Last weekend I had such an amazing time at the Justice Conference in central Oregon (The Riverhouse Hotel and Conference Center in Bend). I keep using the word amazing. But it was a little bit of that, mixed with inspiring, with educational, with exciting, with fun, with entertaining, with exhausting, with spiritually uplifting, with empowering!
I sincerely hope that those who volunteered and those who organized it (World Relief and Kilns College) make it an annual event.
I’ve been a bit busy, and writing about the two day event would take up hours for me! But I want to document something here, something to remind me of all I was blessed to take in. So to capture many of my own memories and some much better quality photos than I took, I found one of the speakers’ blogs ~ here are a few of Ken’s posts on last weekend’s Justice Conference:
- http://kenwytsma.com/?p=3229 The details and JC poster
- http://kenwytsma.com/?p=3265 Dr. Wolterstorff: Justice in Scripture
I learned so much, and am so grateful to God for my experience that I got to share with my fellow SCTNow friend and volunteer, Ms. Mary Dirksen…not to mention how the Director of (Mary Nguyen) and interns at Not For Sale – Oregon let me crash with them both nights in their cozy Sun River abode.
Check out this other video put together by the J.C. organizers: http://vimeo.com/20094845
This event just made my passion for justice, specifically in the church and lived out in my personal life {DAY to DAY} burn brighter than ever! No longer closing my eyes and ears to anyone who is hurting immensely. I will listen. I will notice. I will care. And I will do my very best to do what I can to respond. I want to do what God calls me to so that love and justice prevail in my life and Jesus may be seen a little bit more, here on earth.
…And saving the best little nugget for last in my post, below is the stunning, dead-on prayer written and then spoken at the beginning of the conference by Mr. Ken Wytsma:
God – lead us this weekend to hear the cry of the vulnerable and oppressed
Lead us to care for the weak and needy
Lead us to see others as brothers and sisters
Help us appreciate goodness, to love simply and not hide hypocrisy with rhetoricLet us embrace justice and mercy
Grant us humility
Supply us with enough faith to give our lives away
And bless us with strength when we grow wearyLORD, let the knowledge of your love;
Fuel our commitment
Inform our passions
Stir our gratitude
And help us transform the worldFor you and your Glory – Amen.
Chelan 