Addressing Slavery in the United Nations

President John Mahama of Ghana during the U.N. General Assembly last year. Ghana introduced a U.N. resolution to recognize the trans-Atlantic slave trade as the “gravest crime against humanity” this week.Credit...Dave Sanders for The New York Times

This past week the United Nations General Assembly backed a resolution declaring the transatlantic slave trade "the gravest crime against humanity" and calling for reparations.  Welcoming the vote, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that the wealth of many Western nations was "built on stolen lives and stolen labour". From the 15th to 19th Centuries, around 12-15 million African men, women and children were captured and trafficked to the Americas to work as slaves.

The vote in the 193-member world body was 123-3, with 52 abstentions. Argentina, Israel and the United States were the three members voting against the resolution. The United Kingdom and all 27 members of the European Union were among those that abstained.

Before the vote deputy U.S. ambassador Dan Negrea said that while the United States opposes the past wrongdoing of the transatlantic slave trade and all other forms of slavery, it does not recognize a legal right to reparations for historical wrongs that were not illegal under international law at the time they occurred. These are weasel words, absurd really. Everything that happened in Nazi Germany was legal yet we recognize the horror of the Holocaust/Shoah and that the "laws" were immoral and indefensible. The suppression and genocide of Indigenous peoples around the world was legal in most instances but a number of countries, including Canada, have recognized that these laws were wrong and have introduced processes for reconciliation including reparations. 

The Bahamas Maritime Museum in Freeport is involved in the effort to identify the slaver ships. This display there describes the trans-Atlantic slave trade. (Image credit: © Allen Exploration)

I've noted that the Church of England has embarked on creating an 110 million pound reparation fund because of its links to slavery, once owning a company that transported 34,000 slaves in crowded, unsafe and inhumane conditions over a 30-year period.  This is a project that is controversial and while some say it is not enough others criticize diverting money from critical work to ensure the survival of the denomination. 

Before the vote John Mahama, the president of Ghana, said that American schools were being discouraged from teaching about slavery and racism. He called the resolution “a safeguard against forgetting.”

The UN Resolution is not legally binding and it may be imperfect in it's wording but it gives a voice to countries profoundly changed by slavery, along with the descendants of those who were enslaved. It brings to light the injustices which can't be swept aside as "from the past." 

Praying for the Middle East

Prayers for peace 

God, I come to You not as someone strong, but as a person in a place that feels heavy. You know our fears, struggles, challenges; the fear from the sounds of planes and bombs, and the silent worries we carry. Lord, hold us close and remind us that we’re not alone. 

Give us courage to keep hoping, to choose kindness over anger, patience over fear, and hope over despair. Let Your peace reign here in Lebanon, and from this small place, let it spread across the Middle East and the hurting world. Use us to be a light, a listener, and a bearer of Your peace. Amen 

(Prepared and led by Maria Bzdigian, Armenian Evangelical Church of Nor Marash - Christian Endeavor Movement) 

Prayer for the victims 

O God of compassion, we come before You with much hope, lifting up the Middle East to Your loving care. We pray for all who have been injured. Grant them healing in body, mind, and spirit. We remember those who have died. 

Receive them into Your eternal peace, and console those who mourn their loss. We entrust to You all who suffer, the displaced, the fearful, the weary, the broken-hearted. Let Your justice rise, Your mercy flow, and Your peace take root in every land. Amen 

(Prepared and led by Elia Nasrallah, Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East- Orthodox Youth Movement)

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

Hebrews 11:1 NRSVue 

The World Council of Churches invited Christians around the planet to pray for peace in the Middle East yesterday, so I really should have mused about this 24 hours ago.The prayers above and the benediction below are from the prayer resources provided for the day.

 Some people, even some Christians would ask "why bother" because we do a lot of praying and at times it's hard to discern any results. The world seems to be addicted to war and madmen direct the missiles and drones with a Strangelovian fervour. Sometimes they do pray with a maniacal tone that is antithetical to the gospel of Jesus Christ -- I'm looking at you Pete Hegseth. 

