our work to address the lack of safe, specialized and supportive housing for trafficked survivors –  commented,“They didn’t have anywhere to go either.”

Over the years, I have marched in the Denver, Colorado Four Directions All Nation March where the marchers step off from four directions and rally at the Colorado State Capitol.  One might ask why do Indigenous people march in Canada and America? 

First, regarding participating in a protest march, I want to encourage non-violent political movements, like those associated with leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. and Gandhi.

“Whose side are you on? Are you with them or are you with us?” 

This story contains mature content.  

I have yet to join a Friday Climate Strike. Not because I don’t think climate is important. I understand the clear science behind climate change and have seen firsthand the devastating impacts both in Kenya and in British Columbia, Canada to human and non-human communities. I know that humans are adding more toxins, more carbon dioxide, more destruction than the earth is capable of dealing with right now. No, I agree with the words being spoken on the placards and through the megaphones. 

We are not to simply bandage the wounds of victims beneath the wheels of injustice, we are to drive a spoke into the wheel itself.  - Dietrich Bonhoeffer

The wonderful thing about praying is that you leave a world of not being able to do something, and enter God's realm where everything is possible.  He specializes in the impossible.  Nothing is too great for his Almighty power.  Nothing is too small for his love.  - Corrie TenBoom 

Open Doors International, the organization which produces the annual World Watch List of 50 countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian, assesses that there are 245 million Christians who experience high levels of persecution—one in nine Christians of our world today. That number is climbing in recent years. We often distinguish these brothers and sisters as members of the persecuted church while identifying ourselves as members of the free world church.