Association of Vineyard Churches launches “Justice Response” website

On January 18, the Association of Vineyard Churches launched the “Justice Response” website designed to equip pastors and lay leaders to address international and domestic human trafficking.

THE ANTI-SLAVERY MISSION OF JUSTICE RESPONSE

Did you know that men, women and children are being bought and sold…right in front of us? We’re talking about the modern-day equivalent of slavery: Human Trafficking.

From Asia and Europe, from the Middle East and the Americas and Africa, almost a million people are caught in trafficking around the world, mostly women and children. An estimated 17,500 foreign nationals are trafficked annually into the United States alone, not to mention an estimated 300,000 American children at-risk for domestic trafficking(trafficked within our own borders). These victims of modern-day slavery are being forced to live under oppression in the underground sex industry and labor market, and it is happening in the towns and cities where we live – it is happening where we minister.

OK, what do we do? The Vineyard Anti-Slavery Team(VAST) is gathering and connecting those who have a heart for this ministry of justice for the oppressed. Justice Response is a resource site and a connecting place for us to come together to learn more about human trafficking, train the people in our churches to respond thoughtfully and strategically, pray against it and intercede for the victims and survivors, empowering those within our communities who are at-risk of being trafficked, and effectively serving victims and survivors. We invite you to listen and look for what the Father might already be calling you to do in your community. If this issue touches your heart, please join us as we seek to follow the Father in the fight against human trafficking.

WHAT CAN I DO?

One way to start the journey is to check out and consider joining the Love146 Faith Community Network and Love146 Task Forces: http://www.love146.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=65357

You can join the North Jersey Vineyard Love 146 Task Force by contacting Jenni Weese.

Click here for more ideas.

TO DONATE

Donating is a simple as a text:

-$5 donation:  Text LOVE to 85944
-$10 donation:  Text LOVE146 to 85944

or visit www.Love146.org

Love 146 Craft Sale… now through Christmas!

The Love 146 Craft Sale will begin Sunday, November 29, and continue every week through December 20.  Crafty items such as handknitted and handcrocheted scarves, handmade Christmas ornaments, jewelry and much much more will be available for purchase.  Many items will be donated from our very own craft life group!

Make sure you take a look– you may find the perfect Christmas gift for someone special in your life!

All proceeds to benefit Love 146.

If you would like to donate your crafty creations for sale, please speak to Jenni Weese or email her at jweese77@hotmail.com.

Happy crafting and happy shopping!

Wanna help make $50K for Love146???

Love146 has a chance to win $50,000!

To win, between now and November 7th we have to get the most donations to our Cause on Facebook.
The great thing about this Challenge is that it doesn’t matter how much you give, but instead how much you do to encourage friends and family to get involved.
It’s going to take a collective effort on behalf of all of us, but we know we can do it!  Let’s remember the words of Desmond Tutu:

So here’s the deal….

1.  Follow this link and donate $10 to Love146 (if you want, you could even do it once a day and each time it will count as a new donation!)

2.  Email this to at least 10 friends encouraging them to do the same

It’s that simple.  10 dollars.  10 friends.

Let’s take America’s Giving Challenge as our latest opportunity to SHOUT FOR FREEDOM!

As always, we’re grateful for the mass of abolitionists we have to call on!  Thanks for your support!

Peace & Abolition!

The Love146 Team

Mailing Address:
Love 146
P.O. Box 8266
New Haven, CT 06530
US

Contact Name: Anastasia Delaney
Telephone Number: (203) 772-4420

The Daughter Deficit

Have you heard?  Millions of girls are missing in the world.  Due to abortions, neglect after birth or infanticide, fewer girls are being born and reaching the age of five than their male counterparts.

Why?

In parts of the world where boys are culturally valued above girls, parents are choosing to invest in their male children rather than their female children.  Boys are seen as a kind of social security– able to provide for parents in their old age, able to inherit property, and confer social status as they age and (hopefully) prosper.  Even in countries where women are able to inherit land, many are pressured or even murdered when they try to claim what’s theirs.

In India and China, 1.5 million fewer girls are born each year than demographics would predict, and more girls die before they turn 5 than would be expected.  More grow up physically and intellectually stunted because they are denied access to healthcare and education that their brothers are allowed.

To make matters worse, studies have shown that development in some countries seems to raise the probability that a mother will favor boys over girls:

Among policymakers, the conventional wisdom is that such selective brutality toward girls can be mitigated by two factors. One is development: surely the wealthier the home, the more educated the parents, the more plugged in to the modern economy, the more a family will invest in its girls. The other is focusing aid on women. The idea is that a mother who has more money, knowledge and authority in the family will direct her resources toward all her children’s health and education. She will fight for her girls.

Yet these strategies — though invaluable — underestimate the complexity of the situation in certain countries. To be sure, China and India are poor. But in both nations, girls are actually more likely to be missing in richer areas than in poorer ones, and in cities than in rural areas. Having more money, a better education and (in India) belonging to a higher caste all raise the probability that a family will discriminate against its daughters. The bias against girls applies in some of the wealthiest and best-educated nations in the world, including, in recent years, South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore. It also holds among Indian immigrants in Britain and among Chinese, Indian and South Korean immigrants in the United States. In the last few years, the percentage of missing girls has been among the highest in the middle-income, high-education nations of the Caucasus: Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia.

Sadly, it seems that in some parts of South Asia, “When women’s power is increased, they use it to favor boys.”

What can be done?

To be sure, development can eventually lead to more equal treatment for girls: South Korea’s birth ratios are now approaching normality. But policymakers need to realize that this type of development works slowly and mainly indirectly, by softening a son-centered culture. The solution is not to abandon development or to stop providing, say, microcredit to women. But these efforts should be joined by an awareness of the unintended consequences of development and by efforts, aimed at parents, to weaken the cultural preference for sons.

Read the rest of the article here.  In the meantime, love love love your girls.

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