FH Canada’s unique virtual conference, Flourishing, will personally engage Canadians like you in the poverty conversation. Over the course of this two-day online gathering, you’ll be invited to deep dive into a biblical perspective on the root causes and solutions to poverty.
Speakers from across Canada, including keynote speaker Danielle Strickland, will challenge the common narrative that poverty is about a “lack of stuff” and assert that it’s really all about relationships—seeking reconciliation for flourishing relationships. Combining theory and practice, Flourishing will equip you to make a practical difference here at home and around the world. Let’s end poverty together so that we all can flourish.
MAY 7&8 Virtual Conference
Half-days 8:30am-12:30pm PST
9:30am-1:30pm MST / 11:30am-3:30pm EST / 12:30-4:30PM AST
$20 per registration
A spiritual leader, justice advocate, and peacemaker, Danielle has made a global impact through establishing justice departments and church plants, launching global anti-trafficking initiatives, and mobilizing people towards a transformational spiritual life.
Danielle trains, advocates, and inspires people to live differently through initiatives like her latest book released in 2020, "Better Together: How Women and Men Can Heal the Divide and Work Together to Transform the Future", hosting her podcast, and is on the teaching team at The Meeting House.
Currently based in Toronto, Danielle is the proud mom of three boys, wife to Stephen, and a fun-loving enneagram 7.
WHY FLOURISHING?
ENDING POVERTY IS ABOUT RECONCILING RELATIONSHIPS
GOD This is our deepest poverty—a broken relationship with God. Explore reconciliation, poverty theology, and the church.
OTHERS
Poverty is most obvious in our broken relationships with others. How can we solve homelessness, fight for social justice, and find belonging?
SELF
It’s hard to solve the world’s problems when your own self-image is broken. Discover significance, wholeness, and purpose.
CREATION
Did you know the earth needs saving, too? Find resources on creation care, sustainability, and your calling as a caretaker.
...WITH GOD
The Broken Relationship That Hurts The Most
Tim Day - City Movement / Waybase.com
Tim is the Director of City Movement Canada and the Director of National Engagement for WayBase. City Movement fosters collaboration in cities for increased innovation and impact. WayBase.com is a platform to help individuals and Christian organizations find each other and partner for collective impact. Tim is the author of God Enters Stage Left. He’s married to Liz, has three children, and enjoys writing, basketball, and jogging.
Poverty, Fear, and the Kingdom of God
Derek Cook - Canadian Poverty Institute / Ambrose University
Since 2015, Derek has served as the Director of the Canadian Poverty Institute at Ambrose University in Calgary. He has experience in social policy and community development, working with various government and non-governmental organizations across Canada in the areas of poverty, immigrant settlement, employment, and literacy. He serves on the Commission on Justice and Peace of the Canadian Council of Churches and is a Registered Social Worker.
...WITH OTHERS
Reconciliation: The Journey of a Lifetime
Cheryl Bear - Nadleh Whut’en First Nation
Cheryl Bear from Nadleh Whut’en First Nation is well known as an important and respected voice on behalf of Canada’s Indigenous peoples. An insightful speaker and teacher, Cheryl has traveled to over 600 Indigenous communities in Canada and the United States sharing her songs and stories. She also visits non-Native communities (schools, government, churches, businesses) holding workshops to raise awareness and understanding of Indigenous issues.
Reimagining Philanthropy through Redemptive Entrepreneurship
Donna Harris - Praxis / Builders & Backers
Donna is the co-founder of 1776, a community of entrepreneurs passionate about solving complex problems and revitalizing cities. Through her work with Praxis, she challenges the common notion of generosity as “earning a lot to give a lot” and proposes an alternative way of “redemptive entrepreneurship”. Donna is also the Founder and CEO of Builders and Backers, people igniting action in communities through experimentation and entrepreneurship.
...WITH SELF
Thriving is a Threefold Process
Ellen Duffield - BRAVE Network
Ellen is Lead Faculty at the Leadership Studio at Muskoka Woods and the author of five books including her latest The Brave Way. She brings a Masters of Leadership and Management, 40 years of organizational and church leadership, and involvement in ongoing research about how to create environments in which men and women can thrive. Ellen and her husband Tim have been married for over 40 years and have two children and six grandchildren.
Minding Ourselves: The Pursuit of Mental Health
Daniel Whitehead - Sanctuary Mental Health Ministries
Daniel is the CEO of Sanctuary Mental Health Ministries, a movement to equip churches to support mental health in their communities. He believes in the power of Sanctuary, having walked with loved ones through mental health struggles and faced leading at times when his own mental health was poor. Daniel spent 10 years in full-time ministry, serving as senior pastor of a church for eight years. He’s married with two children and is a certified mediator.
...WITH CREATION
The Gospel Written Into Landscape and Lifescape
Rick Faw - A Rocha
Rick Faw has been a lead educator at A Rocha Canada since 2004 and the VP of Programming since 2014. A Rocha is an international Christian organization engaged in scientific research, environmental education, community-based conservation, and sustainable agriculture. Rick desires for people to integrate their spiritual life with their experience of the created world. He, his wife Crista, and their two teenagers live and play alongside six other households at Kingfisher Farm in Surrey, BC.
