Global Poverty

Like a significant number of people in the CRCNA, I spent time serving with Resonate Global Mission (then Christian Reformed World Missions) in Nigeria.

My husband Gil and I left as seminary interns in January 1998. We were among the last who lived and worked in a remote, rural village. My family left 19 years ago, but in my current role with Resonate, I had the opportunity to go back for a ministry strategy evaluation.

Haitian immigrants and denationalized Dominicans of Haitian ancestry in the Dominican Republic are under constant threat of being deported.

During our annual staff retreat in June 2023, we reckoned with the fact that we are each other’s neighbours. Jesus causes us to recognise the needs of others and the call to be a neighbour irrespective of the differences in ethnicity, location, and other social factors. 

A question for you: Do you value having the right opinion over doing right by your neighbours?  Or, to use the language of the ancient Hebrew prophets, do you value being right over being righteous – that is, being in right relationship with others?  

Building organizational capacity for local church and community partners is a central part of what World Renew does. But in 2013, one situation where community capacity development interventions were taking place, the grassroots systems and structure grew stronger than the body that should have taken lead on change making. Why? The attitude, visioning and worldview held by the grassroots leadership around stewardship was questionable.

The best job description according to Roy Berkenbosch is “whatever the day needs.” In his life this has meant jobs in both bricklaying and Bangladesh. In the episode Roy shares stories from his development work with World Renew and his experience at King’s University with the Micah Centre.

Imagine you are pregnant for the first time. You are excited. You’ve been trying to have a baby for a while now. Overall, you just want a smooth, uncomplicated pregnancy, however, deep inside you hope that the baby is a girl or a boy. Why do you hope that she is a girl or hope that he is a boy? 

I started a new job as an Art Teacher at a Juvenile Detention Center in August of last year. Prior to teaching, I volunteered at the facility through my church. As you can imagine teaching justice-involved youth comes with a unique set of challenges. I’m at the center of a lot more angst and less excitement than I ever was as a volunteer. I also know a lot more about the residents– now my students.  Their stories are more pronounced in their daily classroom behavior. It can be a hard thing to carry.  I can’t imagine how hard it is to live the stories. 

As part of DARC (Decolonization and Anti-racism Collective, the new name for the Canadian Advisory Committee on Antiracism), I was asked to talk with BIPoC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour) people to hear their honest experiences with the CRCNA. I was honoured to talk with a brilliant woman who is a Doctor in Education and a Professor at the University of Alberta.