“My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.  - Thomas Merton (part 1)

Trump Proposes U.S. Takeover of Gaza and Says All Palestinians Should Leave

President Trump declared on Tuesday that the United States should seize control of Gaza and permanently displace the entire Palestinian population of the devastated seaside enclave, one of the most brazen ideas that any American leader has advanced in years. Hosting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel at the White House, President Trump said that all two million Palestinians from Gaza should be moved to countries like Egypt and Jordan because of the devastation wrought by Israel’s campaign against Hamas after the terrorist attack of Oct. 7, 2023. “The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it too,” President Trump said at a news conference Tuesday evening. “We’ll own it and be responsible” for disposing of unexploded munitions and rebuilding Gaza into a mecca for jobs and tourism. Control over Gaza has been one of the major flash points of the Arab-Israeli conflict for decades, and the idea of relocating its Palestinian residents recalls an era when great Western powers redrew the maps of the region and moved around populations without regard to local autonomy.

Lord God, this brazen disregard for the sovereignty, history, and suffering of Palestinians continues to reach new levels of hubris and insult. We pray for responsible global partners to step in and serve as a deterrent to those who wish to inflict their will on an already suffering people.

Trade War with Canada, Mexico Halted as Proposed Tariffs Paused

President Donald Trump on Monday agreed to a 30-day pause on his tariff threats against Mexico and Canada as America’s two largest trading partners took steps to appease his concerns about border security and drug trafficking. The pauses provide a cool-down period after a tumultuous few days that put North America on the cusp of a trade war that risked crushing economic growth, causing prices to soar and ending two of the United States’ most critical partnerships. The pause followed a similar move with Mexico that allows for a period of negotiations over drug smuggling and illegal immigration. The 10% tariff that Trump ordered on China is still set to go into effect as scheduled on Tuesday, though Trump planned to talk with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the next few days. 

As the U.S. government proposes tariffs on Canadian and Mexican goods, we pray for and remember the most vulnerable who will be affected by these policies and this potential trade war. We continue to offer prayers for our political leaders, asking for wisdom and empathy, that their policies may reflect a posture of kindness and Christ-like love

Hundreds of women raped and burned to death after Goma prison set on fire

Hundreds of women were raped and burned alive during the chaos after a Rwandan-backed rebel group entered the Congolese city of Goma last week. The female inmates were attacked in their wing inside Goma’s Munzenze prison during a mass jailbreak, according to a senior UN official. The deputy head of the UN peacekeeping force based in Goma, Vivian van de Perre, said that while several thousand men managed to escape from the prison, the area reserved for women was set on fire. Images taken shortly after Rwandan-backed M23 rebels reached the centre of Goma reveal vast plumes of black smoke rising from the prison on the morning of 27 January. Although details of the incident are scarce, the atrocity appears to be the worst of the recent M23-led conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. UN peacekeepers, however, have been unable to visit the prison to investigate further because of restrictions imposed by the M23 rebels, meaning the identity of the perpetrators remains unclear. On Tuesday, it emerged that about 2,000 bodies were still awaiting burial in Goma after M23 fighters seized Goma, capital of the DRC’s North Kivu province, on January 27.

Lord, have mercy. 

Christ, have mercy.

May the evil and wicked who committed this hellish acts of violence be brought to justice.

May the memories of those now lost be a blessing.

Lord, have mercy.

Christ, have mercy.

Temperatures at north pole 20C above average and beyond ice melting point

Temperatures at the north pole soared more than 20C above average on Sunday, crossing the threshold for ice to melt. Temperatures north of Svalbard in Norway had already risen to 18C hotter than the 1991–2020 average on Saturday, according to models from weather agencies in Europe and the US, with actual temperatures close to ice’s melting point of 0C. By Sunday, the temperature anomaly had risen to more than 20C. “This was a very extreme winter warming event,” said Mika Rantanen, a scientist at the Finnish Meteorological Institute. “Probably not the most extreme ever observed, but still at the upper edge of what can happen in the Arctic.” Burning fossil fuels has heated the planet by about 1.3C since preindustrial times, but the poles are warming much faster as reflective sea ice melts. The increase in average temperatures has driven an increase in fiercely hot summers and unsettlingly mild winters.

Separately, the renowned climate scientist Prof James Hansen, recently said the international 2C target is “dead”. “The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPPC) defined a scenario which gives a 50% chance to keep warming under 2C – that scenario is now impossible,” he said. “The 2C target is dead, because the global energy use is rising, and it will continue to rise.”

God, we all can do more. We all have to do more. We must. Strengthen us to wage this great fight against our own economy, our own lifestyles, our own energy and livelihood. We must remake our lives with a profound ecological consciousness, such that we act swiftly and decisively now.

Becoming (part of) the Answer to our Own Prayers

Prayer and Call to Action on Immigration

In recent months the issue of immigration has come to the fore in the United States and, to a lesser extent, in Canada. In both of our countries, many of our CRCNA congregations have historically been, and continue to be, made up of immigrants.  Pray with us

Deacon Essentials

Introducing a leadership development course designed to equip those who are preparing to serve as a deacon or those who are deacons in the Christian Reformed Church. This 5-lesson, self-led course will orient your team to the teachings about deacons in the Bible, our confessions, and the ordination form for deacons. By the end of this course, you will have a deeper understanding of your role as a deacon and how you can participate in God's mission as it is uniquely embodied by your church.  Learn more »