Creation Care

“I want to bake 100 cookies!” my 5-year-old announced over the noise of a crying baby and loud kitchen fan. 

I wanted a nap. 

We were finally getting around to our goal of trying to help the animals of Plaster Creek. Plaster Creek brings my family countless hours of joy as we hike and bike on the trail near our home in the Garfield Park neighborhood of Grand Rapids, Mich. 

Plaster Creek also happens to be the most contaminated creek in West Michigan. In fact, when coloring a picture of the creek, my son commented, “Shouldn’t the water be BROWN instead of blue?” 

"Stick with me, friends. Keep track of those you see running this same course, headed for this same goal."  Philippians 3:17

Lytton, BC destroyed by fire, after record breaking heat, in minutes.

The village of Lytton, BC broke records for the highest heat ever recorded in Canada last week (49 C or 120 F) and then on June 30, residents had to flee due to a wildfire that demolished most of the town in less than 30 minutes.   

"He leads us on by paths we did not know.
Upward He leads us, tho' our steps be slow;
Tho' oft we faint and falter on the way,
Tho' storms and darkness oft obscure the day,
Yet, when the clouds are gone,
We know He leads us on."

- He Leads Us On (Hiram O. Wiley)

The path leads on to love,
And love is fearless in its ways,
For Love Himself was not afraid
To die that we'd be saved.

- The Way of Wisdom (Michael Card) 

On May 20th, the Climate Witness Project had the privilege of hosting a book talk with professor and author Finis Dunaway. His new book, Defending the Arctic Refuge: A Photographer, an Indigenous Nation, and a Fight for Environmental Justice, takes a look at how photographer Lenny Kohm’s grassroots advocacy alongside the Gwich’in people helped protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

"I walk in the way of righteousness, along the paths of justice" - Proverbs 8:20

I remember wanting to be the OSJ Fellow for the longest time. When the Office of Social Justice visited my university, year after year, a bright, ambitious Fellow would present at a conference, talk to a class, and always be willing to answer any questions every time they stopped by the school. Having received my degree in International Development Studies, and as a lover of the church, I thought mobilizing people of faith to live more fully into their discipleship in the public realm was the highest calling I could aspire to. And so, I applied. I waited. I waited a bit more. 

Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! - Romans 11:3

Escalating and war-like Violence in Israel and Palestine

Dozens have been killed in the last few days, during the season of Ramadan for Palestinians after weeks of skirmishes.  

Lord of Long Histories,

How do you grow vegetables when the soil is dry, space for farming is extremely limited and there is no water available? The answer lies in an innovative combination of fish, plant tubs, pumps and pipes! In southern Honduras, World Renew partners with Diaconia Nacional of Honduras for an agricultural project that’s having a big impact using aquaponics. 

I have been following a few different topics that, I believe, have a common intersecting point: re-attachment.  The Canadian government is discussing a newly proposed Bill C-15 to implement UNDRIP.  And the global pandemic has caused further struggles in seeing action to counter climate change.  As the Christian Reformed denomination is working to renew both the relationship to land and Indigenous Peoples I believe we must look to principles of engagement and re-attachment in order to see positive change.  To