Aslan is still on the move. Christ is a lion. With a love more powerful than any lion.
Also powerful are the forces of history; so much bigger and mightier than any one of us. They can move slower than an iceberg in some ways and faster than quicksilver in others. And, as some of us are learning the hard way, sometimes things go backwards!
We all play a role in this magnificent drama called Life and World History. Each of us is important and we all have our work to do. For history belongs to God. This is a source of peace which passes all understanding. But – that history belongs to God should not cause us to become complacent, but rather light a divine fire within us that compels us to urgent action.
Right now the Task Force for Racial Justice and Equity is looking back on over three years of work while the world (as of this typing) threatens to plummet into yet another global war. So many of us are praying for peace and for the building of bridges and a tearing down of walls, including barriers of hatred and misunderstanding.
We know that racial equity is not something that can be one-and-done, or won and done, in a three-year mandate. The forces of intolerance, dehumanisation, and oppression will be with us for centuries.
What we are trying to do is empower our church with creative tools to face them, overcome them, and eventually – as much as possible – lovingly obliterate them. And learn to watch and recognise them; from within ourselves as well as everywhere else.
We are not facing the end of the beginning but rather the beginning of the beginning. The lion’s share of the work (Aslan’s) is ahead of us.
Here is some good news. At the meeting of Synod last June our work and our mandate was given overwhelming support by the entire diocese. Most importantly, Synod voted unanimously to impose mandatory anti-bias training upon all church leaders and to make it available to all. This has been a source of inspiration not only within our own diocese, but for Anglicans and others of good will all across Canada – and even a beacon of hope for some folks in the States.
The workshops, to be led on zoom by the Kaleidoscope Institute, are open to anyone in the diocese, and will begin in Lent 2024. As the Rev. Deborah Meister says, “The training will be a powerful Lenten discipline. Lent is a time to grow in love, and this training is designed to increase our capacity to love our neighbour, and even ourselves.”
The training sessions are scheduled for Saturday, February 24th from 10am to 12:30pm, and Sunday, February 25th from 2:30 to 5pm. The third and fourth instalments will take place two weeks later on Saturday, March 9th from 10am to 12:30pm, and Sunday, March 10th from 2:30 to 5pm (like the weekend in February). So save the dates. (If these times are a challenge for you the workshop will be offered again in the first half of November.)
Change will happen, the leaders of Kaleidoscope teach, in the space between comfort and fear. And, with respectful dialogue, truth-telling, noticing, and wondering together, we will ardently pursue how might we follow Christ’s call to seek and serve Christ in every person and respect the dignity of every human being.
Our hopes and ambitions in the course of the coming years for the entire Anglican Church of Canada are high. Within a few years, we hope – with the assistance of Kaleidoscope – to train our own trainers, and to have the work spread into other dioceses. And to have such training become the norm for the church as a whole, as it is in the United Church– from whom we have also learned much.
Meanwhile, the diocese is diversifying the images surrounding Fulford Hall. The historic portraits of the bishops, all White men of a bygone era, will respectfully remain. After some discussion, we agreed that, for good and ill, this is our history, and we are connected to our past.
But having our collective 21st century gathering place appear to be simply The Hall of Whiteness, we also agreed, is no longer the vibe we are looking for. So we are supplementing these austere portraits with photos which will reflect our diocese now – in all of its gorgeous diversity. The new images will be a way of joyously giving thanks for the present and future as well as the past. No doubt it will also dignify and celebrate, in addition to every blessed hue of human skin, the existence of women and children. The goal is to make the space warmer, and more welcoming, to everyone. Information on how you can participate will become available in the coming weeks.
As we revamp the space around Fulford and prepare for the upcoming lenten training, task force co-chair Dion Lewis says: “I am so excited. This program, so needed, will allow us to completely live with, encourage, and respond to each other at all times with the love that God has for us.”
Beneath a sense of duty and importance of the work to be done, is gratitude and joy to be a part of this movement. To be our little drops in the ocean. To work together. And to feel the love of so many kind people who have supported and continue to support our work. Christ the lion continues to move, teach, and inspire. And we as a church together will learn and follow. The next year promises to be life-changing for all of us. The Spirit beckons us. “Come and see.”
