IN OUR BONESabolition

All about conferenceDisarm the Dark

“The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart,And saves such as have a contrite spirit.

Many are the afflictions of the righteous,But the Lord delivers him out of them all.

He guards all his bones;Not one of them is broken.”

psalm 34:18

7:00 Community Night Intro to trafficking & Gospel Justice

9:00 Sexual Exploitation & the Hope of Glory

10:00 Pause 

10:30 Forced Labor & the Cost of Discipleship

11:30 Lunch

1:00  Workshop (One of 3 Choices)

2:30  Pause

3:00  The Unexpected Walk to Freedom

4:00  End of Conference

CONFERENCE isAbolition in our Bones is a way to export abolition to communities. To equip people to pursue justice within their local context through a clearer understanding of the every day dynamics exploitation is built upon.

To this end, our conference foregoes much of the time and attention spent by awareness campaigns on the issue of trafficking; omitting the tragedy in favor of illuminating root causes and turning the conversation toward building resilience.

The three P’s of anti-trafficking are:• Prevention• Protection• Prosecution

We have found that the majority of the conversation about trafficking centers on rescue and relief (or protection and prosecution), while the first and perhaps most vital aspect of combatting trafficking is left to little more than table talk.

The most difficult call to action is the one that cannot be quantified. The way is unknowable and when abolition is pursued properly, the outcomes are virtually immeasurable. We are left with nothing more than God’s promises to stand upon.

As the church, we are the only ones in the midst of the abolition movement who are not limited to professionalism, protocols and funding priorities. We are in a unique position to answer the call of prevention and to accept the cost of providing sustainable outcomes in people’s lives.

Our conference uses the framework of human trafficking to deal directly with costly results of complacency toward the great commission and the call to live our lives as something laid down to bring life to others.

“Of those whom You gave Me I have lost none.” - John 18:9

friday

saturday

A night to gather your community for a look at the basic facts and figures of the world’s fastest growing illegal syndicate. An introduction to the main types of trafficking, how it is defined and the international tools that are in place to address it. Once all the pieces are on the table we will

Jesus’ walk toward the cross was marked and made possible by the failure to recognize justice in the moment - we believe injustice is able to permeate so much of our society for the same reason today. This is a night with a two-fold purpose: To set the tone for the rest of conference but to also raise awareness in our communities and reclaim our understanding of justice through the life lived and laid down by Christ.

An Introduction to Human Trafficking & Gospel Justice

Accounting for roughly 70% of all modern day slavery, sexual exploitation is an inconceivably vast problem with very simple roots. In this session we will focus our attention on child exploitation, sexual tourism and sources for recruitment the world over.

We will look at the mechanics of trafficking and the vulnerability factors that are present in varying degrees in all of our lives. From scripture we will glean a better understanding of what leads women and children into mass exodus and how their lives are not so different from our own. As the church we gather a set of good habits that will help us build resilience and be a refuge in our communities.

Sexual Exploitation & the Hope of Glory

The sister attribute of trafficking is forced labor - it is the catch all for all other forms of exploitation that are not of a specifically sexual nature. It is a broad spectrum of ages, socio economic realities and expressions of force.

As a baseline to prevention it is vital to understand not only who is being trafficked but what conditions within our cities and industries allow for it to thrive unchecked. Our labor laws exist in black and white, however, the reality is a far more complex collection of grays - making it difficult to distinguish free will from force.

In order to understand the difference between opportunity and oppression, we ill turn directly to the great commission and the call on our lives to follow Christ at all cost.

Forced Labour & the Cost of Discipleship

Friday Night

SaturdayMorning

A LOOK AT UNDERLYING CAUSES

A NIGHT FOR ANYONE AND ALL

SaturdayAfternoon

A CHOICE OF THREE WORKSHOPSSex as an Industry & the BelovedIn this workshop we will address the economics of the sex industry: how a girl is made, marketed, sold and the demand that drives it all. We will look at the psychological and physical impacts of prostitution alongside the more subtle but enduring effects of living a stigmatized life.

