2010 Resource of the Year award winner: justice category Every day we are confronted by challenging societal problems, from poverty and institutional racism to AIDS and homelessness. It can all seem so overwhelming. But while none of us can do everything, all of us can do something. This handbook will help you discover what you can do. Mae Elise Cannon provides a comprehensive resource for Christians like you who are committed to social justice. She presents biblical rationale for justice and explains a variety of Christian approaches to doing justice. Tracing the history of Christians in social engagement, she lifts out role models and examples from the Great Awakenings to the civil rights movement. A wide-ranging catalog of topics and issues give background info about justice issues at home and abroad, such as This handbook includes dozens of practical exercises for taking action, as well as profiles of key figures and movements like William Wilberforce, the Salvation Army and Bono, highlighting how Christians and churches can make a difference. Also included are spiritual practices and resources to help us move from immobility to advocacy. God has always worked through his people to accomplish improbable tasks, and he can use you too. This handbook will be an essential companion for living justly, loving mercy and walking humbly with your God.
Mae Cannon has been in Christian ministry for the last ten years and is the Executive Pastor at Hillside Covenant Church in Walnut Creek, California (www.hillsidecovenant.org). She is the author of Social Justice Handbook: Small Steps to a Better World (InterVarsity Press, October 2009). The book is a guide for individuals and churches to learn what it means to move from apathy to advocacy with practical tools to help equip people to live out both compassion and justice and to work to make a difference in our communities, regional areas, and around the world.
Mae formerly served as the Directorof Development & Transformation at Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Illinois. She worked primarily in the areas of compassion and justice, serving alongside urban ministries to help respond to the needs of the poor and oppressed in the Chicagoland area. She helped lead the church's response effort to Hurricane Katrina from September 2005 through December 2006 and oversaw the process of sending more than 1,500 volunteers to the Gulf Coast. In addition to her work in Disaster Response, she also managed volunteers in the ministry areas of Homelessness, Prison Ministry, Racial Reconciliation, and Social Justice.
Mae is currently a doctoral student in U.S. History at the University of California, Davis looking at the role of the church in the history of social reform. She graduated with a Master of Arts degree (MA) in Bioethics from Trinity International University. She has her Masters of Divinity (MDiv) and Masters of Business Administration (MBA) from North Park Theological Seminary and School of Nonprofit Management in Chicago, Illinois. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Chicago in History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Science and Medicine (HiPPS).
