Race

You can be forgiven if you find yourself not thinking about treaties very often.    After all, it is 2020 and for most Canadians, the term “treaty” conjures up ideas and images that seem to be part of a long-forgotten high school History or Social Studies class.   The relevancy of treaties to our everyday, ordinary lives seems non-existent.  Treaties – well, they tend not to make the news very often.  So, it is easy for us to assume they do not matter.

I felt stupid and scared this week, and I took it out on a well-meaning white guy. 

Here’s what happened: I was working as part of a team to plan a high-profile event for local pastors to speak out against racism. It was collaborative (which is hard), it was high-stakes (everybody’s a critic), and it was not being led by white people (translation: I was not in control).

Mark this down: May 2020 was the month that America woke up to the original cry of the original pandemic. What happened? The hunting and killing of Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia happened in March 2020. The video of the father and son, team McMicheals’ possible crimes did not gain traction until the first week of May. The killing of Breonna Taylor, an inspiring emergency medical technician, was mistakenly gunned down in her Louisville apartment in March 2020. The attention of Taylor’s death did not arise until May 2020.

Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life.  - Psalm 143:8

In response to the continued calls for racial justice around the world, we devote our prayers again this week to confession and the reconciliation of the church.

Inspired by the Belhar Confession

As the world grapples with the global spread of the coronavirus, there’s been a lot of news and information to sift through to make sense of our new reality. In the United States in particular, we continue to hear a lot of blaming and negativity about immigrants as the country addresses the COVID-19 crisis. 

It is time for Canadians to know that First Nations people have held up their end of the treaties.

Dear Children, 

The last few weeks have shaken us again.  This is not business as usual or prayer as usual.  Our African American sisters and brothers in Christ have been calling for lament, for equality, for justice, for a long time.  And so we have not asked them to teach us something new.  Rather, we point you to prayers and laments written several years ago when we found ourselves in similarly raw moments.  Join us in lament and on this long journey of pursuing racial justice.

Dear Church,

As I write this letter, I find myself in a place of lament. I lament the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and many black lives taken by the grasp of white supremacy. I lament the numerous blacks lives that are being taken by this pandemic. 

Hear my prayer, Lord;  let my cry for help come to you.  Do not hide your face from me when I am in distress.  Turn your ear to me; when I call, answer me quickly. - Psalm 102:1-2

Bethany Christian Services

This week, Bethany Christian Services is asking for prayer after an increasing number of their clients who are essential workers are diagnosed with COVID-19.  Their work with refugees, immigrants, and asylum seekers guides, advocates, and supports key settlement locations around the globe, including the U.S.