“‘You will probably die at this table.’ That’s what my wife said.” Those are the words of John Olthuis, now in his 80s – former law firm partner who continues serving as senior counsel for treaty negotiations in Newfoundland and Labrador in a case that was started more than 30 years ago. In December 2023,…
Nine months have passed since that dark day when Hamas launched its surprise attack on Israel from its stronghold in Gaza. Since then, we have witnessed much suffering on the part of Palestinian civilians at the hands of the Israeli military. My wife and I regularly watch the PBS Newshour, which has thoroughly covered the…
Bondye konnen – God knows. This phrase is often spoken in the communities of Haiti. Not spoken in tones of hopelessness but with assurance, with the deep hope that even in the darkest situations, God’s light shines. He knows. It’s early Wednesday morning, 6 a.m., March 13, and I am being driven by our Children…
During a march to advocate for plastic waste reduction, I met a woman from Indonesia who wore a costume made of plastic waste from Canada that she found in a river near her home in Indonesia. She was in Ottawa to work for a new global plastics treaty. Her presence highlighted that something has gone…
“I do not see hope. I make hope. Hope is something I create,” said Israeli peace activist Maoz Inon, taking inspiration from a Palestinian activist who used the same words (you can read more in my article “Making hope, demanding peace” in CC‘s April 2024 issue). It is an admirable attitude to hold in the…
“I could not, not see the image of a table set with tea in the midst of rubble. It had been in my mind for years,” explains Karen Tamminga-Paton, the Alberta artist whose art installation, Peacetalks, recently exhibited at Revelstoke Visual Arts Centre in British Columbia. Tamminga-Paton was beginning an artist’s residency in France with…
A few weeks ago, Peter Schuurman and I were invited to speak at an Inter-Classis Safe Church Conference in Waterloo, Ontario hosted by the Christian Reformed Church. Peter talked about his experience at The Meeting House. I decided to focus on a big-picture question: what would happen if it was easier for sexual abuse victims…
Where do you see hope?” It’s a question that Maoz Inon, Israeli peace activist, learned to answer from a Palestinian peace activist, who said “I don’t see hope. I make hope. It’s something I create.” And since then, Inon said, he makes hope too – along with his family, individuals and organizations. It’s a task…
My home church has two pastors – one man, one woman. They’re not a married couple but two ordained ministers with different gifts and passions. I appreciate how they work together on sermon series, coming at a theme from multiple angles. I’m happy that kids in Hope Fellowship Christian Reformed Church (CRC) are hearing God’s…
“It all depends,” we say when we take context into consideration as we assess a situation. Reality rarely offers black-and-white certainty. While we learn to live with ambiguity in our daily lives, there is a growing demand for black-and-white answers on public ethical issues. There is tension between these two approaches to living a good…
Occasionally church members will receive emails in which their pastor appears to make out-of-character demands for gift cards, secret keeping and money. One of these messages might read something like this: “Are you less busy at the moment? I got a request for you to manage secretly. I will be going into a meeting in…
After more than 20 years working for a Canadian justice ministry, I am grateful for the opportunity to share some observations on the sacred calling of all Christians to be agents of justice, peace, and reconciliation. Small is okay When I first started at the Christian Reformed Centre for Public Dialogue in 2002, it was…
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