The Letters, Anti-Racism, & the United Church

This is the last day of Black History Month so I'll share our experience of watching a segment of TVOntario's program The Agenda earlier this week. This was a fascinating interview with Canadian author Sheila White who has written a book that is a love letter of sorts about her courageous parents. Here is a description of the episode: 

 Sheila White's parents met in Nova Scotia just after the Second World War. As she describes in her biographical novel, "The Letters: Postmark Prejudice in Black and White," it was a love story for the ages. With one caveat: Vivien was white, Billy was Black. How they forged their relationship against family and societal disapproval provides a snapshot into the fraught race relations of the time, and how two individuals worked to dispel narrow thoughts about who they were and what their life together would be based on their differences. She talks to Jeyan Jeganathan about hers and her parents' anti-racism advocacy and what she learned by delving into their story.

                                                                            Billy White Poem

We were struck by Ms White's energy, and her description of a remarkable extended family. We also learned that in the 1940s the United Church invited her Baptist father, then living in Toronto, to write what was essentially an anti-racism guide. Sheila has a copy of that booklet, called a Programme Annual, part of her parents effects. She is still in possession of her father's poem which describes the exchange with Al Cooper from the United Church. 

I am heartened to learn that nearly 80 years ago our denomination was taking what were at least faltering steps to address anti-racism -- the young people on the cover of the booklet look decidedly white. I've written about the UCCs first and only Black moderator, the Rev. Wilbur Howard, who was ordained in 1941 and couldn't find a congregation to call him for many years. Despite our chequered past we are still learning and growing. 

I'm grateful for the phone conversation I had with Sheila White and her graciousness in sharing images of her family treasures. Here is a link to The Agenda segment: 

https://www.tvo.org/video/what-post-war-letters-reveal-about-racism-in-canada

The Spiritual Gift of Leap Day?

2 Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,

sun, moon, and stars in their courses above

join with all nature in manifold witness

to thy great faithfulness, mercy, and love.  R

                Great is thy faithfulness! Great is thy faithfulness!

Morning by morning new mercies I see;

all I have needed thy hand hath provided -

great is thy faithfulness, ever to me!

This would normally be the last day of February, the curiously short month of twelve in our yearly calendar.  However, "leap year coming once in four, February then has one day more." February 29th is a sort of chiropractic adjustment for the year, ensuring that Halloween doesn't eventually end up in March, or whatever example of a skewed calendar we want to use. It is remarkable that humans have figured out how to measure the days and years as our planet, Earth, makes its way around our star, the Sun, in a yearly orbit.

There is some suggestion that employers get away with a day of unpaid work because of Feb 29, but I don't want to go down that road. 

It's also been posited that there is some sort of divine portent to Leap Day, which I don't buy. Although, I am intrigued by the thought that February 29th can be observed as a sort of big picture pause or sabbath day, a gift of 24 hours during which we might reflect, to pay attention to the importance of each day. The truth is that this would be luxury for most people as they trundle off into their daily routines. 

As a retiree I don't have an excuse not to take at least a few minutes to ponder our days on this "third rock from the sun" and to give thanks for seasons, and the planets in their courses.  

Alexey Navalny...Christian?

 

Alexey Navalny by Fr. William Hart McNichols, priest and iconographer.

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

“Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 

 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

                      Matthew 5: 10-12 NRSVue 

When I mused about whether Alexey Navalny might be considered a martyr last week I assumed he wasn't a religious person. Since then there have a number of reports that he embraced Christianity during his convalescence in Germany after almost dying from poisoning. And that he spoke of his faith during the kangaroo court trail that led to his incarceration and death. Here are a couple of paragraphs purported to be from his address to the judge in the trial, including a verse from the Beatitudes in Jesus's Sermon on the Mount: 

“Your Honour, do you want me to talk to you about God and salvation?” Navalny said. “The fact is that I am a religious person… I was quite a militant (atheist) myself. But now I am a believer, and it helps me a lot in my work.”

“And it is said, ‘Blessed are those who thirst and hunger for righteousness, for they shall be filled’. I’ve always perceived this particular commandment as more or less an instruction for activity. And so, certainly not very much enjoying the place where I am, nevertheless, I don’t have any regrets about being back, about what I’m doing… I did not betray the commandment.”

