We live in a time of an unprecedented global exodus as people flee from violence and unspeakable atrocities in places like Myanmar, Syria, El Salvador, Iraq, and South Sudan. More than 65 million people have been displaced globally. It’s staggering and complex. Twenty-five million of those are refugees and asylum-seekers, which is the highest number…
Category: Justice
Crossing the Divide
Violence and pain erupted and sent shock waves out across the United States last week revealing racial tensions that, if left unaddressed, will not go away. As someone who ministers cross-culturally, I seek to know and understand people in another part of the world by honoring them, respecting their history and dreams, and seeking to…
How Can We Address the Underlying Causes of Injustice?
“I am sure that none of you would want to rest content with the superficial kind of social analysis that deals merely with effects and does not grapple with underlying causes.” MLK Jr, Letter from a Birmingham Jail “Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only…
Speaking Up for the Value of Human Life
“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves.” Proverbs 31:8 55 million babies have been aborted in the U.S. since Roe vs Wade in 1973. I didn’t want to write about my recent trip to Auschwitz-Birkenau. It was deeply personal and moving, so I kept it private until the recent video came out of…
Where is God in Our Suffering?
I will never forget the day I met Victoria. It’s etched vividly in my mind. The day began with a bizarre, disconnected incident. Police banging on the door of our home in Kyiv broke the solitude of my Saturday morning as two officers kept commanding me to open the door. I looked into my daughter,…
Trafficking and Social Justice: A Voice for the Voiceless
She stood on the train platform away from the crowd, frozen in her tracks, disheveled, with a vacant stare that grew fearful as he approached. She clinched her hands by her side. She held no belongings to offer a semblance of security. “Where are you going?” he asked her. “What is your name?” Through broken…
When She Wakes, She Will Move Mountains
More than 200 Nigerian schoolgirls, age sixteen to eighteen, were abducted a few weeks ago by an al-Qaida-linked terrorist group, Boko Haram, which means “Western education is a sin”. They were taken from their school, loaded into trucks, and disappeared into the darkness of a dangerous world. Like the daughters I love, these girls were about to finish their…
Church and Revolution: Pray for Ukraine
As Russian troops are massed on the eastern border of Ukraine, it’s a tense situation. The reports from Crimea are grim. If there was ever a time to pray for the nation and the region, now is that time. As my thoughts and prayers are with the people there, I want tohonor their faith throughout…
On Suffering and Hope: Boston Bombings on Israel’s Day of Remembrance
At the finish line of a marathon, vulnerability and personal achievement mingle with sweat, tears and embraces. The culmination of a race affirms life. Many marathoners exemplified this by raising funds to donate to worthy causes. In this life-affirming setting, we were reminded once again that evil raises its ugly head in the most unwelcome moments. In…
Myra Watkins 