Doing Justice
Churches invited to be part of the Restorative Justice Process
Restorative justice, in its simplest form, is the attempt to make things as right as possible between victims, offenders, and the wider community when some harm or crime happens. But what does that look like for those of us who work mostly with offenders, the folks who’ve hurt others or caused some sort of harm…
Read MoreWilloughby CRC Hosts Play for Restorative Justice Week
About 60 people gathered at Willoughby CRC (Langley, B.C.) on Nov 19 to see a dramatic presentation of “Forgiven/Forgotten” that set the tone for Restorative Justice Week. The event was facilitated by Willoughby’s Just-Faith Forum, sponsored by Mennonite Central Committee and Trinity Western University’s school of the Arts, Media and Culture. After the CRC in…
Read MoreWill you be there?
Diaconal Ministries Canada and Christian Reformed Home Missions invite you to join us at the Day of Encouragement this Saturday in Ancaster, Ontario. There will be times of sharing and connecting, great worship, and plenty of opportunities to be equipped in all different areas of ministry in your church and community. Our theme for this year is Mess…
Read MoreDoing Justice to Short-Term Mission Trips
Short-term mission trips are a hot topic in the Christian Reformed Church right now, and in the broader Western church in general. Millions of North Americans travel to both far off and nearby places every year with the intention of sharing the good news of Christ to those living in poverty, or places where the…
Read MoreA Step Towards Reconciliation
“When you hear about all the assimilation policies one after the other, you sit back and think ‘whoa,’” says Shannon Perez. Shannon has experienced and led the Blanket Exercise, an interactive workshop developed by KAIROS that walks participants through the history of Canada from the perspective of Indigenous peoples, dozens of times. As a Sayisi…
Read MoreA Part of the Body
I was born and raised in the Christian Reformed Church. My parents were missionaries in the Navajo Nation. As a passionate believer, I witnessed to my playmates and started begging to take communion when I was seven because I had asked Jesus into my heart. I expected that God would one day call me to…
Read MoreAdvocacy: It’s Not as Hard as It Sounds
Advocate. It’s a word we hear every once in a while. No, it is not a smooth green fruit that gets turned into guacamole. And no, it’s not a liqueur made with eggs, sugar and brandy. (Yep, I’m talking about the Dutch liqueur known as Advocaat. Yuck.) Jokes aside, advocacy is an activity we talk…
Read MoreChanging the Conversation about Climate Change
Climate change, global warming, and the greenhouse effect—we’ve heard the same language over and over again. The earth is getting too hot, it’s happening too fast, and humanity is to blame. And, while the scientific consensus is overwhelmingly positive that global warming is real and being caused by humans (97% of scientists), some Christians disagree.…
Read MoreShowing Your God-Colours
This fall I helped start a Generous Space group in BC’s Fraser Valley. Simply put, Generous Space is a bible study for people and allies of the LBGTQ+ Community. If you asked me five years ago if this is where I saw myself headed, I would have laughed. Six years ago, my husband of 15…
Read MoreLiving Justly: A Conversation with Christian Trans* Advocate Tori Phillips
(In the above photo, Tori Phillips is on the top left.) By Rachel Vroege, DMC Staff Note: DMC has recently launched a new LGBTQ+ vulnerable people group webpage. To see the webpage, click here. To see the previous blog post explaining this webpage, click here. I first met Tori just over a year ago after a…
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