Is this conversion story true, and his testimony during the trial? Does it change Navalny's importancem his prophetic voice,  in challenging the evil Russian regime? I hope that a new-found Christian faith gave comfort to Alexey Navalny in the dark moments of his imprisonment, and to his family. 

A flower and a picture are left as a tribute to Russian politician Alexei Navalny, near to the Russian Embassy in London, Feb. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)

Living in the "Real World" of Peace-making

 

                                                        Prime Minister Trudeau in Ukraine 

You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.  Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains. 

“Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people.  Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.

Matthew 24: 6-13 NRSVue 

I was at a loss for blogging words yesterday -- go figure! Over the weekend we re-watched Oppenheimer, the film we'd seen on the big screen a few months ago. It's about the theoretical physicist who became a key figure in the development of the atomic bombs dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing hundreds of thousands, mostly civilians. The Americans had already fire-bombed Tokyo killing more people than in either of those detonations, a grim moment in history mentioned in passing during the film. 

There is a sense that Robert Oppenheimer, played brilliantly by Cillian Murphy,  had a conscience. The premise was that using these weapons of mass destruction would end not only WWII byt would be the deterrent to end wars as we know them. He intuited that the opposite would happen and other nations would race to develop nukes. 

It was a coincidence that we watched Oppenheimer on the second anniversary of the Ukraine-Russia war, the senseless conflict of aggression initiated by the monstrous Vladimir Putin. There were vigils and memorials in many places in Canada, including here in Belleville. The Ukrainians confirmed that more than 30,000 of their soldiers have died and it's almost certain that several times that number of Russians have perished. Of course, the destruction of Gaza with a rising death toll of civilians grinds on.  It's all so senseless.

                                                                       Destruction in Gaza

So often those who call for peace and an end to wars and the proliferation of armaments are mocked as naive and not living in the "real world." Even in nations which claim to be religious or Christian there are many "believers" who align themselves with the hawks rather than the doves of our troubled world. Certainly it is real that "rumours of wars" and conflicts persist, but is this what we want for our planet. Is this the "original sin" of humanity, that we choose war over peace in every age?

How can we be the disciples of Jesus today, ready to listen for his voice in the midst of the cacophany and stridence of the voices for violence? He still stands on the hillside saying "blessed are the peacemakers", the seemingly foolhardy message which is the truth which will set us free. 

Sweet and Sacred Trees

 

Today we heard from friends who have several hectares of mixed bush not far from Lindsay, Ontario. It includes sugar maple trees that they've been tapping for several years now. It's the old-fashioned way, with spiles and buckets. They reported that in a 24-hour period their trees gifted them with 80 litres of sap, translating to 2 litres of syrup at the 40 to 1 ratio. I commented that this was a wonderful form of generosity and they assured me that they expressed their gratitude to the trees in return. 

We have chatted about reverentially acknowledging the trees around us, something Ruth and I do virtually every time we're in the woods, including during a walk in Prince Edward County earlier today. We began to do so after I read about the ritual of thanks offered by Ethiopian Christians as they enter their Church Forests, oases of trees surrounding church buildings, often in areas otherwise denuded of vegetation. As it happens, the husband of the maple syrup couple visited a Church Forest during a trip to Ethiopia a few years ago. By serendipity or providence he met the author of the article I read about Church Forests at a restaurant while in the country. 

Ten days from now I will attend a seminar in nearby Napanee about Little Forests, also called Micro-Forests. It is concept developed by a Japanese botanist named Akira Miyawaki who came up with the idea about 40 years ago.These are densely planted forests the size of a tennis court, or smaller, that contain hundreds of plants. They encourage biodiversity in small plats and achieve maturity much faster. Canada has vast forests but we need these micro-forests in urban areas as well. 

Okay, I may be rambling here, but I hope you are able to follow the thread. Trees matter in so many ways for the well-being of Planet Earth and their gifts to humans and other creatures are manifold. Little wonder that there are so many trees in our Judeo/Christian scriptures and that they are regarded with respect and even reverence.

So, the next time you look out a window at a tree, or walk amidst a forest, or pour some sweet maple syrup on a pancake, give thanks to the Creator. 

                                                           Church Forest in Ethiopia 

Stained Glass and Racial Justice

A single voice raised, then another. We

must tell the truth about our history.

How did we get here and where do we go?

