Across Canada, there is a growing interest in becoming a healthy intercultural church as ethnic & racial diversity becomes a fundamental reality. According to Statistics Canada (2022), projections indicate that by 2041, one out of two Canadians will be a BIPoC. The Intercultural Ministries in Canada help the church respond to this context.
Part of this ministry is the Decolonization and Anti-Racism Collective. The members of this committee come from various cultural, ethnic, racial, generational, and geographical backgrounds and each serve a three-year term. They advise and assist Pablo Kim Sun, the Senior Leader for Intercultural Ministries.
Members shared with us some of their moments of vision for why this ministry is so crucial for the church at this time and what motivated them to volunteer their time.
In 2016, when I went to visit Macao, I saw for the first time a depiction of Jesus as Chinese. That experience really stuck with me and made me reflect on the spaces in church that felt exclusive, foreign, and like a ‘melting pot.’ I am convicted to create spaces of belonging where I never felt true belonging, a vision for the wholeness of the Kin-dom.
Prior to joining the CRCNA campus ministry team at York University, I had the opportunity of participating in a number of projects where I helped develop initiatives that attempted to increase the participation of local BIPOC youth in the transformation of low-income communities in Toronto. This gave me important insights and motivation for exploring ways in which racial discrimination and inequities experienced by racialized people within the CRCNA manifest, how they present challenges and barriers for congregations, and how they can be addressed.
My motivation for joining DARC is to participate in seeing the beautiful intercultural-multicultural kingdom of God reflected in my own church community. A big part of this is to participate in identifying and removing any barriers that hinder this vision of God's kingdom reflected in my world.
"Learning Our Names: Asian American Christians on Identity, Relationships, and Vocation" by Sabrina Chan.
"Living in Color: Embracing God’s Passion for Ethnic Diversity" by Randy Woodley.
"I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness" by Austin Channing Brown.
"Black Liturgies: Prayers, Poems, and Mediation for Staying Human" by Cole Arthur Riley.
The Positive Deviant podcast from Wolf Willow
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