As told by three women in the Gospel, we will learn directly from Jesus how to dismantle stigma by properly discerning between the someone and the sin. Individuals will be challenged to reflect on their own treatment, conceptions and compassion for the church - the body, bride and beloved of Christ.

Migrant Workers & the Ethics of IndustryAgricultural workers and other migratory or manual labor jobs present a unique series of questions in the trafficking paradigm. For this workshop we will explore not only the difficulties faced by workers, but also their employers as they try to navigate government bureaucracy, remain competitive and walk a thin line between profit and proper treatment.

Drawing on the wisdom of scripture we will outline plumb-lines for discerning situational ethics and establish a short list of best practices for escalation, empowerment and reporting to proper authorities.

Organized Crime and Potential in Our YouthOppression takes on a variety of forms, but what does it look like at a systemic level? In this workshop we take a look at how gangs are formed, various approaches to crime reduction and the very real identity crisis taking place underneath it all.

As adopted sons and daughters, we will reflect on how we can work to reverse crime trends by finding our identity more fully in Christ. If we dared to fully surrender ourselves to the grace God gave us through fellowship with one another and let our focus shift from better behavior, to better belonging.

Conference Close

CASTING VISION FOR MODERN ABOLITIONThe Unexpected Walk to FreedomThe closing session of conference is an intimate look at how Jesus rendered justice in the lives of people around Him, in all His humanity. A moment to recognize together that the great challenge looming before us is not to rise to the occasion of sudden peril - but in the actuality of rendering justice in our churches, our communities and in the lives of people we can actually reach.

We believe that the local church is God’s answer to every sort of modern injustice, that it is not Him who is silent toward the cries of the oppressed - but a caution within our hearts that is afraid any real answer would cost too much. Abolition in Our Bones is about casting a vision for a paradigm shift within our culture, within HIs house.

Forming a Common Vocabulary

Gathering Collective Knowledge

Identifying Objectives

Inspiring Ideas for Action

A Review of Abolition Concepts

Theory Behind Community Building

Assessment of Priorities

Identification of Information Gaps

COMMUNITYabolitionDisarm the Dark is a grassroots collective that was formed in response to the simple but vast disparity that exists between the front-line efforts and the local community.

We believe that without effectively engaging entire communities to recognize and participate in prevention and provision of sustainable outcomes; human trafficking will continue to outpace abolition efforts.

Abolition in Our Bones is about creating closed circuits between vision and visible shifts in our lives. In order to do this, we must make a conscious move from the visceral world of good intent to the cities we live in and the people we can reach.

A vision cast in three parts:

CONFERENCE is designed to be an d i a l o g u e t h a t w e i g h s c o l l e c t i v e conscience against the emerging insights on trafficking in persons. As we work through the material we will pose

questions and record our current understanding of your community. We will use the conversation as the building blocks in creating a vision plan specific to your community. OUR PART following the conference we will assess the data gathered and translate it into a proposal for abolition. We will use the snapshot provided by conference and pair it with best practices of community building, prioritize action steps and identify gaps in information.

YOUR PART will be to help us identify two or three people who will function as liaisons and assist in completing a community action plan. They will also be the points of contact going forward as we continue to dialogue and facilitate cohesion between abolition efforts.

Together we will begin mapping the invisible world and addressing trafficking as an illness rather than an enemy.

“And the Lord answered me: “Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it.” - Habakkuk 2:2

collectively

vision cast

In keeping with the apostle’s doctrine we have made a conscious decision not to associate any cost with our part in the edification of the body of Christ. We are convinced that God will continue to place it in the hearts of people to provide for this ministry according to His purpose and with all joy.

We have also chosen not to pursue any outside funding that is not fully willing to recognize and protect our identity as a Christian ministry. This means that we will not accept funding from any source that would ask of us to dilute or adhere to any standard that deviates from our hope and desire to glorify God.

Underpinning the Ministry

A ministry of Calvary Chapel Montreal Regeneration

Bureau | 1 Weredale Park Westmount, QC H3Z 1Y5

www.calvarymontreal.com

Connect with us by contacting Andrea Marie | andrea@calvarymontreal.com

www.disarmthedark.org