It’s Not Too Late
James Woller - Thrive
James is an inspiring, high-integrity, disciplined, results-driven professional. He’s worked in multiple cultures and development programs focusing on poverty alleviation. In 2018, he became the International Executive Director of Thrive for Good. Thrive empowers people with the training and tools needed to grow healthy, organic, disease-fighting foods for life - sustainably. James lives in Vernon, BC with his South African wife and three children.
...OTHER SPEAKERS
Host
Shelaine Strom - FH Canada
Shelaine is a gifted speaker and life coach. She loves designing and leading workshops on the issues of poverty, on healthy ways to help, on personality and team building, and more! Shelaine’s use of storytelling, humour, and life applications draws people in. She is also a published author with an inspiring personal journey. Shelaine and her husband live in British Columbia. She is FH Canada's National Education Lead.
Designed to Flourish: Why Relationships Matter
Carissa Youssef - FH Canada
Carissa is driven by a desire to be a part of God’s Kingdom work through cultivating human flourishing among the most vulnerable. Since 2008 she has held various roles at FH Canada from Director of Communications to Donors Services. Now serving as VP of Philanthropy and Public Engagement, Carissa connects Canadians with FH’s vital mission of eradicating poverty. Carissa lives with her husband and two children in Abbotsford, BC.
Indigenous Perspective on Relationships
John Johnstone - Leq'á:mel First Nation
John is from Leq'á:mel First Nation but grew up in Langley, BC. He now serves with Multiply as their Ambassador to First Peoples in Western Canada. John seeks to bring reconciliation between First Peoples and the Church through education, prayer, and the facilitation of bridge-building encounters. John and his wife are engaging with several different nations within BC, urban aboriginals, and as cultural liaisons with youth in Vancouver.
Diversity is a Gift for Ending Poverty
Musu Taylor-Lewis - Canadian Foodgrains Bank
Musu Taylor-Lewis directs communications, fundraising, and public engagement at Canadian Foodgrains Bank. She combines her experience in the private and public sectors in community economic development, communications, and theology to motivate Canadians to get involved in the work of ending global hunger. By her early 20s she had lived in seven cities on three continents. She is currently co-chair of the taskforce on accountability on the anti-racism framework for the international cooperation sector in Canada.
Four Flourishing Relationships
Mike Janz - FH Canada
Mike serves as the Atlantic Canada Partner Engagement Lead for FH Canada. He is a thoughtful theologian and speaker who helps churches see new ways to impact their communities. His experiences as a teacher, coffee-shop owner, pastor, journalist, first-mate on a tall ship, and more have provided him with well-rounded insights and plenty of stories! He lives with his wife and two kids in Dartmouth, NS where he enjoys surfing almost every morning.
SCHEDULE
Virtual Livestreams | 60-minute sessions *times shown Pacific Standard Time (PST)
May 7, 2021
8:30am-12:00pm PST 9:30am-1:00pm MST / 11:30am-3:00pm EST / 12:30-4:00PM AST
8:30am “Designed to Flourish: Why Relationships Matter”
with Carissa Youssef - FH Canada
9:20am - Relationships with God Choose one of two workshops:
“The Broken Relationship That Hurts The Most"
with Tim Day - City Movement / Waybase.com
or “Poverty, Fear, and the Kingdom of God”
with Derek Cook - Canadian Poverty Institute / Ambrose University
10:30am - Relationships with Others Choose one of two workshops:
“Reconciliation: The Journey of a Lifetime”
with Cheryl Bear - Nadleh Whut’en First Nation
or “Reimagining Philanthropy through Redemptive Entrepreneurship”
with Donna Harris - Builders & Backers / Praxis
“Our Cultural Moment: The Steps to Racial Reconciliation and Diversity”
11:30am “Indigenous Perspective on Relationships”
interview with John Johnstone - Leq'á:mel First Nation
followed by
11:45am “Diversity is a Gift for Ending Poverty”
with Musu Taylor-Lewis - Canadian Foodgrains Bank
May 8, 2020
8:30am-12:00pm PST
9:30am-1:00pm MST / 11:30am-3:00pm EST / 12:30-4:00PM AST
8:30am Keynote address
"Emerging from a Winter of Poverty"
with Danielle Strickland
9:20am - Relationships with Self Choose one of two workshops:
“Thriving is a Threefold Process”
with Ellen Duffield - BRAVE Network
or “Minding Ourselves: The Pursuit of Mental Health”
with Daniel Whitehead - Sanctuary Ministries
10:30am - Relationships with Creation Choose one of two workshops:
“The Gospel Written Into Landscape and Lifescape”
with Rick Faw - A Rocha
or “It’s Not Too Late”
with James Woller - Thrive
11:30am - “Four Flourishing Relationships”
reflection with Mike Janz - FH Canada