Part of the reason I continue to pray is because the alternative is so much worse. Prayer is an expression of hope even when it seems like whistling in the dark. I have literally sung hymns  in the dark (a form of prayer)  when I was afraid and it made a difference in ways it's hard to explain. Sometimes when I wake in the wee hours when every worry is amplified and mumble my way through little prayers and portions of scripture and I'm comforted. 

I'm not so naive as to equate prayers for personal comfort with prayers to end global conflict yet the God I beseech in each instance is the same. 

Some observers are asking whether we have actually shambled our way into WWIII with conflicts everywhere. I would rather continue to seek glimmers of prayerful hope  that to curse the darkness.

“May the unconditional love of the Triune God envelope all people in justice and peace, prospering the work of our hands, so that God’s shalom may reign.”

Praying for the Supreme Court in Canada

It might not surprise you that I've prayed (not a lot) for the Supreme Court in the United States. You might conclude that my prayers aren't exactly efficacious given the dreary outcome of some important rulings. 

This week I am praying for the Canadian Supreme Court as it hears arguments for and against Bill 21, as well as broader questions around the pre-emptive use of the notwithstanding clause.  Bill 21 is a chilling piece of legislation in Quebec which essentially overrides the Charter of Rights and Freedoms regarding freedom of religion and misuses the Notwithstanding Clause, an odd "you're not the boss of me" tool that provinces can use to opt out of constitutional expectations. 

While there has been a lot of excellent coverage of these days of Supreme Court deliberation I'm not sure that most Canadians could give a damn. But our liberal democracy and the right of individuals and communities to express faith could be damned if Quebec continues on this disturbing pat of expunging religion in any form from the public square.

The term Quebec uses for these draconian measures is "laicite" which means secularism which has been borrowed from France where there is also serious restrictions. Even in translation Quebec uses "laicity" rather than secularization to denote a legal framework. 

One writer, Shema Khan, has perceptively identified that "In Quebec, laïcité has become its own kind of religious orthodoxy" to use the headline from her opinion piece in the Globe and Mail. As Kahn, who wears a hijab herself says: The province is devoted to its relentless march toward rigid laïcité; Bill 94 is even more restrictive than France’s similar laws, and Bill 9, which aims to further curtail religious freedoms, is on the horizon. Ironically, it makes Quebec look “more Catholic than the Pope,” as they say, on the issue of laïcité.

Meanwhile, hundreds of teachers and educational support workers and other government workers have lost their jobs already, not because they didn't their work well but because they where a hijab or a turban or a kippah. As I wrote recently, parents have been told that they can no longer go on school trips with their kids or volunteer in school libraries for the same reason. People are no longer allowed to pray in public places. It is all misogynistic, Islamophobic, xenophobic, and racist. Just writing about this makes my blood boil. This is secular fundamentalism and it isn't Canada. 

                                                              Good Friday Procession in Quebec City

Next week is Holy Week for Christians and I know that there will be Good Friday processions in Quebec. Quebec's Roman Catholic bishops have joined in condemning the legislation but I doubt that any of the processions or outdoor Stations of the Cross will be cancelled or restricted. And church bells will ring on Easter morning without the religious police showing up. But of course, this isn't about restricting Christians even though most Quebecers have long abandoned the once omnipresent Roman Catholic Church. 

I hope you'll be praying with me about the outcome even though I might be disappointed once again. 

Musicians for Water

 

But let justice roll down like water
    and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

Amos 5: 24 NRSVue

 On the last day of the festival, the great day, while Jesus was standing there, he cried out, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, ‘Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.’

John 7: 37-39 NRSVue 

 When we head toward Pontypool, Ontario. on our way to visit two of our grandchildren (and their parents) we usually pass through Millbrook (pop 1500) and see the sign claiming musician Serena Ryder as their own. Serena has won lots of awards including seven Junos and even hosted the event.  Her song Stompa was a huge international hit and she's on the Canadian Walk of Fame. 

I had a brief conversation with Ms Ryder on a shuttle bus to Santa Fe airport years ago. She was on tour and played there and I was heading home after some retreat time at Ghost Ranch, north of the city. To my surprise she said that she would like to go there because she was a fan of the artist Georgia O'Keeffe. I told her that I'd been staying at Casa del Sol, the retreat centre at Ghost Ranch, just down the dirt road from O'Keeffe's isolated home, now a museum of sorts. This is an arid part of the state where water is precious, although Ghost Rance is not far from the Chama River and I have waded in it. 

