Archives For conference

Calling all justice-seekers

February 13, 2013 — Leave a comment

TJC_Simulcast_2013_550x245

I imagine that there are three kinds of people reading this, and I have something here for each of you:

  • For those in Phoenix who are already registered for The Justice Conference simulcast being held next Friday and Saturday (Feb. 22 – 23) at New City Church, this is to provide you with some additional details and to answer any questions you may have about the schedule, logistics, and other odds and ends.
  • For those in Phoenix who are still on the fence about attending, I hope these details will help sweeten the deal (hints: exclusive film screening, limited edition t-shirts, on-site breakout, food truck, etc).
  • For those who live nowhere near Phoenix, feel free to stop reading and watch this instead.

Okay, for those who are still with me and aren’t off watching pole vault bloopers on repeat, here are those promised details…

Schedule
The simulcast will include each of the nine main sessions of the conference, with two sessions on Friday evening and the remaining seven on Saturday. Since the conference is being held in Philadelphia, and the simulcast is occurring in real time, our schedule here accounts for time zone differences, and also includes on-site exclusives.

Friday, Feb. 22:

Saturday, Feb. 23

Exclusive Film Screening
As an official simulcast venue, immediately following Friday evening’s two main sessions we are hosting an exclusive screening of Not Today, an award-winning feature film about trafficking in India that will debut in select theatres in April.

On-site Breakout Session
In addition to the jaw-dropping list of main session speakers via simulcast, we’ll also have the opportunity to participate in an on-site breakout session on Saturday morning from 10 to 11 am. Kit Danley, president of Neighborhood Ministries in Phoenix, will help us think theologically and practically about what it means to seek justice with and for immigrants, a timely topic with the bipartisan promise of comprehensive immigration reform on the horizon. Kit will also interview Maryada Vallet, a Tucson-based border humanitarian, about her work and involvement with immigration-related advocacy campaigns.

OpportuniTees
Speaking of which, we’ve just confirmed that OpportuniTees, a member organization of Neighborhood Ministries, will have limited edition “justice” t-shirts for sale in both men’s and women’s styles. For those who aren’t familiar with OpportuniTees, the company empowers under-resourced individuals to develop and advance as members of their family, faith, and community, while producing high-quality clothing products. The “justice” shirts will be on sale for $15, so you’ll want to have cash on hand for those.

Food
We are really excited that the Kitchen on the Street Food Truck will be on hand all day on Saturday, Feb 23, offering a Global Street Food menu especially during our extended meal breaks in the morning and afternoon. Having had the opportunity to sample some of this food, I can assure you we’re in for a treat. Proceeds of food purchases will go to support KOS’ mission of fighting food insecurity among local Arizona children, so please do bring some cash and come ready to enjoy amazing food while supporting this great organization.

Exhibits
We’re still working out the final details, but we’re planning to have a few exhibits in the lobby so you can learn more about local justice-focused organizations and how to be involved. If your organization wants to get in on this, let’s talk ASAP.

Registration
Thanks to everyone who has helped us spread the word, and please keep doing so! Online registration is still available until February 21, the day before the event, but we will also have registration stations on-site for the real slackers among you (assuming there’s still room). For groups of 8 or more, we can offer you an amazing deal, so ask me how you can get in on that.

Any other questions? Simply email or tweet them to me!

In Justice , , , ,
permalink

An invitation to The Justice Conference – Phoenix Simulcast

December 26, 2012 — 3 Comments

justice-sign

One of the highlights of 2012 for Katie and me was the opportunity to attend The Justice Conference in Portland in February. We loved the chance to hear from provocative and thoughtful speakers (my notes are here), to participate in the topical pre-conference breakouts, to mill around in the exhibit hall, to catch up with friends new and old, and simply to experience Portland’s weirdness.

In 2013 (February 22 and 23, to be precise), the conference is moving across the country to Philadelphia, and once again the lineup is top-notch. For those who can make the trek – and for those already near the Philly area – it’ll be well worth your time to be there in person.

But for many others who don’t have the time, the money, or the inclination to travel, there’s great news: the conference will also be simulcast to cities across North America, including Phoenix! I happen to be coordinating the Phoenix simulcast, so if you live in this neck of the woods, I’d like to invite you to come (and to help us spread the word).