Walk toward freedom. Work toward freedom.

Believe in beloved community.

For decades the Washington National Cathedral in the District of Columbia contained disturbingly racist stained glass windows honouring Confederate Generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson. They were installed in 1953, which speaks to the climate of acceptance for Civil War "heroes" from the South at that time and the realities of racial segregation. There were Confederate flags hanging in the building as well.

Seven years ago those windows were removed, along with the flags,and I see that the replacement windows have been installed and dedicated They were were created by artist Kerry James Marshall and uphold racial justice. The windows, titled "Now and Forever" show a group of protesters marching in different directions and holding up large signs that read "Fairness" and "No Foul Play." Last September the Cathedral debuted the new windows, as well as a poem inscribed in stone tablets near the windows titled "American Song" by Elizabeth Alexander. A portion of that poem is above. 

Why do we hang on to artifacts and glorification of poisonous history, sometimes with reverence, and even in places of worship? It's encouraging that these changes have been made and that there is now a beautiful tribute to those who worked for justice and equality. 

Cray-Cray in Alabama

 

                                                                                Ann Telnaes

I have to say that I get a fair number of wacky emails from various publishers and organizations who notice that I write a blog but don't seem to give any attention to the content. Many of them are so far to the Christian right that they are barely visible on the horizon and I"m definitely left of centre on the theologial spectrum.

A few weeks ago I got an invitation to support a project in the States to "rescue" frozen human eggs with the purpose of implanting them in willing human hosts so that they could become the persons God intended them to be. It was one of the most bizarre proposals I'd read along the way for so many reasons. Shades of The Handmaid's Tale. 

Well, we aren't done yet with the cray-cray. Last Friday the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos are children, a first-of-its-kind decision. Alabama has the second lowest rating of any state for healthcare and a fairly high infant mortality rate. It also scores 44th of 50 states for education. So, sure, focus on a frozen non-child instead of the well-being of children in your midst. 

Already one medical centre has paused in vitro fertilization procedures because of the possible liability. 

We have seen and heard of the increasing control over the reproductive rights of women in the US, often encouraged and supported by conservative Christians. In the Supreme Court ruling the Chief Justice referred to the book of Genesis which is bizarre in itself, along with John Calvin and other theologians dead for centuries. This white male was a key figure in overturning Roe v Wade. 

Whenever I hear the words "freedom" or "liberty" emanating from these groups I assume they mean the opposite. Women and their medical care-givers are increasingly anxious about complications in pregnancies, afraid of the legal repercussions if they come to an end for any reason,  

 It is alarming, and while we assume this couldn't happen in Canada, I wonder. We seem to be listing to starboard in a number of ways. I wonder if Margaret Atwood will express thoughts on this latest development. 

Fresh Eyes and Ears on the Parables of Jesus

 During a walk yesterday with Ruth, my wife, I shared some of the revelations from the book Short Stories by Jesus: The Enigmatic Parables of a Controversial Rabbi, yet another insightful volume by Amy-Jill Levine. Levine is a Jewish New Testament professor, which means that she brings a remarkable and challenging perspective to the study of Christian scriptures. In Short Stories by Jesus Levine gets us to grapple with a dozen of the parables of Jesus. 

As I've read in preparation I realize that these stories, some of which are lengthier while others are not much more than a few phrases have been "hidden in plain sight" because of Christian assumptions. Jesus the Jew would have known that he wasn't inventing parables -- they are part of the Jewish tradition -- and he wasn't intending to denigrate his faith tradition. Unfortunately that's the way parables are often presented from Christian pulpits, for which we should repent. 

Levine wants us to appreciate the genius of Jesus's parables and how they were meant to "afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted." This book is ten years old so is not directly addressed to growing anti-Judaism, nor to our societial bewilderment with how to address the growing issues of poverty, homelessness, and addiction. It is timely, just the same, and the parables can serve as a corrective to suspicion, disdain, and hatred. 

In another time, Lent was a period when priests and other clerics often encouraged conspiracy theories about Jews, sometimes inviting violence. This Lenten study is an opportunity to tell a different story about Jews and Judaism, to experience the parables in ways that move beyond our supposed familiarity. Ruth observed that she's at a stage of life when she welcomes the shake-up of preconceived notions, and I would have to agree. 