                                    Georgia O'Keeffe looking over the Chama River, 1961 

                                                           Chama River 1937 

I see that Serena is joining other musicians, including Sarah Harmer, also a longtime environmental activist, for a benefit concert tonight called Musicians for Water Last year Sarah received a Juno Humanitarian Award presented by David Suzuki. 

Here is a description of their concert: 

Ontario has over 5,000 active gravel pits and quarries—far more than the province needs. While the industry claims a supply shortage, the government actually has licenced 13 times more than the construction industry uses each year. The real problem isn’t supply; it’s how these projects are fast-tracked without considering the bigger picture. This approach puts the Headwaters region in southwestern Ontario—where eight major rivers begin—at serious risk, disrupting natural flows and polluting rivers that feed the Great Lakes, threatening drinking water, farms, and ecosystems.

I'm always encouraged when artists, including musicians, take up the many causes of environmental care and protection, raising awareness and funds. 

This past Sunday was World Water Day  and while it doesn't seem possible, Canada may be on the verge of a water crisis with more regions experiencing drought. Glaciers are disappearing and rivers are running dry. Canada's extensive wildfires are the outcome of drought and agriculture depends on timely rain and irrigation. 

Patient readers will know that I've written about the spiritual and practical importance of water many times, including Jesus, Living Water. So I'll declare this evening's concert "holy", even if the musicians don't quite see it that way!

Protecting Creation in Holy Week

 

                                                        Costa Rica National Parks 

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.

“Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world but in order that the world might be saved through him.

                               John 3:16-17 NRSVue 

The Central American nation of Costa Rica has a positive reputation for environmental protection and has tied this to a robust eco-tourism industry. Many years ago my late mother took family there, including grandchildren, and one of the highlights was a tour of a river national park, complete with crocodiles along the shore and a boa constrictor in a tree. 

I read recently that authorities will launch a nationwide operation of patrols and surveillance involving hundreds of  personnel to prevent poaching and the illegal trade in animal and plants species. They will be present in national parks but also set up roadblocks to check vehicles.

What caught my attention is that this will take place from March 28 to April 5 and authorities describe this as a Holy Week operation. I've never heard of an environmental protection blitz tied to a religious season but this one will commence this Saturday, just before Palm Sunday and end on Easter Sunday. 

While this may just seem quirky it got me thinking about the themes of Holy Week leading to Jesus' crucifixion. We reflect on how Jesus was treated unjustly and humiliated before his execution. Some Christian theologians write about the ways in which we crucify Creation and that Jesus' death and resurrection are for the salvation of all creatures, not just humans. 

A couple of decades ago this was condemned as heresy but as we are increasingly aware of the destruction of habitat, the reduction of biodiversity, and the effects of climate change there is a greater willingness to connect Creation and Incarnation as we we consider what it means to be "saved", even amongst some more conservative writers. Rather than being apostasy, we are opening our eyes to the broader picture of salvation -- for God so loved the world.

I've shared the painting above before by the late Indigenous Blake Debassige. It is in the chapel of the Anishnabe Spiriitual Centre on the way to Manitoulin Island. As you can see, Christ is crucified on a tree wth creature on the branches. It is a powerful image. 

I don't know why Costa Rica decided on Holy Week as the period for this operation to protect the environment but it is cause for pause. 

Sarah Mullaley on the Road to Canterbury

 

                                       Sarah Mullaly on the path to Canterbury

Sarah Mullalley was elected as Archbishop of Canterbury in January of this year and has faced a lot of grief from the beginning. The most vexatious challenges come from the impressive fact that she is the first woman Archbishop to head the world-wide Anglican communion. Their has been resistance and some silly bishops decided to elect a male archbishop in protest but these misogynist toads stepped back from their hissy-fit. 

Last Tuesday Mullalley began what may be a first, or at least the first in a long time. She walked from St. Paul's Church in London to the magnificent Canterbury Cathedral, the seat of the Archbishop, A couple of weeks ago her official page described what was then the upcoming pilgrimage: 

The new Archbishop of Canterbury will next week (Tuesday 17 March) embark on a 6-day walking pilgrimage from London to Canterbury, as part of her spiritual preparation for her Installation service at Canterbury Cathedral on Wednesday 25 March.