When? The simulcast will be live, corresponding to the main conference’s schedule, with two sessions Friday evening (the 22nd) and seven more on Saturday (the 23rd).

Who? The jaw-dropping list of speakers includes:

Where? The Phoenix simulcast will be held at New City Church (4331 N. Central Ave), conveniently located in Phoenix along the light rail and, as a matter of utmost importance, just a stone’s throw from Lux Coffee.

TJC_Simulcast_NoYear_Pos_RGBHow Much? All the basic info is available at the conference’s simulcast page, including pricing and the registration form. If you can, I’d recommend taking advantage of the Holiday Rate available through the end of the year (that’s next Monday!). We don’t know how quickly it’ll sell out, but space is somewhat limited, so please do register sooner than later.

If you have any questions, feel free to email me, tweet me, message me, or call me (if you’re privy to my number, that is).

All registration will happen through the conference’s site (here’s that link again), but we’ve also created a Facebook event page to help us (and you) spread the word. Please join us!

In Justice , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
permalink

Fighting slavery with a phone number

January 17, 2012 — Leave a comment

On Saturday Katie and I attended the first (annual?) Abolition Conference in Tucson at the University of Arizona, focused on local and global efforts to fight human trafficking and slavery (learn more about the problem here). It was presented by some great local players in the fight against slavery: Streetlight Tucson, Southern Arizona Against Slavery, and the U of A Honors College, and several other organizations participated. In the main sessions, we heard from three unique perspectives:

  • Kaign Christy with International Justice Mission spoke about the global scope of slavery and what IJM is doing to combat it, largely by strengthening local law enforcement in countries around the world.
  • Bradley Myles, executive director and CEO of Polaris Project, told us a bit about his organization’s work, as well as a number of very practical resources and reasons for hope that the fight against slavery will be won.
  • Linda Smith, former member of US Congress and founder of Shared Hope International, emphasized the story of one girl named Lacy, reminding us all that the victims of slavery are real people, not just statistics.

The conference was fairly well-attended and really well-organized, and it was encouraging to see so much energy around the anti-trafficking cause. It was also great that so many of the speakers focused on practical action steps, rather than just giving us information or making us feel terrible about things (which would be easy to do at an anti-trafficking conference).

Of all the great practical action steps, the single most important take-away was learning about the 24/7/365 toll-free hotline, provided by the National Human Trafficking Resource Center. They are working on ramping up a nationwide network with information about law enforcement and social services in every city in the country so when someone calls with a tip or a request, they can be connected with those in a position to help in their own city. Here’s information on all the hotline is used for:

The number is 1-888-3737-888. I added the hotline’s number to my phone book, and I hope you’ll do the same. Please help spread the word so that those who buy and sell human beings, at least here in the US, would find that they can no longer get away with it.

But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. (Amos 5:24)

[Photo credit: End Human Trafficking Now!]

In Justice , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
permalink

Zero Down Development

November 16, 2011 — Leave a comment

After a wonderful wedding and honeymoon, and a corresponding break from all things Internet, I’m slowly but surely going to be blogging again — though probably not quite as frequently as before, at least for now. I’ll kick things off by highlighting what looks to be a really cool event.

My friends at the Association for Development through Education in Costa Rica, with whom I lived and worked for a couple of months in early 2010, are planning a conference for January that will certainly be one unlike any other conference you’ve ever been to. In partnership with a Costa Rican seminary, a mission organization and a community health group, they’ll be exploring the “zero down” development model ADE is using, and considering its wider implications for various sectors in different places. Here’s the blurb:

A bilingual conference looking at answers to the tough questions of the interaction between faith, missions, money, and development. No one is coming with all the answers, but as we come together, learn from each other, and look specifically at the “zero down” model we hope to take steps forward to further understand these difficult relationships.

Here’s the conference promo video (also available in Spanish):

If you’re interested in reading more about my experiences with ADE, here are a few posts from that time:

  • I wrote about teaching English via Cha Cha Slide here;
  • I gave a Palm Sunday sermon about Jesus, friend of chorizeros, described here; and
  • I gave a video tour of the community and house where I lived here.

Please do learn more about ADE and their Zero Down development conference.

In Justice , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
permalink

Weekend Video: Love Is A Thread

October 8, 2011 — Leave a comment

Love Is A Thread from The Justice Conference on Vimeo.

In Justice , , , , , , , , ,
permalink