Syrian Refugees, Syrian/Canadians

Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food or thirsty and gave you something to drink?  And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me.’ 

                                           Matthew 25: 37-40 NRSVue 

In 2015 I was approached by a Bridge St. United Church member, Dr. Ian Sutherland, about the possibility of sponsoring a Syrian refugee family. This was before the federal government undertook a significant sponsorship initiative, although I'd already had a conversation with another Belleville UCC colleague, the Rev. Cathy Russell about this possibility. Neither of us clergy had a clue about how we might do this but Ian was remarkable in getting us underway.

It turned out that there was a "heavenly host" of willing and highly capable people who worked tirelessly to make this happen. We began with a family of five but over time this number grew to 23. 

This became one of the highlights of my ministry, both for the opportunity provided for a new life for these courageous immigrants and in terms of the spirit of cooperation and hospitality on the part of the local participants. Our newfound connection with the Bellevile mosque was deeply rewarding and I often referred to the Arabic speakers of that Muslim faith community as an "Allah-send." Our first phone conversation with the initial family living in a Lebanese refugee camp happened in my study with a local translator who was originally from Syria. 

Today Ian circulated an annual report regarding the families that was both factual and touching. Just recently I read a nasty online comment by someone who claimed that Syrian refugees had not found their way into Canadian society and were a financial burden. So much for that xenophobic and mean-spirited observation. 

I have to say that Ian deserves a medal -- literally -- for his tireless efforts through the years. Surely there should be an Order of Practical Compassion and Ian should be a recipient.

Here is a portion of the report. God bless you Ian, and all those who have taken part!

Annual Report 2023 United Syrian Family Support (Belleville) slightly adapted with names removed

The United Syrian Family Support (Belleville) or (USFS [B]), was a partnership of 6 faith communities of which Bridge Street and St Matthews United Churches were the founding members. USFS (B) submitted six Immigration Refugee & Citizenship Canada (IRCC) private refugee sponsorship applications in 2015 and 2016, all approved. Four families and 3 grandparents named in the applications arrived in Belleville as Permanent Refugees between December 2015 and March 2017. By 31 December 2022, three of the four families (save one adult) and the three grandparents had been sworn in as Canadian citizens.

On 20 January 2023, the fourth family was invited to the Joseph Howe Building in Ottawa to participate in their citizenship ceremony. 

Educational Update: At the Loyalist College of Applied Arts & Technology two cousins graduated in June 2023, one as a Chemical Engineering Technician and the other as a Computer Technician graduated, both on the Dean’s List.

Employment Update: All newcomers are financially independent of the USFS (B) sponsorship group. Satisfactory employment has been found for those wishing and able to work. Two of the families have developed sufficient comfort and confidence in their capacities in Canada to have relocated to a larger municipality (Ottawa) in 2022. USFS (B) members have universal admiration for their “spreading of wings”, and for their confidence in their ability to “survive and prosper” in a larger and more challenging environment, yet one with more employment opportunities.

Summative Comment: The newcomers, now Canadian citizens, have embraced their lives in their “new country”. They speak frequently of the opportunities which they recognize exist in Canada for their children, opportunities that are open to all persons, not limited by sectarian violence and/or socioeconomic factors.

                                                       Our Initial Syrian family in Belleville 

Family Day Slides On

 

                                                 Cousins heading down the hill while Grandpa looks on 

1 Would you bless our homes and families, Source of life who calls us here;

in our world of stress and tension teach us love that conquers fear.

Help us learn to love each other with a love that constant stays;

teach us when we face our troubles, love's expressed in many ways.

2 When our way is undemanding, let us use the time that's ours

to delight in simple pleasures, sharing joys in gentle hours.

When our way is anxious walking and a heavy path we plod,

teach us trust in one another and in you, our gracious God.

                                                  Voices United 556

Yesterday we attended worship in Trenton before heading to near Peterborough, for a Family Weekend sliding party at the home of our daughter Jocelyn and her family. Her husband Jeff's family was there and lots of their friends. They have their own impressive hill enthusiastically used by a passel of kids and a good time was had by all. It was wonderful to see cousins and cousin-ish children connecting and just goofin' around. It was also a delight to see the newcomers to Jeff's siblings' households, a couple of adorable infants. 

