Social Justice Workshop Topics

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Plenary Topic: A 21st Century Reformation

Re-shaping the First World church around the poor

Presented by Greg Paul of Sanctuary Ministries

The core challenge for the first world evangelical church in the 21st Century will be to radically reform itself, such that people who are poor and otherwise excluded are found right at the centre of the church. This means moving beyond recognizing that 'caring for people who are poor or excluded' is an important aspect of proclaiming the gospel (we still haven't quite arrived there across the board), and right through the point where we will finally realize that seeking justice for the poor is, in fact, the primary means by which we proclaim the gospel, to the place where 'the poor' are embraced, not as 'others' to whom we reach out, but as the ones who are at the core of the very definition of 'us'.

Workshop Topics:

Discussion of Plenary Talk Using the plenary address as the foundation, Greg Paul will will engage participants in discussion of how such a ‘reformation’ might be effected.	Greg Paul
Calling All Fools! Why God’s call for Social Justice demands we bring all of who we are in order to serve with the greatest impact for His Kingdom. Learning how it is not just bringing your best to the table but exposing your worst. Using our pain and insecurities to build the bridge that connects us all	Helen Norris
Short-Term Missions: Helpful for International Development or Not? While it is trendy to participate in short-term missions, there is much debate as to whether it helps or hinders community development. During this presentation, we will discuss the pros and cons of these as well as give practical tools for discerning when and how short-term missions can be most beneficial for all.	Ida Kaastra-Mutoigo
How Now Shall We Live? One common theme of God's relationship with his people in Scripture is to give them glimpses of what it means to be a Kingdom citizen in an Empire-obsessed world. From the creation story to Sinai, through the prophets and through Jesus, God has been trying to get our attention to live the type of life we are still resisting today. Is a Christian defined by what they believe or how they live? How do we as Christians justify our daily participation in the profits of oppression, poverty and slavery? How now shall we live as Kingdom citizens in the centre of the Empire?	Ken Dryfhout
CODE RED: Mapping the Health of Hamilton Code Red is a unique Health Mapping project, never before tried in Canadian jounalism. Steve Buist and his team analyzed over 400,000 pieces of health data and were able to compare the health of hamiltonians down to the level of neighbourhoods. They found shocking differences in health outcomes between neighbourhoods in Hamilton. Learn more about this project and their findings.	Steve Buist
The Affordable Housing Issue in Hamilton This presentation will outline the scope of the affordable housing issues in Hamilton and the reasons it exists. It will look at the range of initiatives taken to ease the pressure of this issue and what and how Habitat for Humanity is doing locally. This issue will be put into the global context and Habitat for Humanity's local and global functions will be highlighted.	Robert McConkey
Poverty and Conflict, Severing the Link Participants will gain an understanding of the dynamics of conflict, the typical response of leaders to conflict, a perspective on transformational leadership, and critical components of conflict transformation. The back drop of this presentation will be the 2008 Post election Violence in Kenya.	Fred Witteveen
Bracelet of Hope: Conditions for a Global Miracle Dr. Anne Marie Zajdlik will discuss the Millenium Development Goals of the United Nations and our mandate to achieve goal six of combatting HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases in the small south-African country of Lesotho.	Dr. Anne Marie Zajdlik
Bonded Slave Labor in South Asia This presentation is a look into the evil of slavery that still exists today. There are an estimated 27 million people in slavery today throughout the world. Bonded slavery accounts for a good percent of that estimate. This presentation will explain what bonded slavery is, why it continues and what International Justice Mission is doing to try and abolish it.	Sharon Forbes
Restoring Justice to Victim-Offender Relationships This presentation will review the central concept of restorative justice with real-life examples, emphasizing the call for restoring human relations in the wake of crime.	Dr. Timothy Epp
Voice of Martyrs Do you know that in Somalia, it is said that: “The only Christian is a dead one?” In fact, in all of human history, more Christians have been persecuted in this century than all others combined? This includes the coliseum in Rome! Do you know that there are more than 200 million Christians in the world today who do not have full human rights as defined in the UN Declaration of human rights, just because they are Christians? In our presentation we will discuss these issues and more.	Trevor and Monica Difonzo-Ross
Exposing the Truth: Human Trafficking in Canada Discover the horrifying truths about the fastest growing crime in the world; the buying and selling of human beings. Learn about the retailer, the fuel, the prey, and the methodology behind the second largest crime in the world. Get empowered with the hope that is saving lives, including what your involvement can look like.	Naomi Baker