Canadian 'RJ' Group Launched
A national Restorative Justice association, which will work to bring the healing principles of this movement into many settings in Canada, was recently launched at a meeting that took place in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
The newly formed Canadian Restorative Justice Consortium (CRJC) is "about people and the healing of brokenness. The citizens of Canada and our respective communities and churches will be the better for it," reports Rev. John de Vries Jr., the Canadian Restorative Justice (RJ) coordinator for the Christian Reformed Church in North America.
Restorative Justice is a biblically based view of justice that attempts to engage people who have been hurt as well as affected communities in bringing about restoration, healing, and hope for the future. At its core, it's about relationships. It has been used frequently in criminal justice situations, helping victims of crime find healing through various means.
The principles of this form of justice, which is above all about bringing reconciliation between people, can be applied to churches, schools, community development programs and other organizations. The growing, wider application of the RJ movement is reflected in the formation of CRJC.
"People sometimes get stuck on the word 'justice' because it can suggest crime (and bad things) to them," says de Vries. But it is about restoring relationships in many areas of society. RJ is often a long, start-and-stop process, but it can have lasting results.
While John de Vries serves the CRC in Canada, the Rev. John Lamsma is RJ coordinator for the CRC in the US. For more information on this movement, visit: Restorative Justice CRC.
"It was an honor to attend and represent both the Christian Reformed Church and the Church Council on Justice and Corrections," writes de Vries in a report from the conference.
De Vries has been active on the executive committee of the Church Council on Justice and Corrections (CCJC), a national faith-based coalition of 11 founding churches, incorporated in 1972 with the focus on education, advocacy and community development initiatives that try to foster healthier communities and crime prevention through social responsibility, says the CCJC website.
More than 100 people participated in the mid-March meeting in Winnipeg, coming from across Canada and representing corrections, schools, community development organizations, municipal offices, churches, aboriginal Canadian groups, and others. "It could not have been a more diverse group united in a commitment to Restorative Justice practices," says de Vries.
A steering committee worked to develop the initial mission and direction for the new CRJC. More has to be done, though, to determine the approach the organization will take. Among the questions to be addressed: Will CRJC be a virtual association or will it have a physical office, or will it remain a connecting network, says de Vries.
"There are also the matters of research, public advocacy, a journal; the sharing of stories and more suggestions that were recorded for consideration and future implementation ... (but) whatever CRJC evolves into, it needs to grow incrementally. It will keep its staying power by ongoing dialogue with the grass roots practitioners. The CRJC must be clear what it is about and it should let itself 'grow' and evolve step by step rather than try to be all things to all people."
Other issues must be addressed such as establishing a board of directors for the organization. Nonetheless, says de Vries, the meeting in Winnipeg was a historic boost for the RJ movement.
"There are still many questions to answer, but now we celebrate that a CJRC has become a Canadian reality," says de Vries.
To contact de Vries, email: [email protected], or call 519-473-9599. John Lamsma can be reached by email: [email protected] or by phone: 706 444-0841.
