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Dear community of St. Andrew, 

And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)

This week is notable for two national commemorations, one marked in a different country. Juneteenth (June 19th) recalls the day in 1865 when the last enslaved African Americans in Galveston, Texas, were informed of their freedom. And National Indigenous Peoples Day (June 21st) celebrates the Indigenous First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples of Canada. This year, June 19th, is also Corpus Christi, or the celebration of the Body of Christ. This refers both to Jesus's literal body, that he sacrificed for us and for all people on the cross and continues to give for us in the Holy Communion; and also to the Church, the community of believers that since Jesus's ascension is now Christ's Body on earth. 

While both Juneteenth and National Indigenous Peoples Day are celebrations, they also both recall and invite us to reflect on a troubling history, a history in which even Christians have oppressed and committed violence against their fellow members of the Body of Christ. National Indigenous Peoples Day calls us to acknowledge the Church's ongoing need for reconciliation and reparation to its Indigenous siblings; it also calls non-Indigenous white people into repentance for their complicity. Following the lead of the United Church, our Anglican Church of Canada's General Synod has established a National Indigenous Day of Prayer, stressing healing, restoration, remembrance, and return. This Sunday, we celebrate the National Indigenous Day of Prayer, mindful that God's Church has work to do, work that will require us to look back as well as forward, before we can one day become the complete, restored Body of Christ on earth. 

I conclude with a quote from a sermon preached for this occasion by the Right Reverend Sidney Black, former interim national Indigenous bishop, that is available as a resource for the whole church. Bishop Black says (this is taken from the transcript, with some punctuation added),

“God takes our uncertainty and failure, and redeems them with new insight and a new beginning…There will be a new beginning, a time to go to work, a time to act like the gifted people God created us to be. A time to be about God’s business in our church communities and families. A time for a ministry that will rise again, committed to Redemption ministry that brings graciousness to the lives of all people since the beginning. That is what God has done for us. We will see again the Word made flesh, scattering the darkness from before our paths, and empowering us with charity and generosity to give light to others.”

May it be so. 

I look forward to seeing you on Sunday as we give a warm St. Andrew's welcome to our guest preacher, the Reverend Leigh Kern, Right Relations Coordinator for the Diocese of Toronto. And join us afterwards as Leigh shares what her work involves, around reconciliation, building relationships, and more. 

Yours in Christ,
Jake+