{"id":233,"date":"2011-08-25T22:20:16","date_gmt":"2011-08-25T22:20:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/women\/?p=233"},"modified":"2011-08-25T22:24:45","modified_gmt":"2011-08-25T22:24:45","slug":"it-happened-here","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/women\/2011\/08\/25\/it-happened-here\/","title":{"rendered":"It Happened in Chicago"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Human<\/a><\/p>\n

Photo illustration courtesy of Shared Hope, Intnl. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

This morning, Chicago media\u00a0carried a deeply troubling story about dozens of young girls\u2014some as young as 12\u2014who were rescued by police after being held against their will for many months. These girls were forced to perform unspeakable sex acts; at least one of them was bought and sold by one pimp to another for $100. The girls\u2014and dozens of women as well\u2014were recruited on El trains, via the Internet or by random conversations on the street. They were beaten and imprisoned, sometimes forced into automobile trunks and driven around for hours.\u00a0They are the face of human trafficking here at home.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

This is such an unbelievably sad and tragic story\u2014one we might be tempted to dismiss and move on from while enjoying our morning coffee.\u00a0But we cannot.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Historically the Covenant, and specifically, Women Ministries, cares deeply about issues of injustice like this, and we put feet to our concern by taking action.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Just last night I met with our Human Trafficking Task Force\u2014a wonderful team of dedicated volunteers.\u00a0Together we are working to create a valuable resource, called PROTECT, that will enable your church to address the issue of human trafficking in your own community. It provides tools to ensure that your church is helping teens stay off the \u201cat-risk\u201d track and avoid possible lures by traffickers; it teaches you how to recognize the signs of trafficking in a possible victim\u2014say, in a restaurant or your child\u2019s school\u2014and report them to those more qualified to handle the situation; it gives you guidelines for starting an anti-trafficking coalition in your church or community; and so much more.\u00a0<\/p>\n

We\u2019re developing the PROTECT resource as the next step in our Break the Chains initiative, and we are confident it will be a powerful tool in the hands of people in our congregations.\u00a0After reading today\u2019s story, it can\u2019t come soon enough.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I\u2019m blogging about this whole thing today, because it is so pertinent, and because the PROTECT resource is a part of this year\u2019s denominational project, called Just Women<\/a>. With Just Women, we\u2019re striving to inspire in us all the spirit of Lydia in Acts 16: 13-15 and 40<\/a> as she welcomed ex-prisoners Paul and Silas (and the budding new church at Philippi) into her home.\u00a0She was a \u201cjust\u201d woman\u2014one who acted justly\u2014as well as being a mere woman\u2014one whom God used powerfully as the very first European convert!\u00a0<\/p>\n

There is much more to tell about Lydia, but today, I wanted to point you to the pertinence of what we are doing with Just Women, and ask you to help us by giving a financial gift<\/a> now.\u00a0Your support of this project will go a long way in enabling us to complete the job and get this important resource in the hands of those who need it.\u00a0Let\u2019s get it done before it is too late!<\/p>\n

Report This Post<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This morning, Chicago media\u00a0carried a deeply troubling story about dozens of young girls\u2014some as young as 12\u2014who were rescued by police after being held against their will for many months. These girls were forced to perform unspeakable sex acts; at least one of them was bought and sold by one pimp to another for $100. 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