It was cold and dark when I left for the airport last Monday, March 24, at 5:00 AM. But the cold in pre-dawn Virginia was nothing compared to the climate in the beautiful Canadian capital of Ottawa. Inside the hotel, gathered for meetings with other religious freedom defenders from across the globe, the temperature and the collegiality were both warm and inviting. Outside, the chill factor dipped to 20 degrees below zero at least one day — the day, of course, when I walked to the Indian take-away restaurant!
Participants in this consultation of religious liberty partners came from various U.S. states and from such nations as the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Canada, Netherlands, Egypt, South Africa, Norway, India, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland, Germany, Korea, and Brazil. It was encouraging to hear about the work of some 50 Christian religious liberty groups, and what they are doing to help the persecuted.
But not only were religious freedom defenders gathered in Ottawa. We discovered that among our many speakers at the consultation, two of Canada’s own defenders of religious freedom within the Canadian government would be meeting with us. The Canadian government’s concern about religious freedom issues is not just lip service. In February 2013, Prime Minister Stephen Harper established the Office of Religious Freedom within the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.
The Office mandate is to fulfill “the Government of Canada’s pledge to speak out and to protect and promote religious freedom around the world.” In addition, the Office promotes freedom of religion or belief as a Canadian foreign policy priority. It focuses on countries or situations where there is “evidence of egregious violations of the right to freedom of religion, violations that could include violence, hatred and systemic discrimination.”
On Tuesday, March 25, we heard from Canada’s first Ambassador for Religious Freedom, Dr. Andrew P. W. Bennett. Dr. Bennett reiterated the Office mandate and added that religious freedom should be defended because “it is right and true,” and it is a “human right in concert with all other human rights.” Not only is a religious freedom a question of human rights, Bennett added, but of “human dignity.” Man is not just homo sapiens, but homo adorans, a worshiper of and seeker for God, Bennett, who is also a Christian historian and theologian, reminded us.
The next day we were addressed by the Honorable David Anderson, Member of Parliament for Cypress Hills-Grasslands (Saskatchewan), who seems to me to be the “Frank Wolf of Canada.” Like our U.S. congressman from Virginia, Mr. Anderson has a full plate of domestic issues including agriculture, the economy, natural resources, and veteran affairs. But he states on his website, “As an MP I have an obligation and moral responsibility to stand up for those who are unable to do so. People everywhere should possess the right to worship without being attacked, tortured, or taunted.” He has held three parliamentary forums on global religious freedom. This year, he plans a forum on religious freedom within Canada.
The organizations and individuals present at the Religious Liberty Partnership Consultation were encouraged by the Canadian Government’s serious attention to the persecuted and by these two men of integrity and purpose. We were also encouraged that both Dr. Bennett and MP Anderson are eager to hear from those who work with the persecuted and that they find our reports and other information very helpful to their own work.
Some at the consultation work in dangerous and heartbreaking situations — on the ground with bruised, broken, and battered members of the Body of Christ. Others of us work mainly outside these areas, doing advocacy. Speaking for myself, I am often heartbroken and frustrated by the “fat and happy” churches that seem to take little interest in our suffering brothers and sisters.
Meeting with the religious freedom defenders in Ottawa — confirming that there are many of us who care, and hearing from Dr. Bennett and MP Anderson, was a good reminder to me to be, as the Bible says, “steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”
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