I've read and heard a couple of pieces on the changing nature of family in our society and the gradual downhill slide of cousin connections (I couldn't resist). I actually had little contact with extended family growing up and the same is true for Ruth. We were both preacher's kids so weekend gatherings weren't possible and in some respects that was the case for our children. But in our society as a whole the tendency for families to be smaller and to spread out over greater distances for work means that cousins don't get to know one another as well. 

During the few summers I was involved with the Algonquin Park Ministry we noticed that there were extended families camping together, often boisterous and happy. They were usually immigrants families from the sound of their conversations and the wonderful fragrance of their food. 

Our soon-to-be-son-in-law would probably chuckle at this. His background is Dutch and his family has get-togethers of biblical proportions, including camping weekends which a multitude of lively cousins. 

We were grateful that our children grew up in a congregation with many children.Their church family friendships were wonderful. This form of connection is waning in our culture as well, sad to say. 

I do wish you an enjoyable and blessed Family Day, whatever form your family takes.

3 From the homes in which we're nurtured, with the love that shapes us there,

teach us, God, to claim as family every one whose life we share.

And through all that life may offer, may we in your love remain;

may the love we share in families  be alive to praise your name.

4 Let us reach beyond the boundaries of our daily thought and care

till the family you have chosen spills its love out everywhere.

Help us learn to love each other with a love that constant stays;

teach us when we face our troubles love's expressed in many ways.

Alexey Navalny...Martyr?

 Pilate asked him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”  Pilate asked him, “What is truth?”

John 18: 37-38 NRSVue

A martyr (Greek: μάρτυς, mártys, 'witness' stem μαρτυρ-, martyr-) is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In the martyrdom narrative of the remembering community, this refusal to comply with the presented demands results in the punishment or execution of an individual by an oppressor.     Wikipedia

Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny died suddenly in prison on Friday. He was almost certainly murdered by Vladimir Putin's evil regime after being incarcerated for crimes he didn't commit. Because he was a symbol of Russian freedom from tyranny he was a threat to Putin and there had already been an attempt to assassinate him using poison. He somehow survived and was treated in a German hospital, only to return to Russian and immediate arrest.

Did Navalny have a death wish? In the Oscar-winning documentary, Navalny, he is seen with his wife and two children in Germany, and it's obvious that he loves them and enjoys life. Did he have some sort of "martyr complex", an unhealthy commitment to sacrificing himself for the perceived needs of others? The film is poignant and I couldn't help wishing that he continue his opposition in exile.

The definiton above reminds us that our English word martyr comes from the Greek word for witness. We tend to admire those who stand up to oppressive power more after they are dead and gone, even when they have effected change in their lifetimes. Both India's Gandhi and America's MLK are examples from the 20th century. A couple of days ago the Rev, Dr. King's daughter, Bernice, reminded us that her father was the most hated man in the country right up to his death. 

Jesus' cousin, John the Baptizer, was a witness when he challenged the power of Herod Antipas, and he was imprisoned before he was killed. Both Peter, the disciple, and Paul, the apostle, were executed by the Roman regime for their involvement in what was perceived as the seditious Way of Jesus. Jesus came before Pilate to bear truth and he too was put to death, on the cross. 

Navalny would likely have scoffed at the notion of being a martyr but he did die for his cause. He will be remembered by millions as a martyr, a witness, and he should be remembered with admiration and respect. 

"The tyrant dies and his rule is over, the martyr dies and his rule begins."

Søren Kierkegaard, 1848.

A Crime Scene & More in Downtown Belleville

 

                                                       Bridge St. United Church, Belleville 

This was our once-a-month morning to pick up baked goods from Cobs Bakery and Metro to be delivered to the Bridge St. United Church meal ministry. As I mentioned before, we enter through the same door used by the guests of the drop-in and the meal program. It was just outside this entrance, within sight of what was once my minister's study, where five people collapsed within minutes two weeks ago, all poisoned by toxic drugs. 

This morning there were familiar faces outside, including a woman who is featured in the article linked below. Another offered her help in getting the laden cart inside. She was cheerful despite sleeping in a tent on a -7C night, chuckling that she'd been toasty between her brother and another friend. There was no sense of the recent chaotic scene when people they surely knew overdosed. Yet some of the photos from around Bridge St UC show the yellow tape of a crime scene. It is a crime that people are living this way

Along with the Global News article, here is a link to the audio for a worthwhile segment of TV Ontario's The Agenda program which included Jennifer Cormier of the John Howard Society in Belleville.

