Hey Doug -- I think you're actually describing our Church Between Borders workshops. If you're looking for a venue to "explain the nuances of immigration, the law, the reality, the history, the various economic impacts (both macro and microeconomic), etc., and then let CRCNA members and others form their own more informed conclusions, about more questions than they first even realized existed" we'd love to come to your church. ;)
Ken, thanks for your comment and your attention to this detail. You're right -- this line might be overstated, or at least portray the situation to be more black-and-white than it really is. I appreciate the feedback! Here's the best of my knowledge of this situation, in a bit more detail (and I'm not an expert on agriculture!). The good news is that the seeds that were given to Haiti were not genetically modified seeds, which the Haitian government rejected due to Haitian people's strong suspicion of those types of seeds. Also, the hybrid seeds they're sending instead are supposed to yield a larger harvest. That means more food. The bad news is that these seeds will need to be repurchased each year. So there are some major concerns associated with these seeds: 1) Haitians will have to buy seeds year after year, and Monsanto may stand to benefit from this kind of dependence, 2) There are concerns that these hybrid seeds will require more fertilizer and pesticide use to grow well, increasing environmental and health concerns in Haiti. 3) There is a tradition of native seeds in Haiti that are saved and sold locally, and that are adapted to Haiti's unique microclimate. This gift will have a big impact on that local market (since these gifted seeds will be sold at greatly reduced prices), as well as on the sustainability of this traditional agricultural practice. Here's a helpful article about Catholic Relief Services' concern about this: http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1002286.htm. I do appreciate your careful eye, though, and think you're right that the sentence is misleading. Things are more complex than I let on. Thanks for keeping me accountable.
Thanks for the comment, Pastor T. I'm happy to explain further. There's a good overview of the system's injustices on the Office of Social Justice website: http://www.crcna.org/pages/osj_immbackground.cfm And the unjust practices of enforcement I was referring to are things like mass workplace raids (which punish workers and their families, but not the employers who hired them), a significant acceleration of detention and deportation of immigrants, and a total lack of resource management when it comes to targeting criminal immigrants instead of workers. This has resulted in a separation of families, a worsening of the economies that have been subject to raids, an increased backlog of people waiting for their day in immigration court, and a lot of problems for pastors (maybe like you!) of churches in our denomination who are trying to minister with and to immigrants in their communities. Hope that's helpful.
Hey Michael, The conference was a Saturday gathering of folks in the West Michigan area who wanted to talk about how to be engaged in justice right now. There were a number of workshops that covered topics like restorative justice, education, immigration, justice in Honduras, human trafficking, racial justice, and lots more. It was the second annual conference of this kind -- both this year's and last year's were sponsored by the Office of Social Justice and the Association for a More Just Society. The education conversation that Noah was referring to was part of a panel discussion on justice in education, where representatives of the Grand Rapids Public School board, Grand Rapids Christian Schools, Potters House, and a new school called Living Stones all spoke to seeking justice in our community's education system. Does that answer your question?
Posted in: #CRClistens: I Think It's More Complicated Than That
Hey Doug -- I think you're actually describing our Church Between Borders workshops. If you're looking for a venue to "explain the nuances of immigration, the law, the reality, the history, the various economic impacts (both macro and microeconomic), etc., and then let CRCNA members and others form their own more informed conclusions, about more questions than they first even realized existed" we'd love to come to your church. ;)
Posted in: Why Christians Should Be Involved in Advocacy
Ken, thanks for your comment and your attention to this detail. You're right -- this line might be overstated, or at least portray the situation to be more black-and-white than it really is. I appreciate the feedback! Here's the best of my knowledge of this situation, in a bit more detail (and I'm not an expert on agriculture!). The good news is that the seeds that were given to Haiti were not genetically modified seeds, which the Haitian government rejected due to Haitian people's strong suspicion of those types of seeds. Also, the hybrid seeds they're sending instead are supposed to yield a larger harvest. That means more food. The bad news is that these seeds will need to be repurchased each year. So there are some major concerns associated with these seeds: 1) Haitians will have to buy seeds year after year, and Monsanto may stand to benefit from this kind of dependence, 2) There are concerns that these hybrid seeds will require more fertilizer and pesticide use to grow well, increasing environmental and health concerns in Haiti. 3) There is a tradition of native seeds in Haiti that are saved and sold locally, and that are adapted to Haiti's unique microclimate. This gift will have a big impact on that local market (since these gifted seeds will be sold at greatly reduced prices), as well as on the sustainability of this traditional agricultural practice. Here's a helpful article about Catholic Relief Services' concern about this: http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1002286.htm. I do appreciate your careful eye, though, and think you're right that the sentence is misleading. Things are more complex than I let on. Thanks for keeping me accountable.
Posted in: Immigration Reform: Synod, Obama, and You?
Thanks for the comment, Pastor T. I'm happy to explain further. There's a good overview of the system's injustices on the Office of Social Justice website: http://www.crcna.org/pages/osj_immbackground.cfm And the unjust practices of enforcement I was referring to are things like mass workplace raids (which punish workers and their families, but not the employers who hired them), a significant acceleration of detention and deportation of immigrants, and a total lack of resource management when it comes to targeting criminal immigrants instead of workers. This has resulted in a separation of families, a worsening of the economies that have been subject to raids, an increased backlog of people waiting for their day in immigration court, and a lot of problems for pastors (maybe like you!) of churches in our denomination who are trying to minister with and to immigrants in their communities. Hope that's helpful.
Posted in: Religious Education
Hey Michael, The conference was a Saturday gathering of folks in the West Michigan area who wanted to talk about how to be engaged in justice right now. There were a number of workshops that covered topics like restorative justice, education, immigration, justice in Honduras, human trafficking, racial justice, and lots more. It was the second annual conference of this kind -- both this year's and last year's were sponsored by the Office of Social Justice and the Association for a More Just Society. The education conversation that Noah was referring to was part of a panel discussion on justice in education, where representatives of the Grand Rapids Public School board, Grand Rapids Christian Schools, Potters House, and a new school called Living Stones all spoke to seeking justice in our community's education system. Does that answer your question?