Justice/Reconciliation

Nikki Toyama-Szeto on Hoping in God Despite Injustice

Individuals and congregations sometimes despair while working for justice. Sometimes they forget that although God invites us to join in justice work, God remains in charge of changing the world. That’s why it’s crucial for justice seekers to stay rooted in Christian community and worship.

September 19, 2022
Rebekah Eklund on Practicing Lament

Congregations become more relevant and biblical when they follow the Bible’s lead in bringing lament into worship. Rebekah Eklund’s book "Practicing Lament" shows churches, small groups, and individuals how to voice penitential lament and protesting lament. Learning to practice lament can reconnect people with God and help churches grow in “members of one body” solidarity.

August 22, 2022 | 6 min read
Christ-Centered Pathways of Reconciliation in Christian Life & Worship

What can ministry and worship look like among people who are bitterly opposed to each other? Around the world, congregations gather for worship every week, defining themselves by how they’re different from other nearby Christian worshiping communities. A conversation with Munther Isaac, Ann Kapteyn, Najla Kassab, Kiran Young Wimberly, moderated by John D. Witvliet

December 2, 2021 | 69 min video

Christ-Centered Pathways of Reconciliation in Christian Life and Worship

What can ministry and worship look like among people who are bitterly opposed to each other? Around the world, congregations gather for worship every week, defining themselves by how they’re different from other nearby Christian worshiping communities. Sometimes these communities carry with them memories of violence, genocide, and the resulting immeasurable trauma. Reflect on insights from Christian leaders in Rwanda, Ukraine, and Hungary about their call to walk in step with the Holy Spirit on journeys of Christ-centered reconciliation, noticing the significant role public worship plays in announcing, praying for, and modeling renewed patterns of Christian life. This is a YouTube Video Premiere panel discussion.

November 15, 2021 | 68 min video
Anti-Racism in the Renewing of Christian Worship.

May God give us grace and strength to resist lies, arrogance, injustice, racism, and oppression in all forms. In worship, we are called to confess sin, to lament brokenness, and to pray for the end of these travesties, even as we are called to preach and celebrate sacramentally the gospel of Jesus Christ—in which power is made perfect in weakness, in which each person and culture is cherished as God’s gift, in which our hope is based on the life, death, resurrection, and continuing ministry of our ascended Lord, Jesus Christ. We long for a seamless connection between faithful public worship and vital Christian witness in every sector of society and in every cultural context.

July 6, 2021

Two Pastors on Christian Worship in Politically Divided Times

Many preachers and congregations claim that politics have no place in their worship. But pastors Meg Jenista Kuykendall and Katie Ritsema-Roelofs say that addressing public issues in worship is essential for congregations to become to Christlike communities.

June 9, 2021
Christine McAteer on the Coronavirus and Bus Chaplaincy

During the COVID-19 pandemic, bus drivers and other public transport workers have been praised as essential workers. Yet they remain largely invisible to those with the option to travel by private automobile. Your church can include bus drivers and other essential workers in congregational prayers.

May 12, 2021
Lee Hardy on Housing, Justice, and Worship

Completing a grant project on faith communities and affordable housing convinced Lee Hardy that justice and worship are internally linked. That’s why he says worship services should include housing justice, and Christians and congregations should advocate to change unjust systems.

March 1, 2021

Faith Communities and Safe Dwelling Places

Philosopher and author Lee Hardy noticed derelict buildings near his church for decades before realizing that faith-based communities have valuable resources to address the affordable housing crisis.

March 1, 2021
2018 JJ Thiessen Lecture #1 - Prayers of the People and a Cruciform Pastoral Imagination

Violence, Injustice, Trauma, and the Ordinary Practices of Christian Worship in a Social Media Age, a 3-part lecture series with Dr. John Witvliet

February 11, 2021
2018 JJ Thiessen Lecture #2 - Praise Beyond Cliché and Other Practices of Transfigured Cruciform Engagement

Violence, Injustice, Trauma, and the Ordinary Practices of Christian Worship in a Social Media Age, a 3-part lecture series with Dr. John Witvliet

February 11, 2021