It is the first time in modern history that an Archbishop of Canterbury has undertaken a pilgrimage of this nature in the lead-up to their Installation.

The Most Revd and Rt Hon Dame Sarah Mullally, along with her husband Eamonn, will be walking the 140km route along the Becket Camino from St Paul’s Cathedral to Canterbury Cathedral, reflecting her journey from Bishop of London to Archbishop of Canterbury.

On the weekend they completed their trek, having stopped at churches along the way for visits with clerics and Church of England members. I am impressed by this feat given that she's in her early sixties and covered 23 or 24 kilometres a day on average. I hope there were worthwhile conversations as they were hoofing it as well.

Even if we've never read the Canterbury Tales, written by Geoffrey Chaucer in the late 14th century we're likely aware that these are two dozen short stories told from the perspective of pilgrims on the road to Canterbury. It's speculated that there were to be 30 pilgrim tales, multiplied by four, but Chaucer up and died. 

Mullalley's walk demonstrates a respect for this long tradtion of pilgrimage reflecting her own journey of faith. It also pokes a dignified Anglican finger in the eyes of her detractors, few of whom could have huffed and puffed a few blocks from St Paul's. Chaucer's Canterbury Tales are filled with humour and he might have written a jolly and even ribald story about this outing. 

I figure we should all be praying for Archbishop Mullalley in these turbulent times for Anglicans around the world. May she experience the guidance and comfort of the Holy Spirit and be treated with respect. 

As I prepare to begin my ministry as Archbishop of Canterbury, I am grateful for the prayers and support I have received from people here and around the world. "To be welcomed into the city and diocese of Canterbury is an immense privilege and I am grateful to be sharing in this moment with people of all ages and backgrounds from across the Church of England, the Anglican Communion, our nation and the world. "Our world today needs the love, healing and hope that we find in Jesus Christ."                              Archbishop Sarah Mullaley 

                                                  Canterbury Pilgrims -- William Blake 

Remembering COVID-19 in Faith Communities

A week ago I led worship at Trenton United and before the Prayers of the People I put on a blue face-mask and asked the congregation if they remembered wearing something similar. Just about everyone nodded yes because it was the requirement for safety just about everywhere when the COVID-19 pandemic changed the way we made our way in the world.

I noted that Sunday March 15th 2020 was the day six years ago when the Trenton congregation held it's last service before the provincial shutdown of March 17th. We were told that we'd cease worship for a few weeks -- little did we know -- and the United Church soon mandated closures and provided financial support for congregations, including for remote worship equipment.  

 In our prayers last Sunday I remembered those who died, those who provided courageous medical care, and all those, including school children, who experienced lasting effects from the isolation. I also encouraged folk to celebrate that we figured out how to continue in ministry as Christ's people despite the challenges. 

I saw this week that on the following Sunday in 2020, March 22nd -- today - the late Pope Francis invited ecumenical prayer as the crisis unfolded. I have no recollection of this but we were all a bit distracted at the time. As I read his invitation to prayer it struck me how pastoral he was and prescient. 

I wonder what response there will be to the next health crisis considering the nonsense of the so-called Freedom Convoy in Ottawa. It was the Invasion of the Selfish and other protests erupted across the country. Most Canadians understood the importance of the "greater good" and the per capita deaths in this country were a third of the United States.

Here is a portion of what Pope Francis prayed:

“I invite the heads of the churches and the leaders of all the Christian communities, together with all Christians of the various confessions, to invoke the Almighty, the All Powerful God, by reciting contemporaneously the prayer that Our Lord Jesus has taught us,”

  “We wish to respond to the pandemic of the virus with the universality of prayer, of compassion and tenderness.” 

“Let us remain united. Let us make our closeness felt to those who are alone and to those who are most stricken.”

 let us also express “our closeness to doctors, to health workers, nurses, volunteers” and “to the authorities that have to take hard measures, but ones that are for our good.”

“let us show our closeness to the police, the soldiers who try to keep order always on the streets, so that the things the government orders for our good can be done,” indeed “let us be close to everyone.”