Ruth will be back at Bridge St on Monday for her weekly shift distributing meals I do wish the congregation would be known for the ongoing faithful work it is doing for and with those who live on the margins of society, not just for the shocking events of recent days. 

https://globalnews.ca/news/10301931/bellevilles-drug-emergency-lays-bare-toll-of-wider-crisis/

https://www.tvo.org/podcasts/the-agenda-with-steve-paikin-audio/dissecting-ontarios-escalating-overdose-crisis

Justice for Brandi Morin

 

Journalist Brandi Morin at the site of a former homeless encampment near 101A Street and 95 Street in Edmonton on Jan. 11, 2024. Morin was covering the removal of the camp by police and city crews on Jan. 10, 2024, when she was arrested by police. PHOTO BY DAVID BLOOM /Postmedia

Last year I read Brandi Morin's autobiography, Our Voice of Fire and you may recall that I wrote about it. 

Morin is her forties yet has already lived a full, and often tumultuous life because of the trauma so many Indigenous women have experienced in what we call Canada, Somehow she has overcome violence, family disfunction, and a host of other challenges to become an award-winning journalist. Morin is an unapologetically feisty person, and also someone who has drawn on her considerable spirituality and faith to find her way forward. I found this quite moving and inspiring.

Today Brandi Morin is in an Edmonton courtroom, answering to a January charge for obstructing a peace officer during the Edmonton Police Service clearing of an Indigenous encampment. This is not the first time an Indigenous journalist has been charged for obstruction in both British Columbia and Alberta, even though these reporters and photographers identify themselves and their organizations and keep a respectful distance. In a number of instances the charges have been dropped because they don't have legal merit, but it is a form of intimidation. They are often taken away in handcuffs and held for extended periods of time. 

Morin has been supported by Amnesty International, the Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ), the Committee to Protect Journalists, Reporters Without Borders, the Indigenous Journalists Association, Journalists for Human Rights, and the Coalition for Women in Journalism. The Edmonton Journal newspaper has also criticized this arrest and the story has been covered internationally. 

As a member of the United Church of Canada I appreciate that our denomination's  goal of reconciliation with Indigenous persons goes beyond saying sorry for the past. We need to be advocates for those seeking justice today, in many different settings. I pray that the charges against Morin are dropped and that there will be some form of accountability for the officers who arrested her. 

Here is a portion of the PEN Canada statement from a few weeks ago: 

PEN Canada is deeply concerned at the Edmonton Police Service’s (EPS) arrest of Cree/Iroquois/French freelance journalist Brandi Morin and calls for the immediate dismissal of all charges against her ahead of a court hearing scheduled for February 1. Ms. Morin was arrested during a police raid on an Indigenous encampment on January 10.

Ms. Morin is a well-known journalist who has reported extensively on Indigenous land and environmental rights and has won awards for her work on Truth and Reconciliation, and residential school grave discoveries. According to the information available to PEN, Ms Morin was arrested and charged with obstructing a police officer after she refused to comply with peremptory orders to leave the vicinity of a police action or be forcibly removed.

A statement by Ricochet Media notes that although Morin “repeatedly identified herself as a journalist, offered a letter of assignment from her outlet, and filmed everything up until the point she was handcuffed and had her camera taken away” she was nevertheless arrested and detained for several hours.

Pray for Rafah

 Pray for Rafah

Pray for Rafah

Pray for Rafah

This could be my blog entry for today, with nothing else, although you might have been left a little more confused than usual in following my thread. 

Rafah is a "safe" city in the south of the Gaza Palestinian territory. A few years ago its population was estimated at 170,000 but today that number is approximately 1.4 million as much of the territory's population has fled the Israeli military offensive that has killed 28,000 Palestinians and levelled much of Gaza City and towns in the north. The vast majority of the displaced people are living in tents during what is winter for the region. It has been raining and the temperatures are in the teens. Hundreds of thousands are at risk of starvation and disease because aid cannot reach them. 

For days Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu has been threatening an invasion of Rafah in search of Hamas terrorists. We have seen, though, that military action has resulted in the deaths of thousands of civilians, many of them children. While this began as a response to the horrific attack by Hamas terrorists last October 7th, the level of vengeance is unconscionable. The people in Rafah have been warned to leave but there is no place to go. 

