Race

When I arrived in Kigali, Rwanda in October 2022, it was in the dark of night after a seventeen hour flight from Grand Rapids with stops in Detroit and Amsterdam. Takia, a small framed young Tutsi woman, found me in the airport and guided me to the vehicle that took me to Rabagirana Ministries which housed Healing Hearts Transforming Nations (HHTN) reconciliation training just outside the capital. Rwandan Hutus massacred almost 1 million Tutsi men, women, and children, along with moderate Hutus in 100 days in the spring of 1994.

If you had to pick 5 words that expressed who you are- your identity- what would they be? You may choose words like “woman”, “teacher” or “introvert” but what else?  What about the honest, raw words; words you may not want to admit to yourself?

What about “depressed”, if you struggle with depression. Or “unlovable,” if you’ve been abandoned by your partner. Or “Immigrant” or “refugee,” if you were from another country. These identities carry stigma, especially these days as we try to fit in. 

We welcome Dr. Kenny Wallace to the show.  Kenny is an African American Choctaw Pawnee from the United States living in Canada. He teaches nationally and internationally about multi-ethnic worship with his organization Kingdom Reflections Multi-Ethnic Worship Ministries and today he unpacks with us how multi-ethnic worship can shape our spiritual imaginations.  

My name is Bryan Mwaka and I work on the Community Engagement Team in Edmonton. My story in Canada starts on January 24th, 2020, the day I arrived at Pearson International Airport in Toronto. It was from there that I got onto another flight that got me to Edmonton International Airport in the wee hours of January 24th. It was -30 degrees. 

My name is Jisoo Vis, and I am a Korean Canadian wife, mom and lawyer living in Vancouver, British Columbia.  I am a third culture kid, having been raised in Mainland China (as a missionary’s kid) and the rest of my life in various parts of Canada.

As a lawyer exposed to legal thought on people’s fundamental rights and freedoms, I often think about the implications of Section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (part of Canada’s constitution), which states the following: 

I once walked out of my church right in the middle of the service. I was with my daughter and I can tell she was embarrassed but followed me out anyways. If you know me, I don’t like to interrupt or cause an interruption so walking out was a pretty drastic move. I didn’t plan on it, I was actually looking forward to the service as the topic was about forgiveness and we were going to hear from Wilma Derkson via a Ted Talk and follow up with a discussion.

So much of what I’ve been learning in my work is not new, but nevertheless illuminating. There is an incredible amount of power that someone’s story holds. There’s power in sharing our own story, but there’s also power through listening to others' stories. When we see ourselves reflected in the stories of others, it can have a profound impact on our feeling of belonging. So here’s my story. 

Christians live in "already but not yet" time. The kingdom of God is already here through Jesus’ life, teaching, death, and resurrection. It is present today in this world and it is spreading like "yeast" (Matt 13:33). At the same time, the full manifestation of the kingdom is not here yet. It will be fully established in the eschaton, on the end of the day when Jesus returns with his angels to redeem all the believers and renew everything. So, as the church witnesses and participates in God’s kingdom, we know that it is imperfect.

We are confident
that the light
which shines in the present darkness
will fill the earth
when Christ appears.
Come, Lord Jesus.
Our world belongs to you.

- Our World Belongs to God (Article 6)

A few weeks have passed since we celebrated Easter Sunday but I’m still reflecting on the meaning of Christ’s resurrection. What about you? What does resurrection mean to you and how do you embody it?