Other IssuesThese links are to older issues that we followed as an office at one time, and also to issues that are of importance, but are not in the scope of the OSJ to follow at this time. We post them here for your information. Aboriginal JusticeGuide us, God, so that ancient wrongs may be redressed, broken promises forgiven, and a new covenant forged. The CRC in Canada has been ministering to the needs of urban Aboriginal people for almost 30 years, through first one, and then a second and third Aboriginal ministry centre in Winnipeg, Regina, and Edmonton respectively. We celebrate God's goodness in blessing these centres and we are thankful for the powerful impact they have in their communities. Learn more on the denominational website. In the Christian Reformed community, we celebrate relationships of healing and encouragement between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people and we lament those places where justice is not served. Click on the links below to learn more about this issue. National Aboriginal Justice Day (Canada) is June 21.
Anti-RacismThe Christian Reformed Church was established in the United States and Canada by Dutch immigrants who brought with them a heritage that is still a deep-rooted part of our church community. It is clear, however, that God's children are people of all races, colors, and cultures, and the CRC is actively striving to reflect the diversity of our world and among God's people. Please visit the CRC's Office of Race Relations to learn more and connect with others in this important ministry.
Issues: Human TraffickingGod reveals himself throughout the Bible as a God of justice, a God who hates injustice and who sees and hears the suffering of the oppressed: "he does not ignore the cry of the afflicted" (Psalm 9:12b). God commands his people to "seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow" (Isaiah 1:17-18), calling us to be his agents, empowered by the Holy Spirit, to demonstrate Christ’s love for the entire world. Today, millions of lives around the world are in the grip of injustice. An estimated 27 million children, women and men are enslaved, toiling in bondage--their work and even their bodies the property of an owner. In fact, the number of victims of human trafficking is so high that more people are currently held in slavery than over the course of the entire trans-Atlantic slave trade. Trafficking in humans generates profits in excess of 12 billion dollars a year for those who, by force and deception, sell human lives into slavery and sexual bondage. Given its current growth rate, human trafficking is expected pass drug trafficking as the second largest criminal industry in the world within the next decades. Human trafficking is inextricably linked to the oppression of women and girls: 80 percent of victims are female; the victims of sex trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation. By contrast, men in addition to women and children are held in bonded slavery, or conditions of continual forced labor under which the victim is unable to pay back a debt that increases at exorbitant interest rates. Powerful oppressors threaten, intimidate, beat, and abuse victims when they do not meet expectations and as means of restraint. It is overwhelmingly the poor who bear the burden of these abuses, because they lack access to their own justice systems and are unable to protect themselves or their families from those more powerful.
Learn MoreTake Action
UNICEF estimates that there are nearly two million children trapped in the commercial sex trade. But there is something you can do to help the children victimized by these terrible crimes. The Child Protection Compact Act (H.R. 2737) would increase U.S. support to eradicate child trafficking in countries that have the will to end these crimes but lack the necessary resources. These focus countries would receive support in building public justice systems that effectively investigate crimes against children and prosecute perpetrators in numbers sufficient to deter and eventually eliminate the crime. This central feature of the legislation was informed by IJM’s own experience in aiding foreign governments in combating trafficking. In addition, the legislation would authorize increased assistance for care for survivors of trafficking. Join us in advocating for the least of these!
Life IssuesHot topic issues of life and death ethics - abortion, stem cell research, the death penalty - are not included in the mandate of the OSJHA, which focuses mostly on a small set of justice issues that relate to root causes of poverty and hunger. However, because justice issues of life and death are, rightly so, of great importance to the CRC and broader church community, we have provided a few links here that we thought might be valuable resources.
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