American President Joe Biden has wagged his finger at Israel and told them not to do this, as have the Brits. Yesterday Canada, Australia, and New Zealand issued a joint statement expressing "grave concern" over the plans for a military operation. What do these statements mean in any practical sense. The US continues to provide billions of dollars in aid to Israel, both in cash and military support. To the best of my knowledge there are no prohibitions on the sale of armaments to Israel from these other countries. It feels as though these are statements made to placate the growing number of voices from constituents who are appalled at the loss of life and the basic necessities for human existence. 

I am deeply disappointed at the lack of leadership on Canada's part and I can't help but feel that our federal government is cautiously taking its direction from the Americans. As a Christian who has followed the plight of Palestinians, including Palestinian Christians in the West Bank and Gaza, I am dismayed and angered. What is unfolding certainly looks more like ethnic cleansing or genocide all the time. 

Here is the Joint Statement: 

February 14, 2024

Ottawa, Ontario

The Prime Ministers of Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on reports of Israel’s planned military operation in Rafah.

We are gravely concerned by indications that Israel is planning a ground offensive into Rafah. A military operation into Rafah would be catastrophic. About 1.5 million Palestinians are taking refuge in the area, including many of our citizens and their families. With the humanitarian situation in Gaza already dire, the impacts on Palestinian civilians from an expanded military operation would be devastating. We urge the Israeli government not to go down this path. There is simply nowhere else for civilians to go.

There is growing international consensus. Israel must listen to its friends and it must listen to the international community. The protection of civilians is paramount and a requirement under international humanitarian law. Palestinian civilians cannot be made to pay the price of defeating Hamas.

An immediate humanitarian ceasefire is urgently needed. Hostages must be released. The need for humanitarian assistance in Gaza has never been greater. Rapid, safe and unimpeded humanitarian relief must be provided to civilians. The International Court of Justice has been clear: Israel must ensure the delivery of basic services and essential humanitarian assistance and must protect civilians. The Court’s decisions on provisional measures are binding. 

We are clear that a sustainable ceasefire is necessary to finding a path towards securing lasting peace for Israelis and Palestinians. Any ceasefire cannot be one sided. Hamas must lay down its arms and release all hostages immediately. We again unequivocally condemn Hamas for its terror attacks on Israel on October 7. 

Ultimately, a negotiated political solution is needed to achieve lasting peace and security. Australia, Canada, and New Zealand remain steadfast in their commitment to a two-state solution, including the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel, where Palestinians and Israelis live side by side in peace, security, and dignity.

Some thoughts on prayer-walking through Lent in today's Groundling blog 

https://groundlingearthyheavenly.blogspot.com/2024/02/prayer-walking-through-lent.html

Ash Wednesday & a Baptismal Font?

 

                                                                  Baptismal Font.  Iona Abbey

Back in the year 2000 when the United Church, still had the inclination and money to create and publish worship resources, the denomination published Celebrate God's Presence: A Book of Services. I thought it was excellent then and I still do. 

I decided to take a look at what was there for Ash Wednesday and, lo and behold, there are a couple of thoughtful services, including one that appears to draw on the Iona Christian "an international, ecumenical Christian movement working for justice and peace, the rebuilding of community and the renewal of worship."

There is a progression beginning with a focus on the waters of baptism rather than the ashes we usually associate with this solemn observance. I am intrigued that they chose a portion of the powerful Creation psalm, 104, one of my favourites. 

All are invited to come to the baptismal font to dip their hands in the water or to have water poured over their hands, as a reminder of their baptism and the call to leave behind the past and start on a new journey.

 Out of the waters of baptism we rise to new life,

cleansed, renewed, and one with Christ.

 Planning for the Journey

 Scripture          Psalm 104: 24-28   

O Lord, how manifold are your works!
    In wisdom you have made them all;
    the earth is full of your creatures.
 There is the sea, great and wide;
    creeping things innumerable are there,
    living things both small and great.
 There go the ships
    and Leviathan that you formed to sport in it.

 These all look to you
    to give them their food in due season;
 when you give to them, they gather it up;
    when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.                                                                

Look at your hands—see the touch and tenderness;                  

God’s own for the world.        

.         

Iona Community